Predator: Badlands (United States, 2025) November 05, 2025 A movie review by James Berardinelli Finally – for the first time since the original 38 years ago
– a Predator movie I can enjoy. The reason is simple: it finally breaks
the formula. The previous Predator films have largely lived in the
shadow of the 1987 John McTiernan/Arnold Schwarzenegger installment, endlessly
trying to replicate its success without understanding that the first movie’s
appeal came as much from its human star as its alien adversary. Once
Schwarzenegger exited the equation, the entire weight fell on the Predators
themselves, and with thin, uninspired screenplays relying on repetitive action
sequences, they just weren’t up to it. The franchise now rests in the hands of Dan Trachtenberg,
who has helmed the last three entries (Prey, the animated Predator:
Killer of Killers, and this one). His hallmark has been finding new niches
for the series, and for the most part, he’s succeeded. In Badlands, he
flips the script by turning the Predator, Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Kolomatangi),
from antagonist to protagonist and layering in overt elements of comedy.
Although undeniably a sci-fi/action film with plenty of violence (though not
excessive gore), it carries a strong mismatched-buddy vibe, full of banter
between Dek and his legless synthetic sidekick, Thia (Elle Fanning). The
dynamic, initially forced, evolves into something surprisingly natural as the
film progresses. Predator: Badlands exists in the same universe as the Alien movies, though it avoids the mistakes of the lackluster Alien vs. Predator films by not shoehorning a crossover. The link comes via the
Weyland-Yutani Corporation, once again on a mission to weaponize
extraterrestrial life. Here, they’ve dispatched a troop of synthetics to the
planet Genna to capture the feared creature Kalisk for their collection. Dek’s
mission, in contrast, is to kill the Kalisk and prove his worth to his people. The film opens on the Predator homeworld, Yautja Prime,
introducing Dek, his brother, and father, while expanding on their harsh
culture. When Dek’s father decrees his death—branding him a weak runt—Dek
escapes, vowing to prove himself through the hunt. He crash-lands on Genna and
encounters Thia, who has lost everything below the waist in a clash with the
Kalisk. She offers to help him navigate the planet’s dangers in exchange for
reuniting her with her twin “sister,” Tessa—and maybe getting her legs back.
Dek reluctantly agrees but, true to Predator tradition, refuses to acknowledge
her as a companion, referring to her instead as a “tool.” Badlands excels more at world-building than character
development. The arcs for Dek, Thia, and Tessa are straightforward and
predictable, but Genna itself is a strikingly realized world teeming with
imaginative, deadly flora and fauna. The mix of CGI and the natural wilds of
New Zealand make it a ferocious, fascinating setting. The action sequences are
solidly staged, if not remarkable—but fortunately, there’s more going on here
than just fighting. Surprisingly, it doesn’t take long for the audience to start
rooting for a Predator after decades of doing the opposite. That’s due in part
to Dek’s underdog status, but also to his evolving bond with Thia, which
humanizes him (so to speak). Dimitrius Schuster-Kolomatangi gives the character
personality, and using motion-capture with a CGI mask lets him actually act with his face rather than hide behind animatronics. Like Star Trek’s
Klingons and Vulcans, the Yautja have their own language (developed by linguist
Paul R. Frommer, who created the Na’vi tongue for Avatar ). Thia and
Tessa speak English—explained in a throwaway line—while Dek does not, so expect
plenty of subtitle reading. Some fans have griped about the PG-13 rating, but the film
doesn’t feel neutered. Most of the victims are non-humanoid monsters or
synthetics, and since the blood isn’t red, Trachtenberg gets away with a lot
under the PG-13 umbrella. Realistically, it’s an R-rated experience in
disguise, with the MPA’s decades-old pro-violence/anti-sex bias still firmly
intact. The decision to partially reinvent what a Predator movie can be is what makes Badlands work. While it leans on familiar
sci-fi tropes and doesn’t exactly revolutionize the genre, it feels fresher
than the other sequels and far less beholden to the original. The ending teases
another installment, though Trachtenberg admits that depends on box-office
results. This one deserves to do well—but one can’t help wondering how
much life is left in a franchise that hasn’t really connected with mainstream
audiences since Schwarzenegger’s heyday. Predator: Badlands (United States, 2025) Source: https://www.reelviews.net/reelviews/predator-badlands