Predator: Badlands - Review 

Rating: 3 out of 5

DAN Trachtenberg’s third Predator movie is an ambitious but ultimately flawed offering that boasts as much to delight franchise devotees as it does to frustrate.

Notable for being the first film in the series to feature a predator as its main character (and hero), Badlands initially makes good use of the concept by unleashing its protagonist on an all-new alien planet that’s rife with deadly adversaries (from spike tossing poisonous plants to hungry trees and huge beasts).

But it also threatens to derail itself by leaning into wider franchise elements, opting to bring in the Alien series with a direct link via the Weyland-Yutani corporation and a second act that positions them as the main villain.

It’s perhaps little surprise to hear that Trachtenberg has now teamed up with Alien: Romulus’s Fede Alvarez to work on a new Alien vs Predator movie - but nothing here suggests that would be a worthwhile endeavour and the feeling is that the mistakes of both franchises’ past are not being learned.

But first, the positives. Trachtenberg - as he did with Prey and Killer of Killers - has a lot of fun playing around with Predator iconography, dreaming up cool fight scenes and deaths, as well as ultra-cool weapons action. His enthusiasm is infectious.

Here, he follows a young predator named Dek (played in heavy prosthetics by New Zealand actor Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi), as he is outcast from his clan by his father (who also kills his brother), and forced to prove that he isn’t a weak link by killing a far-off fearsome monster called the Kalisk, on a particularly inhospitable planet.

Once there, he finds a legless synth named Thia (Elle Fanning) and reluctantly teams up with her (viewing her as a tool), slowly learning the value of working as a team, and further enlisting the support of a blue, monkey-like alien sidekick.

Hunting them, meanwhile, is Thia’s ‘sister’, another Weyland-Yutani synth, more ruthlessly efficient in following the corporate agenda of collecting dangerous species (a la Alien: Earth) and with an army of ruthless synth grunts behind her.

The first half of the movie is where the best stuff lies, as Dek and Thia build their unlikely relationship and tackle everything that the planet has to throw at them. Trachtenberg offers up a satisfying mix of character build and action, allowing his imagination to run wild while simultaneously tipping his hat to genre entries such as The Mandalorian, King Kong and Jurassic Park.

And while the film carries a 12A certificate perhaps not in keeping with this franchise as a whole, the blood-letting remains surprisingly muscular as heads are cut off, limbs severed and faces melt in acid - all gotten away with because of the non-human element to the carnage (whether that’s right or wrong is debatable).

Where the film starts to stray is in its decision to try and bring together two franchises - here very much leaning into Alien mythology in a way that suggests another stab at bringing the Predators and the xenomorphs together once again.

If anyone could do it, then Trachtenberg is probably the guy for the job. But that doesn’t get away from the suspicion that this feels more is a cash grab than anything creatively necessary or inspired.

The Weyland-Yutani permutations are fairly dull at this point (we know they’re morally reprehensible and out for themselves), and Trachtenberg offers nothing new. And the emphasis on action doesn’t really offer enough space for the two Fannings to really get into notable debating.

Instead, the story exists more to behind Dek his own rogues gallery of a clan, to gain revenge on his father for slaying his brother and to get surprisingly touchy-feely for a Predator movie.

It’s this watering down of the classic Predator elements that frustrates the most and which puts Badlands more on a par with the Avatar franchise than its own past catalogue. There is something to be argued about the desensitised nature of movie creatures, especially with younger audiences in mind.

Sure, Badlands is fun and embraces a new generation of audiences. It’s got crowd-pleasing weapons nods and Easter eggs, as well as kick-ass action and some really striking cinematography that makes superb use of the alien landscapes.

Hence, it’s never dull and quite often thrilling.

But it is also starting to chart a course into unwise territory and the second half feels disappointing given the chutzpah on display in the first. 

Certificate: 12A

Running time: 1hr 47mins