PREDATOR: BADLANDS. Different Kind of Predator

When Dan Trachtenberg directed Prey in 2022, many viewers doubted whether the film even needed to exist. It seemed we were about to get the same story once again—only told worse than in the previous installments of the Predator saga. Yet the clash between Native Americans and a murderous visitor from space turned out to be a well-made, entertaining piece of popcorn cinema. Positive reactions from both audiences and critics showed that the public accepted Trachtenberg’s take on the series. It was only a matter of time before another installment appeared.

The ending of Prey suggested that the sequel would be cooked up according to the old Hollywood recipe of “more of the same.” For a while, the director did consider making a direct continuation featuring the same characters. He also toyed with the idea of setting the story during World War II. Ultimately, however, he decided to take a completely different approach and try something innovative—flipping the series’ formula on its head.

All previous entries in the franchise have been built around the same concept: the Predator hunts, and humans struggle to survive. Sometimes it worked better, sometimes worse, but the 1987 original remained unsurpassed. In this respect, Predator: Badlands offers something genuinely fresh—because this time, not only is the Predator the main character, but he’s also portrayed as a positive figure. Not exactly brilliant, perhaps, but resourceful and with his “heart in the right place.”

The story revolves around a familiar motif seen in countless other tales: that of an outcast who, rejected by his own kind, must prove his courage and worth in battle. Here, a Predator named Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi), cast out from his clan, vows to hunt the most dangerous creature living on the planet Genna—a world where most flora and fauna are lethal to anything that moves. Unfortunately, his ship crashes while entering the atmosphere, and that’s only the beginning of his troubles.

Predator: Badlands brings in plenty of ideas we’ve never seen in this series before (at least not in the films). There’s a touch of humor, and the relationship between Dek and the initially annoying synthetic Thia (Elle Fanning) feels straight out of a buddy movie. Their initial mutual dislike slowly evolves into a rough-edged friendship. The Predator learns “humanity” from the humanoid android, while she becomes a bit more ruthless “thanks” to Dek. They develop mutual respect, though their relationship has its ups and downs. At times, the film even flirts with tropes typical of family movies! And while many of these ideas seem out of place in the Predator universe, the whole thing works surprisingly well and provides solid entertainment. That said, don’t expect a blood-soaked, testosterone-fueled spectacle on par with the original.

This is a completely different kind of Predator, and purists hoping for a brutal jungle shootout with miniguns and macho one-liners might turn up their noses. Here, the adventure aspect is much more prominent than in previous films. Still, Trachtenberg deserves credit for having the courage to steer the somewhat stagnant franchise onto new tracks. It’s always a risky move, but without such risks, we’d just keep getting remixes of the same tune—whereas this time, we’ve got a fresh and engaging new single.

The creators packed Badlands with plenty of nods to classics—not only cinematic ones. The world where most of the story unfolds reminded me of Harry Harrison’s Deathworld trilogy (mercifully ignoring the later novels). It’s easy to spot where the filmmakers took inspiration from James Cameron’s Aliens or Avatar. There are even winks to The Terminator, and the lightly touched theme of synthetic humanity faintly evokes Blade Runner.

In its first act, Trachtenberg’s film doesn’t stand out much. Watching Dek’s (admittedly creative) battles with the deadly flora and fauna of the planet feels a bit like playing a video game, and it can even get slightly dull. But when the Weyland-Yutani Corporation operatives show up, the movie shifts gears completely. The writers prove again and again that they have no shortage of ideas for spectacular and energetic action scenes; Thia becomes less irritating, and every Chekhov’s gun loaded in the first half goes off, resulting in a satisfying, high-octane thrill ride. At first, I followed the story without much engagement and doubted I’d ever revisit Badlands, but once it kicked into gear, I found myself genuinely drawn into this simple yet immensely fun adventure.

Predator: Badlands is, in the end, a well-made sci-fi adventure popcorn flick—flawed, yes, but ultimately a lot of fun. Dan Trachtenberg clearly has a knack for the intergalactic hunter, and I hope he hasn’t said his last word on the subject yet.