‘PREDATOR: BADLANDS’ Review: A Rip-Roaring (R)Evolution for a Fun Franchise

Courtney Howard // Film Critic

PREDATOR: BADLANDS

Rated PG-13, 1 hour and 46 minutes

Directed by: Dan Trachtenberg

Starring: Elle Fanning, Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, Reuben de Jong, Michael Homick, Stefan Grube, Rohinal Nayaran

Once again, director Dan Trachtenberg has re-envisioned how to tell an exceptional PREDATOR film – and we are completely locked in for the thrilling ride. Like the phenomenal PREY and kick-ass PREDATOR: KILLER OF KILLERS, PREDATOR: BADLANDS takes everything audiences love about the franchise and fuses it to a story with proper pathos. Irreverent in its aims, epic in scale and scope and all-around awesome, the film takes us on a coming-of-age journey from an unexpected, previously unexplored perspective, brilliantly expanding the mythos whilst delivering high-caliber goods in the process. Housing gorgeous cinematography, a stunning showcase for make-up and immersive visual effects, as well as a perfect screwball comedy-esque leading lady performance, it’s a radical film that demands to be seen on the biggest screen possible.

Though his pride would never let him admit it, Yautja warrior-to-be Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) is having a hard time. He’s seen as a runt compared to his beefy older brother Kwei (Michael Homick in suit, Stefan Grube in voice) and high-ranking clansman Father (Reuben de Jong in suit, Schuster-Koloamatangi in voice). They doubt he’ll ever be able to complete his rite of passage to make it into their clan. But as Kwei attempts to ready his younger brother for the hunt ahead, taking him to their planet’s craggy caves for practice sessions, their ruthless Father demands Kwei kill his weaker sibling, culling him from their family. When Kwei refuses, Father cuts down Kwei instead, to Dek’s horror. With his dying breath, Kwei launches a ship that sends Dek to Genna, a far-off planet that houses every threat imaginable.

Dek is determined to prove himself and avenge his brother. His plan is to kill the Kalisk, the most dangerous beast ever to roam Genna. Yet, once he crash lands on the planet, he quickly realizes this mission will likely lead to his death. Enter Thia (Elle Fanning). She’s a sassy, quick-witted synthetic from Weyland-Yutani who’s in desperate need of Dek’s help. She’s lost her legs and is stranded. She hopes to reunite with her twin sister clone, Tessa (also Fanning). With her knowledge of Genna’s deadly flora and fauna and Dek’s brawn, the pair set out on an excursion that leads them down roads marked by a cutesy creature companion they name Bud (Rohinal Nayaran) and corporate automatons, learning lessons about themselves and others along the way.

Trachtenberg and writer Patrick Aison gift us with a smart story that feels revelatory. We’d never expect a sci-fi/ horror film to contain elements from classic Hollywood road pictures or Golden era screwball romcoms, but here we are. Characters have fully fleshed out arcs with internal conflicts informing their external circumstances. Resonant themes dealing with unconventional families and empathy as a superpower hit the sweet spot that films of this ilk rarely delve into with great craft and care. Easter eggs aren’t used as fan service, but rather utilized as complementary tools, primarily tucked away for eagle-eyed fans to spot and squee over. The filmmakers layer in a complex interconnectedness between this iteration, PREY and PREDATOR: KILLER OF KILLERS with their similar thematic ties and narratives featuring underdogs readying for a fight, discovering their power and using their wit and weaponry to defeat their adversaries.

Action sequences are exciting, appearing at a quick clip. Fight choreography and stunt work are capably constructed and executed. Each new environmental encounter feels like a level in a video game to surpass to reach the Final Boss – and who that is might surprise you. From the first moments on the ground in Dek’s unfamiliar terrain, the pacing is unrelenting, taking us from one survivalist escape (like the snake-like tree vines in the forest) to another (like the Terrence Malick-y fields filled with poisonous paralytic plants). Even the struggle for food leads to inspired scenes, showing the Predators’ skill for swinging through trees to avoid wicked sharp glass-shard grasses below as Dek hunts down a massive alien bison.

The Yautja Prime and Genna landscapes are gorgeous in their aesthetic designs. The desolation of the Predators’ home planet feels akin to MAD MAX: FURY ROAD’s harsh, dry desert and Genna’s vast, lush beauty is accompanied by an atmosphere of danger. Establishing shots of the settings evoke a beguiling emotional pull all their own. Cinematographer Jeff Cutter and the VFX teams captures them with a painterly eye.

Fanning is perfection incarnate. She’s perhaps the most authentic-reading android in the series – all at once effervescent, vibrant and radiant. Because the material is there to support her, her dual role is thoroughly dynamic in its construct with one personality seemingly modeled after Carole Lombard and the other modeled true-to-form after the sinister synths glimpsed in past ALIEN films. Schuster-Koloamatangi gives a terrific, expressive performance that’s never masked by the motion capture or practical effects. Whether playing the straight man in his two-person act with Thia or flexing his commanding physicality during the fight sequences, acting opposite a litany of green screen creatures, his reactions walk a delicate balancing act, never straying into hammy nor cartoonish territory.

Adaptation and evolution are stirring sentiments instilled not only in PREDATOR: BADLANDS’ narrative, but also within Trachtenberg’s stellar track record with the IP overall, serving the franchise well as he continues to breathe renewed life into its lungs. This is an incredibly rousing crowd-pleaser and a rollicking good time in the theater.

Grade: A

PREDATOR: BADLANDS opens in theaters on November 7.