Predator: Badlands
Predator: Badlands
Starring Elle Fanning, Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, Mike Homik, Rohinal Nayaran
Directed by Dan Trachetenberg
On the Predator homeworld of Yautja Prime, Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) is the runt of his tribe, a Predator that isn't given a fair chance to prove himself and is sought to be killed by his father, Njohrr, who leads the clan. After his older brother Kwei (Mike Homik) defends him, Dek flies to the Death World to take down the fabled Kalisk, a creature that no other Predator could kill. When he arrives on the island, he finds himself under attack by all the different creatures, and comes across Thia (Elle Fanning), a half-destroyed synthetic brought to the planet by Weyland-Yutani to find the Kalisk. She knows where it's at and how to get there, and despite Dek's desire to hunt on his own, brings her along as his "tool" so she can get her legs back and find what happened to her synthetic sister Tessa (Fanning) who was also attacked by the Kalisk. As they traverse the unforgiving land, the mismatched pair learn more about their cultures and themselves and realize that while they can both survive on their own, it's better to have others to help.
There will be some "Predator" fans who will be turned off by "Badlands" for two reasons: one being the fact that the Predator is the protagonist of the film - the first for the series - and not be as efficient in hunting and killing as the others. The second is due to the PG-13 rating that both "Alien vs Predator" films also received, since the "Predator" franchise bread and butter lies with how viscerally the tear apart their opponents. The trailer itself received criticism for the appearance of the Predator, so there was a lot of negativity going into the film's release, but not only did it garner praise by critics, but audiences are also embracing the changes Trachtenberg made to the franchise while also paying homage to what made it such a lasting legacy.
"Badlands" makes the Predator named Dek the hero of the story, a runt of his clan who is only seen as a liability and having no chance to become a full fledged Predator - so much so he's almost killed by his own father. He vows to capture the most dangerous prey of all, to prove to his clan and himself that he's able to do the impossible. We see movies like this all the time - the underdog, seen as weak by the masses, rises up to the challenge and makes a name for himself - and while that's Dek's main purpose, it's not treated as an after-school special. Instead, he uses his desire to hone in on his skills and adapts to his situation to survive. While he's singularly focused, he allows himself to open up to different ideas, including using Thia to aid in his hunt, even though Predators hunt alone. Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi is hidden under prosthetics and CGI, but he manages to make Dek a fully compelling character with his mannerisms and speech that makes him a fascinating character.
Elle Fanning does double duty as twin synthetics Thia and Tessa, and like most roles where an actor plays different characters (like Michael B. Jordan in "Sinners" and Theo James in "The Monkey," both released this year, making it a year for actors playing twin roles) she gets to play two drastically different roles. Thia is inquisitive, sweet, kind, and smart, and wants to aid Dek in his journey as well as get her legs back and find what happened to Tessa. Tessa, on the other hand, is a ruthless synthetic who is fully committed to the evil Weyland-Yutani corporation who wants to bring back the Kalisk for their own nefarious purposes (this is also the first time outside the "AvP" franchise where "Alien" is directly linked to the "Predator" universe). Fanning is charming and ruthless in equal measure, and serves as the perfect fodder for Dek, providing a very unique buddy road trip comedy.
That's another aspect people probably won't like about the movie - it has a lot of comedy thrown in, which will remind people of how the MCU has relied more on their comedy than storytelling. While it's the funniest "Predator" movie so far, it doesn't fully choke the life out of it but adds to the connection that Thia and Dek eventually share, going from annoyances to allies on their journey.
The film is rated PG-13, but that doesn't diminish the violence in it - there's just no human violence whatsoever. Dek takes on CGI creatures on the planet and synthetic humanoids from Weyland-Yutani, but there's not an actual human in the movie, so seeing limbs get torn and decapitations and head-crushings are acceptable, and this serves as a great launching pad for any youngins interested in the franchise.
The CGI is surprisingly decent throughout, although I guess not considering the film's 120 million dollar price tag, but again comparing it to recent MCU films it's head and shoulders above it. The story is both simple in its premise yet powerful in its execution, and placing the Predator as the protagonist was a risky move but it paid off in dividends, and hopefully Tachtenberg will continue producing these films and bring life back to the dead franchise.
The Score: A
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