Predator: Badlands - Film Review
While the Predator franchise has been around for almost forty years, director Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane) has only been a part of the universe for less than five. In 2022, he directed the critically acclaimed, straight-to-streaming (Hulu) film, Prey, and this year, he is attached to the animated feature Predator: Killer of Killers and the live-action movie Predator: Badlands. The former movie debuted on Hulu in June, and the latter is set to be released in theaters this month. Trachtenberg's entries may not feel like the rest of the franchise, but so far, they have been praised by critics and audiences alike. Why does this latest entry continue the streak, or is Trachtenberg's reign in the Predator World over?
Dek (Dimitrius Shuster-Koloamatangi; The Panthers) is the runt of the litter of the Yautja clan and is shunned by his father. Living as an outcast, he looks to earn his place in the clan through the time-honored tradition of the Hunt. Dek chooses the deadly planet Genna and the unkillable creature that lives there, the Kalisk, as his prey. However, his father feels Dek is unworthy of the challenge and orders Dek's brother Kwei (Stunt actor Michael Homick) to kill Dek. Instead, Kwei sends Dek to Genna just as their father kills Kwei for disobeying him.
Once on Genna, Dek encounters all manner of deadly things, including creatures, flora, and fauna. There, he also finds a Weyland-Yutani Corporation synthetic, Thia (Elle Fanning; Maleficent), whose body was torn in half by the Kalisk. She strikes a deal with Dek to lead him to the Kalisk (and help him navigate the dangerous planet) to retrieve the lower half of her body and repair herself. Along the way, they reluctantly make friends with a creature they name Bud (newcomer Rohinal Nayaran), who is incredibly fast and strong. Of course, like everything else on Genna, the Kalisk and Bud are not what they seem to be.
Unlike Trachtenberg's two prior forays into the Predator world, Predator: Badlands starts slowly...correction, VERY slowly. Act I introduces the characters and sets up the storyline, but then the audience gets to watch as one ugly, disgusting creature fights another ugly, disgusting creature, who fights another ugly, disgusting creature, etc., until it seems as though there is a competition to see who is the ugliest of them all.
The cast, while minute, does a very good job as a creature or a synthetic. Fanning is excellent as the robot with a soul, as well as her "sister", Tessa, who is nothing more than a corporate stooge who will stop at nothing to complete the mission. The opposing roles she plays showcase her versatility as an actor, and the "punchy" script gives her an opportunity to throw out some very funny one-liners.
The graphics, unfortunately, are not as strong as the cast. There are times when the background looks fake, and often the graphics seem as if the audience is watching a video game. Sometimes they are so bad they are even laughable.
Speaking the script, if you are expecting the movie to be like all the others, or even close to Prey, you will be disappointed. The third act picks up and explains everything, so the movie is salvageable, but it takes a while to get into the plot, which seriously had me questioning if I wanted to sit through the whole movie.
For Predator fans, especially those who enjoyed Prey and Predator: Killer of Killers, Predator: Badlands is a decent film that ends in such a way as to possibly continue the franchise.
Grade: C
