Predator: Badlands Review

The Predator franchise has endured for nearly 40 years. The alien hunters finally get a chance to lead a film with Predator: Badlands.

Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) is a young Yautja runt who is dismissed by his father, Njohrr (Reuben de Jong), as being too weak to join the clan. Njohrr demands his other son, Kwei (Mike Homik), kill his younger brother, but Kwei defies those orders, leading to his death. Determined to prove himself, Dek goes to the planet Genna and plans to hunt and kill the Kalisk, a creature even the Yatutja fear.

The Predator was a low point for the Predator franchise. It was a film mired in production problems, receiving the worst reviews for a Predator outside of the Alien vs. Predator crossovers, and it had a dismal box office return. The series came back with a bang when Prey, which was a hit on streaming, and so successful that Disney had to give it a physical release. 2025 has been a big year for the series, with the Hulu anthology film Predator: Killer of Killers, which Simon Appleton gave a perfect score, and Predator: Badlands has received some of the best reviews for the series and an excellent opening weekend.

Dan Trachtenberg has revitalised the Predator series. Prey was a back-to-basics approach, and Killer of Killers gave fans a load of scenarios they wanted to see. Showing the world of Predator from a Yautja’s point of view was the most logical way to continue the series. Another historical film would have felt like a repeat of Prey or even been seen as a glorified fan film.

After the first Predator movie, the films built up the Yautja culture. Predator 2 showed Yautja had a sense of honour, Alien vs. Predator showed Yautja’s hunted Xenomorphs as a coming-of-age ritual, and Predators and The Predator showed two species of Yautja that were at war with each other. There has also been a large amount of extended media with novels and comics. Predator: Badlands gave audiences an insight into a Yajuta rite of passage, and their family and clan dynamics. The first 20 minutes of Predator: Badlands were in the Yajuta language, as it showed Dek’s screwed up family dynamic. It was a bold opening.

Predator: Badlands did share some story and character ideas with Prey. Both were films about young characters who were considered weak but wanted to prove themselves as worthy to their clan or tribe. Dek had to learn how to survive in the wilds of Genna, like Naru did in the Great Plains. However, Predator: Badlands was a different beast from Prey.

Predator: Badlands was a PG-13 buddy comedy. That description sounds awful for a Predator film, but Trachtenberg has cultivated a lot of goodwill. He made an entertaining entry. Elle Fanning’s Thia could easily have been annoying since she never shut up, but ended up being a delight because of her happy-go-lucky personality and infectious enthusiasm. She contrasted with Dek’s stoic personality. With Thia, Dek turned away from the toxic masculinity he learnt from his father to accepting teamwork, developing a friendship, and even being able to crack a joke.

Predator: Badlands played like a pulp sci-fi adventure due to the hunting, unique environments, and survival aspects. When Dek was exploring the planet and avoiding being killed by the animals and flora, it felt similar to the first Avatar movie.

Predator: Badlands felt like the film The Predator was trying to be: a film that had a broader approach. Like The Predator, Predator: Badlands, there was a lot more banter and comedy. Predator: Badlands made this work because the comedy was actually funny. The comedy mostly came from Thia and her rabbit mouth. Dek was treated seriously as a character, as well as the situation and the world they inhabit. The film earned its softer rating because Dek was fighting alien creatures and androids, but it was still gory, like a Michael Bay Transformers movie and Pacific Rim, where robots and monsters were ripped apart. Predator: Badlands followed the letter of the law, not necessarily the spirit. There was some excellent action throughout the film, especially during the third act. Predator: Badlands can act as a way to introduce teenage audiences to the Predator series.

There was a familial theme running throughout the film. Dek obviously had family issues and was seeking his father’s approval, whilst Thia saw a fellow android as a sister. They were both driven by the proposal of reuniting with their families. However, this unusual duo, along with an alien Thia called Bud, ended up becoming a make-up family unit and showed that a family doesn’t have to be built on DNA or schematics.

On a final note, the score for the film was awesome. It used a lot of digitally altered male chanting, which sounded like the sci-fi version of the music used in Apocalypto and Vikings. I listened to the soundtrack during my first gym trip after watching the film.

Predator: Badlands was an incredibly entertaining film that could win over even the most cynical audiences.