Predator: Badlands Review: Dan Trachtenberg Delivers The Most Radical Predator Film Since The Original

I've seen enough: Dan Trachtenberg is three for three and the "Predator" universe remains in tremendously capable hands. Revitalizing a beloved property that had fallen on hard times shouldn't have ever worked this well or looked this easy, but the results are officially in and they simply cannot be denied. One great film may be an exception. Two could be chalked up as an unlikely coincidence. But three? Three's a trend, baby, and Trachtenberg's latest proves that both 2022's "Prey" and this year's animated surprise "Killer of Killers" were no flukes at all. With "Predator: Badlands," this unofficial trilogy declares itself as less a proof of concept and more a statement of intent. This is what modern "Predator" can be and these are the heights this franchise is truly capable of, the movie might as well be announcing to the world. Within its first 30 minutes — roughly the amount of time it takes for the gorgeously stylized title card to finally pop up with a flourish — audiences will consider this message received, loud and clear.

As soon as this newest installment was announced and its premise laid bare, fans immediately made their opinions known. A "Predator" narrative with a Yautja as the protagonist couldn't possibly be more antithetical to the established tropes and traditions of this sci-fi/action series. Whether it be the jungles of Central America, the bustling Los Angeles cityscape, the wilderness of colonial America, or even the unforgiving confines of an alien game preserve, the concept has stayed largely the same from one sequel to the next. Hapless humans find themselves at the mercy of relentless Yautja and are forced to defend their (supposed) place at the top of the food chain ... or, more likely, die trying in the most gruesome of ways.

But by turning this on its head and daring us to align our sympathies with the hunting-happy devil, "Badlands" pulls off what any good studio movie should strive to do. Where so many blockbusters nowadays seem content to play things painfully safe (looking at you, "The Mandalorian and Grogu") or aspire to little more than a Greatest Hits collection (hello, "Alien: Romulus"), this one all but revels in pushing boundaries and challenging our own preconceived notions. Such an abrupt change of pace may give some pause to the diehards but, well, is there a Yautja equivalent to that saying about making an omelet and breaking a few eggs? For everyone else, several big swings and no shortage of ambition will leave viewers buzzing. Ultimately, time will almost certainly be kind to the most radical "Predator" since the 1987 original.

If it seems like "Predator: Badlands" takes its cues from its main character and comes in with a bit of a chip on its shoulder, who could blame it? Not too dissimilar from Dek, the runt of a Yautja we end up following for the entirety of the film, director Dan Trachtenberg and screenwriter Patrick Aison may well have felt the pressure to prove themselves this time around. "Badlands" wastes no time plunging us into wholly unfamiliar territory on the alien home world of Yautja Prime, giving us our first real look at the extraterrestrial warriors and what passes for a culture among this Spartan-like society. Fortunately, Aison and Trachtenberg narrow the focus considerably — rather than defining world-building details for the entire species, we're provided a window into just one family unit. Dek, portrayed with both hard-fought tenacity and subtle poignancy by Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, is desperate to prove himself as a full-fledged member of the clan and win his place among them. The complex, jaw-dropping fight with older brother Kwei (Mike Homik) that follows to earn his invisibility cloak instantly tells us everything we need to know about Dek: resourceful, determined, but held back at every turn by his status as the "weakest" among them ... at least, according to their merciless clan leader of a father.

It's easy to imagine the rest of the 106-minute runtime borrowing heavily from the "Mad Max" vibes established during this opening sequence, but "Badlands" sees fit to flip the script on us from that point forward. Dek's journey takes us to the "death planet" Genna so he can take down the biggest prize of them all and finally become who he was meant to be: Dek of the Yautja. And, for his part, Trachtenberg doesn't make a meal out of this challenge so much as he provides a full-course, genre-jumping buffet. Aided every step of the way by composers Sarah Schachner and Benjamin Wallfisch's chameleonic score — memorably bombastic and electronic in certain portions, an all-out orchestral extravaganza in others — and cinematographer Jeff Carter's brilliant eye for compositions, the film switches between genres as nimbly as Dek takes down one monstrous creature after another. What starts as a Shakespearean family drama soon transforms into a heartfelt buddy comedy (once Elle Fanning's Thia joins the fun) and a bloody action/sci-fi romp, the last of which confirms Trachtenberg as one of the best in the business at crafting VFX-heavy set pieces that will leave you breathless for more.

For all that "Predator: Badlands" has going for it, it's to the script's credit that it never once loses sight of our main duo. Unlike any other "Predator" movie in the franchise, the cross-species dynamic forged between our young Yautja dead-set on living up to his warrior people's unattainable ideals and the Weyland-Yutani synth eager for connection provides all the emotional backbone and dramatic heft on display. Even better, Dan Trachtenberg and Patrick Aison use this setup to explore arguably the most subversive and affecting themes of the entire series. Dek is the embodiment of untested machismo and unearned bravado, clearly burying a world of pain and grief and rage underneath his warrior instincts. Thia, meanwhile, is all awe and wonder and wide-eyed optimism despite her original programming ... a perfect collision of worldviews that inevitably draws them together into a bizarre family unit of their own.

"Badlands" is well aware of the strength of its incredibly small cast and takes full advantage of it. Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi is the obvious standout, conveying pages of dialogue (rendered entirely in the Yautja language through subtitles and while buried in prosthetics and VFX, no less) and cycling through the most extreme emotions imaginable without ever missing a step. You can actually see the fear in his eyes when confronting the animal "trophy" he's so desperate to claim, the stubborn set of his jaw (uh, mandibles?) during every mildly annoying provocation, his disdain and helplessness in the face of Thia's almost childlike naïveté. As for Thia, Elle Fanning brings this synth to life as we've rarely seen one before in the "Alien" movies. She has the added difficulty of portraying two different characters, each of which are easily distinguishable from the other through little more than body language and tone of voice. Together, they form a pairing that could easily provide the foundation for an entire trilogy of their own.

If there are any negatives to point out, they're mostly a byproduct of blockbuster issues as a whole. The brisk pacing that keeps things moving at a breezy clip also means any semblance of character depth and nuance is either left as subtext or outright explained in exposition, though Trachtenberg still manages to find quiet grace notes for both Dek and Thia (and perhaps others too spoilery to give away here) amid all the carnage. And even as the action rivals anything in the franchise, the much larger sense of scale might have some yearning for the contained, stripped-down joys of "Prey." All of those nitpicks pale in comparison to what the filmmakers accomplish here, however. By far the funniest, most heartfelt, and boldest "Predator" movie of them all, "Badlands" etches its place in franchise history — right alongside the classic that started it all and the three worthy follow-ups that Trachtenberg has delivered so far. Let's hope there are many more to come.

/Film Rating: 8 out of 10

"Predator: Badlands" releases in theaters November 7, 2025.