Predator is a 1987 movie that shot Arnold Schwarzenegger to stardom with its intense chase and hunt sequence between his character, Dutch, and the titular antagonist, Predator. The movie’s success led to a sequel, Predator 2, in 1990, and cemented its franchise status with Alien vs Predator, a crossover with the Alien franchise.
Though none of the sequels could live up to the suspense and thrill of the first film, the franchise was reinvigorated with the 2022 film Prey, which re-imagines the series by setting it in Native American history. Written by Patrick Aison and directed by Dan Trachtenberg, the duo managed to recapture the excitement of the first film, and continue to do so with their next instalment, Predator Badlands.
Unlike the previous film, where the antagonist is the Predator and the humans are fighting for survival, we instead have a Predator as the protagonist, fighting for his life. The film starts with introducing us to the main character, Dek, who is a Yautja (the species of the Predator) who has to go through the trials of hunting and bringing back the head of the hunted as a trophy.
This hunting ritual will reward him with the Cloak, an invisibility technology that is held by every Yautja, to signify that he is a Predator and is ready to be part of the clan. Again, this movie is the first time where we take on the perspective of the Yautja, and by doing so we explore more the lore behind the Predator. Dek’s hunt takes him to the planet Genna to hunt for the ultimate prey, the Kalisk, which is feared even by his father.
On his search for his prey, he meets our first supporting character, Thia, played by the beautiful Elle Fanning, a synthetic being who has lost her other half – literally. Thia, who has lost the bottom half of her body, makes a deal with Dek, where she will tell him more about the planet and lead Dek to the Kalisk, as long as Dek brings her to her legs. Thus begins the adventure of Dek and Thia across Genna.
Like the first Predator movie, this movie focuses on survival and the hunt, while still keeping it light with the occasional comedic whips between characters. This is also the first time that a Predator movie is absent of humans from start to the end, as the synthetics are more akin to robots than humans. Thia, unlike other synthetics, shows empathy, and leads Dek to appeal to his softer side, though he is still a hunter at his core. It was a treat to follow their journey together from the start to the final roll of the credits, as not only you learn more about the lore of the Yautja but the characters themselves.
Visually, Dek the Yautja is a blend of CGI and practical effects, which sells the believability of the Predator. Thia, with half of her synthetic body blown off almost half of the film, is so animated and charming that you would not notice that she has no legs. On the other hand, the planet Genna looks more akin to a typical tropical forest, just with a few alien features added. I wish that they had gone more towards the Avatar route, where the planet itself looked otherworldly. The other alien creatures also do not look original or inspire imagination, which I think is the most lacking aspect of the movie.
Nevertheless, the plot of the movie is what truly matters, and the pacing tells a coherent, fun adventure story between Dek and Thia. Nowhere in the movie did I feel bored or wanted to “skip” ahead; on the contrary, I wanted to watch a few scenes again because of the action. Predator Badlands balances a lot of the series’ themes perfectly, resulting in a good watch throughout the movie. It left me wanting more of the Yautja universe, or better known as the Weyland-Yutani universe, which consists of the Predator, Alien and Blade Runner franchises.
All and all, I rate the movie a high 9 out of 10 pies, which is almost a whole pie, falling short due to the unimaginative and unoriginal aliens and setting. If you love the Weyland-Yutani universe, or enjoyed the recently released Prey or Alien Earth, this is a must-watch movie for you.
