As with most ordinary movie reviewers, my immediate reaction to being tasked with covering Predator: Badlands was to watch all 6 out of the 8 movies in the franchise I hadn’t seen (if you count the Alien vs Predator films). And one thing I quickly noticed was that not all of the movies are very good. But by the third film, you’ll pretty much know what to expect: A group of people (or xenomorphs) are pursued and eliminated by an alien trophy hunter. In other words, each entry feels like a Predator movie. Badlands, however, conspicuously breaks away from this mould.
If you’ve seen the trailers, you’ll know that the Predator is the good guy this time, and that you’re in for something very different. But what the trailer doesn’t show is the protagonist Dek speaking an actual fictional language, instead of just making those guttural Perry the Platypus-esque clicking sounds they’re known for. In essence, this film marks a paradigm shift away from these aliens being mere 2-dimensional villains whose primary purpose is to terrorise the protagonists. Badlands instead gives you an alien race with fleshed out cultures, motivations, and, noticeably, empathy and emotion. And I can’t lie, it’s a jarring change after 8 movies of seeing them mercilessly slaughter people by ripping out their spines and skulls for sport. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it does mean that moving forward, when a Predator gets killed on-screen we won’t be able to see them as just another mindless savage.
It took me a hot minute to try to empathise with Dek’s mission, but once you get used to the cognitive dissonance of a humanised Yautja, you get a pretty cool action-adventure movie. At least purely in terms of fighting scenes, it may well be the best entry in the series, featuring lots of close combat and beast-slaying sequences reminiscent of the Monster Hunter games. The opening sequence looks like something straight of The Mandalorian, complete with helmets and lightsabers. It was admittedly weird, yet refreshing, to see Dek with cutting edge weapons fighting new adversaries rather than mostly just humans with guns (plus that one guy with a katana from 2010’s Predators).
What was hardest, though, for me to acclimate to was the tone of the film. It’s an action-adventure movie, but it’s also packed with humour. And not just from Elle Fanning’s character, Thia, but even Dek himself, make the occasional joke. That being said, I’d still prefer to watch Dek make jokes by himself so I can watch less of Thia. Don’t get me wrong, Fanning plays the character well and, I would argue, makes her even somewhat likable. But she mainly serves as a walking (and talking) Wikipedia, whose role is to guide Dek along his journey. Despite her thematic relevance and the critical role she plays in Dek’s character arc, it was personally hard not to see her as mainly a plot device with a lot of personality and another tired product of Hollywood’s current obsession with featuring something AI.
Despite its flaws, the third act of the film is when Badlands sort of returns to its roots, except that the Predator is the one evolving to overcome his obstacles this time. Though it was conspicuously similar to its immediate predecessor Prey (which retains its status as the best one in the series), it was still cool to see the Predator formula working with a Yautja at its centre instead. However, I would’ve preferred if the movie didn’t save all of its best cards for the last bit, as it would’ve made Dek a lot cooler if he’d been just a little more badass.
All in all, Predator: Badlands is right up your alley if you’re craving some aliens in action while waiting for the next Avatar movie. But if you’re a long-time fan of the series, just be prepared for something very different. And for newcomers, you really don’t have to watch any of the previous films to enjoy this one.
Review up by Muhd Muhaimin