From Slasher to Swashbuckler: A Review of "Predator: Badlands"

 directed by Dan Trachtenberg

written by Patrick Aison and Trachtenberg

I find it mildly amusing that some people look back on the 1987 action/horror film Predator as if it were some kind of high watermark of action cinema.  Personally, I considered it a poor man's Alien,  and the studio's attempts to cash in on the popularity of two things that were huge at the time: a) killer aliens and b) Arnold Schwarzenegger. John McTiernan's testosterone-fueled action-slasher film hybrid was pretty decently-paced but it ultimately was kind of silly.  I do still get a kick out of reciting some of Ah-nuld's lines from the movie, though, like "Come aahh, kill meeh" or the immortal "GET TO DA CHOPPAH!" Beyond that, though I really don't care much for the original movie.

This is why it was no big deal to me that, having failed to recapture that 80s magic with the disastrous 2018 film The Predator, and having experienced some success with director Dan Trachtenberg's TV-only release Prey, which pitted a predator against Native Americans from the 18th-century, the makers of Predator decided to take the franchise in a decidedly different direction, one in which the Predator was actually the hero.

Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) is a Yautja (the Predators' race) with ambitions of proving himself a hunter worthy of his clan, and as the film starts he is sparring with his brother Kwei (Mike Homik). Dek declares that he intends to hunt the biggest, fiercest creature known to the Yautja as part of his rite of passage to be declared one of them, and picks the nastiest one known: the Kalisk.  However, Dek's father (Reuben de Jong) is convinced that, as a runt, Dek is better off dead and orders his brother to kill him. However, fraternal love prevails over filial piety and soon Dek is off to the planet of the Kalisk, where he crash lands with a singular mission: to hunt down the Kalisk and bring its head home as a trophy, so he can take his place among the Yautja. It's a daunting task ahead, but Dek discovers that he may have  some help in the form of half a Weyland-Yutani android named Thia  (Elle Fanning), who knows quite a lot of about the fauna of the planet, especially the Kalisk, and offers to help Dek in his hunt. What she doesn't tell him, though, is the reason she was on the planet in the first place, which was how she got her legs severed from the rest of her.  Will Dek be able to fulfill his  quest to secure a trophy and take his place among the Yautja, or will the Weyland-Yutani corporation, with their army of synths, including the calculating Tessa (also Fanning) get in his way?  

 I was very pleasantly surprised by how much fun this movie was, and I enjoyed the action, the gorgeous (probably CGI enhanced) New Zealand setting, and even the humorous dynamic between Thia and Dek, who are joined in their mission by a curious creature whom Thia dubs "Bud."  It's not what I'd call the most memorable action movie of the year, but it does give the Predator franchise some new life, though I do admit I still preferred the 2010 sequel Predators starring Adrien Brody and Topher Grace. 

 Anyone looking for a serviceable, reasonably entertaining action movie should be pretty satisfied with this, though I think it's safe to say the hardcore Predator fans aren't likely to be won over by the franchise's new direction, which, if the grosses allow, will no doubt continue into the next film. 

8/10