PREDATOR: BADLANDS Is the Best Alien/Robot Team-Up Ever (Review)

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Director Dan Trachtenberg has now successfully revitalized the Predator franchise three times. Following his 2022 film Prey, which offered a creative new spin on the classic Predator formula with a different setting and lead character, and the animated anthology Killer of Killers, he’s proven himself uniquely suited to handle this series. With Predator: Badlands, he doesn’t just add to the franchise—he fundamentally reinvents it, delivering another strong installment in a series many thought had run its course.

The latest film offers a fresh take by making the Predator the main character – something never done before in the series. It sounds risky; why turn a terrifying monster into a hero? While it can work in some cases, like with Godzilla, we generally prefer our monsters to remain villains. However, after five films where the Predator was the enemy – and only a few were truly successful – switching to the Predator’s perspective felt like the right move. Surprisingly, it pays off brilliantly.

The movie centers around a simple idea: the Yautja, the alien hunters we first met in 1987, have a surprisingly rich culture. We follow Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi), a young Yautja considered weak by his tribe and facing being cast out. He has a harsh father and a tough, but somewhat sympathetic, brother. Desperate to earn his family’s respect, Dek sets out on a dangerous mission: to hunt and kill the Kalisk, the most fearsome creature in the galaxy. No hunter has ever succeeded in taking down a Kalisk, but Dek is determined to be the first.

On the dangerous planet Genna, Dek is constantly fighting for his life against deadly creatures. He unexpectedly finds an ally in Thia (Elle Fanning), a damaged android built by the powerful Weyland-Yutani corporation – the same company known from the Alien films. Weyland-Yutani sent several androids to Genna, a world too hostile for humans, with a mission similar to Dek’s: capture the planet’s most dangerous creature, the Kalisk. However, Dek wants to kill the Kalisk to prove himself as a warrior, while the company intends to weaponize it. This setup echoes the plot of many Alien movies, but with a new angle.

Let’s address this upfront: the Xenomorph doesn’t appear in this movie. However, with the significant role of Weyland synthetic beings, this film feels just as connected to the Alien franchise as it does to Predator – arguably even more so than the AvP movies. The true antagonist here isn’t a creature, but the shadowy corporation, making this essentially a story of Alien’s Real Villains vs. Predator. While we’re not sure exactly where it fits in the Alien timeline, it’s clearly set far in the future and meaningfully expands that universe.

I was really drawn into Dek’s story – he needs Thia to survive, so he sets out on this dangerous mission to find and kill the Kalisk, hoping to finally earn his father’s respect. But the best part is watching Dek and Thia’s relationship develop. Elle Fanning is incredible as Thia – she’s this unbelievably optimistic android, and honestly, she’s both frustrating and lovable all at once! At first, Dek just sees her as a means to an end, a tool to help him with his hunt, but he quickly learns to trust her, and they become a fantastic pair on screen. They even have this adorable dynamic where she’s often riding on his back, reminding me of C-3PO and Chewbacca! There’s a big twist involving Thia that I won’t reveal, but it gives Elle Fanning the chance to really shine and deliver some amazing performances throughout the movie.

Thia and Dek unexpectedly team up with a small, endearing local creature they call Bud. It’s a strange group – a hunter, an android, and a cute alien – but director Trachtenberg manages to make their dynamic surprisingly heartwarming. It easily could have felt overly sweet or irritating, but thanks to strong performances and witty banter, we genuinely find ourselves cheering for them. They almost feel like the stars of a classic 90s cartoon inspired by The Predator.

“Predator: Badlands” feels very similar to “Alien: Romulus” – it doesn’t really break new ground. It relies on familiar tropes, and you’ll notice influences from other sci-fi properties. There are echoes of Klingon culture from “Star Trek,” to the point where it feels like the “Predator” movie Paramount has always wanted to make. It also borrows the “trapped aliens working together to survive” premise from “Enemy Mine,” and even has a touch of “The Mandalorian.” Despite all these influences, director Dan Trachtenberg manages to pull it all off. The action is exciting, creative, and surprisingly violent for a PG-13 film. Plus, the movie is a lean, under-two-hour experience. Trachtenberg has plans for two more “Predator” films, and after seeing “Badlands,” we’re definitely eager to see what he does next.

Predator: Badlands hits theaters everywhere on November 7.

⭐ (3.5 of 5)

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2025-11-05 01:03