‘Predator: Badlands' redefines sci-fi storytelling with brains, brutality and heart Bob Strauss Wed, November 5, 2025 at 12:00 AM UTC 4 min read Add Yahoo on Google Thia, portrayed by Elle Fanning, left, and Dek, portrayed by Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, in "Predator: Badlands." (20th Century Studios/Associated Press) A little bit of feeling and shrewd, innovative storytelling make "Predator: Badlands" a remarkably engaging entry in the almost 40-year-old, gore-drenched sci-fi franchise. But the films' more rabid fans needn't worry. Intrigue and empathy don't blunt the visceral violence that's the lifeblood of these alien trophy hunter movies. True, this is the first "Predator" that isn't rated R, but that's because no humans are harmed in it. In fact, there isn't a single person or any other real living being in the entire story. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rest assured, though, that loads of Yautja — the space stalker species with locs and double, fanged mandibles — along with a range of cute-to-creepy fantasy creatures and android synthetics, get smashed and sliced from start to finish. Human or not, two unlikely protagonists provide all the personality this project needs. Dek, the first Predator we've actually gotten to know in half a dozen films, is the teenage runt of a Yautja clan that believes in culling/killing its weakest links. He escapes from their home world to the primeval planet Genna, where all flora and fauna have evolved homicidal characteristics. There he hopes to be the first of his kind to kill a regenerating monster called a Kalisk, bring the trophy home and take revenge on his stupid relatives. Played just expressively enough through pounds of body prosthetics and layers of digital face makeup by newcomer Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, Dek's humor, confusion and growing realization that there's more to life than murderous machismo come out. He ain't emo, as the young New Zealander's impressively bludgeoning fighting style keeps reminding us. But he's the last thing any previous Predator has been: relatable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Oh, and Schuster-Koloamatangi speaks Dek's dialogue in Yautja, a made-up language that required throat exercises to master. Thia, portrayed by Elle Fanning, left, and Dek, portrayed by Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, in "Predator: Badlands." (20th Century Studios/Associated Press) Helping the Predator survive savannahs of razor grass and all manner of tentacled things with big mouths is the chatterbox synth Thia (Elle Fanning) — or at least the upper half of her. Part of an android expedition from Earth's Weyland-Yutani Corporation (the "Alien vs. Predator" movies are canon for this one too), Thia lost her legs to the Kalisk and needs Dek to help her retrieve them. Yautja hunt alone, he sneers, but Thia convinces him that she's as useful as his glowing scimitar or ice grenades, so he calls her "Tool" and straps her on his back. The degrees of difficulty Fanning overcomes with chirpy aplomb are just boggling. Built with a sensitivity chip to better understand alien races, Thia is a deep repository of emotional intelligence that's almost irresistibly lovable while borderline annoying. Fanning radiates charisma while maintaining a hint of robotic otherness. What's more, for almost half the movie she's a backpack, an effect achieved with uncomfortable wires and harnesses while Schuster-Koloamatangi hauled her around behind him, facing different directions but interacting right on point. More Information 4 stars "Predator: Badlands": Science fiction. Starring Elle Fanning and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi. Directed by Dan Trachtenberg. (PG-13. 107 minutes.) In theaters Friday, Nov. 7. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By the way, Fanning also plays Tessa, a security bot that Thia likes to think of as a sister but is wired to protect — and protect the mission above all else. Family in all its faulty necessity is examined throughout the people-free scenario by Patrick Aison and director Dan Trachtenberg. Trachtenberg also helmed the last two "Predator" movies, " Prey " and the animated compilation " Killer of Killers ." With "Badlands" he's once again taken the franchise in imaginative new directions that earlier iterations were just too basic to conceive of, let alone attempt. Inhuman though it may be, this is far-and-away the most humane of "Predators," expanding rather than skimping on the series' blood hunt fundamentals. That kind of daring and intelligence makes "Badlands" the coolest science fiction adventure seen in eons. Bob Strauss is a freelance writer. Source: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/movies/articles/predator-badlands-redefines-sci-fi-000015486.html