The combination of Hulu and Disney+ was a boon to the Predator franchise, with films like Prey and Predator: Killer of Killers. Following past films that weren’t up to snuff for fans and purveyors of alien hunters doing what they do best, the aforementioned titles from director Dan Trachtenberg just became its own beast of an action series while retaining the simple aspects of the show: big badass alien called the yautja comes in, normal human suffer through the odds and finally triumphs over said alien badass through sheer willpower and ingenuity.

Just to switch things up for the first-ever Predator film to be out in cinemas since 2018 (the last two films were on streaming services), Trachtenberg switches focus: what if a Predator was dubbed so “weak” that he needed friends to help him to his goal of his trophy? What if the Predator was the hero of the plot rather than the antagonist?

While a risky change of pace from the previous two films (and the past 80s and 90s titles), it paid off due to the teamwork, acting, and action setpieces set out by the film.

Hunter X Hunted

Predator: Badlands’ plot is simple yet effective: an outcast Predator named Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) heads off to the planet of Genna to hunt his “prey” and bring its remains as a trophy to his tribe. Of course, things aren’t as simple: Dek is a young hunter and considered the weakest of his clan. The planet of Genna is full of dangerous wildlife that would make most hunting yautja their meal, with the top dog predator being the Kalisk. Dek also comes across a broken-down synthetic (android) named Thia (Elle “Tomorrow” Fanning) who knows the planet pretty well. They eventually form a fragile alliance to keep one another alive while having their own agenda once they get to the Kalisk. For fans of the Predator and Alien series, Thia is a synth made by Weyland-Yutani, so you’ll know there’s trouble a-brewing with that corporate name.

From start to finish, Predator: Badlands doesn’t disappoint with the action. There’s a lot going on from an early Predator VS Predator fight to even our hero Dek fighting the fauna while navigating dangerous terrain like razor grass, crawlspaces full of snake-like things that shoot out dissolving arrow acids from their mouths, and enemy synths who are well-equipped to deal with Genna’s hazards. There are a few breaks in-between where Dek gets introspective with his reasons for going along with the hunt, and Thia attempts to understand Dek and yautja culture while being the voice of reason & empathy.

These are good ebbs to get into, balancing levity and drama, while the flow of the fight and conflicts then come in, making for good pacing for the entire film and its structure, with some shots and vistas taking advantage of the movie’s set in New Zealand. If anything, the beautiful yet dangerous landscape of Genna is quite a sight and filled with believable killer aliens that aren’t the yautja thanks to Industrial Light & Magic’s craft. To say more about what unfolds once we get to the aforementioned Kalisk is spoiler territory, but I will say that Predator: Badlands does offer a few key moments that won’t disappoint fans of the franchise. Dek’s choice of gear when he gets to the later parts may be a bit underwhelming in the looks department, but they do get the job done.

Kill Or Be Killed

Dan  Trachtenberg is the right director for the job to make the Predator franchise relevant again for sci-fi buffs and action fans, especially when this film is using PG-13 rather than the R-rating it usually gets (alien kills and android deaths aren’t the same as human body count). While not as human-focused as Prey or Predator: Killer of Killers, Predator: Badlands is still an enjoyable sci-fi romp that strengthens the yautja mythos further by changing perspectives, while working in Aliens/Weyland-Yutani in a not-so-on-the-nose kind of method. This latter part possibly setting up future films that will take the concept further, but does serve as fertile ground for antagonist fodder material.

As for now, this big-budget sci-fi film is a step in the correct direction in being a tad different from the previous two films. Any story beat at this point for the franchise is enough to wipe away the atrocity that is 2018’s The Predator.

Final Score: 80/100