Film Review - Predator: Badlands
Images courtesy of 20th Century Studios.
Dan Trachtenberg’s Predator: Badlands is exactly the sort of genre flick that knows what it is and leans in hard: a muscular, sometimes messy expansion of franchise lore that delivers big thrills, a surprising amount of heart, and world-building that actually enriches the Yautja mythos rather than flattening it. If you went in hungry for pure, gleeful spectacle, this film hands it to you in spades. It’s an unapologetically dumb bucket of fun, filled to the brim with satisfying world-building and creativity.
Trachtenberg treats the Predator as more than a monster-of-the-week; Badlands centers on Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi), a young runt of a Yautja (the alien race that all Predators belong to, for those playing along at home) that’s about to have his coming-of-rage. This shift in perspective - foregrounding the alien society on their home turf - is the film’s smartest gambit. It offers a culture with rules, rites, and unexpected emotional stakes, permitting the audience to root for a protagonist whose arcs mirror classic heroic training narratives. Elle Fanning’s android Thia turns up with perhaps a few too many quips, but ends up being a welcome addition in a human-facing subplot that grounds the story’s stakes and gives the picture an emotional tether, even when the action threatens to run off the rails.
Where Badlands really scores is in its worldbuilding. Trachtenberg and his design team commit to making the new “death planet” of Genna feel lived-in: a living world of bioweaponry, where its inhabitants are forever caught in a battle for superiority in the food chain. The film luxuriates in details both small and large - the kaiju-sized immortal Kalisk, carnivorous vines, the ugly-cute monster companion Bud, even literal blades of grass. These layers never smother the momentum; instead they make the spectacle matter and lead into a fantastic third act that had the zoologist in me nerding out. Even with a tamer M-rating, Badlands serves up plenty of CGI gore that ensures the franchise’s teeth aren't dulled entirely, despite the clear marketing win of this being a teen-friendly outing.
Action set pieces are kinetic and inventive. Trachtenberg stages hunts with a clarity and ferocity that balances practical effects with polished VFX work; the result is visceral rather than glossy, suiting the muddiness of the material. There are comic beats threaded through the mayhem, and while tonal left turns can occasionally undercut suspense, they also make the film entertainingly unpredictable. The supporting players - synthetic and otherwise - get memorable moments that hint at larger stories yet to be told in the universe, all without derailing the main throughline of friendship (yes, I'm being serious).
Predator: Badlands isn’t flawless. At times the script over-indulges in comical quips, and the emotional payoff, while satisfying in its own right, is playing to a familiar rhythm. But those flaws are the price of ambition: expanding a monster franchise into a world-driven saga is messy work, and Trachtenberg does so with verve and great affection. The film respects the original’s appetite for visceral thrills while also daring to humanise its monsters. If you’re here for scale, spectacle, and a smartly realised peek into the Predator society, Badlands is a satisfying hunt.
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Predator: Badlands is screening in select cinemas now. For tickets and more info, click here.