Movie Review: "Predator: Badlands" Falls a Bit Short of the Gold Standard Set by "Prey" and "Killer of Killers"
This Friday will see the release of the new movie Predator: Badlands from the Disney-owned 20th Century Studios and Prey director Dan Trachtenberg. Laughing Place was invited to attend an early press screening of the film, and below are my thoughts.
Just a few years ago, Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane) breathed new life into the Predator franchise-- which for several decades had been suffering from a severe case of diminishing returns-- with his Native-Americans-vs.-Yautja romp Prey. Then earlier this year, Trachtenberg actually one-upped himself, in my opinion, with the also-straight-to-Hulu animated feature Predator: Killer of Killers, which remarkably gave him the freedom to get even more violent and inventive with the trophy-hunting alien baddies pursuing their quarry across the centuries on Earth. And now the filmmaker is back for his third outing in the franchise, entitled Predator: Badlands, which on the surface feels like a risky experiment, considering it's the first movie in the long-running series to feature a Yautja as its protagonist.
That said, Badlands starts off strong with an extended opening sequence set on the Yautja home planet, and the only spoken dialogue being in the aliens' newly developed fictional language (with English subtitles, of course). We meet Dek (played ably by New Zealand actor Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi from Red, White & Brass) the runt of his clan who playfully spars with his brother Kwei (stuntman Michael Homick from Avatar: The Way of Water) as they both run afoul of their imposing father Njohrr (also voiced by Schuster-Koloamatangi, with Reuben De Jong from The Warrior's Way in the suit). Long story short and attempting to avoid any major spoilers, Dek is sent on his way to a deadly planet called Genna in order to capture a fearsome creature called the Kalisk in order to prove himself and earn his place among his race's warriors.
At this point in the film I was 100% on board, and I loved learning more about the Yautja culture and seeing how the clan members interacted. Unfortunately once Dek lands on Genna, things take a turn for the silly. There are plentiful CGI threats surrounding him as he embarks on his Hero's Journey-- including killer vines, exploding bugs, and literal blades of glass-- but an irritating monkey-like sidekick is what made me really start to roll my eyes. Fortunately there's a bright spot in all this mayhem in the form of Thia (Maleficent's Ell Fanning), a Weyland-Yutani synthetic (yes, from the universe-sharing Alien franchise) who is all-too-eager to help Dek along on his quest. Thia is at once overly enthusiastic and clearly hiding something, but I won't give away too much here about her past and how her relationship with Dek develops as the story goes on... suffice it to say that it's a joy watching Fanning in the role.
This past weekend, I rewatched all six preexisting Predator movies (excluding the two Alien vs. Predator entries, which I am hesitant to revisit), and ultimately I would say that did more harm than good when it comes to my appreciation of Badlands. What I love most about the earliest films in the series (meaning the ones from the literal 20th Century) is their tactile nature, and with the advent of CGI that has all but disappeared. I mean I kind of understand the desire to animate the Yautja's faces instead of using practical animatronic masks, as it ostensibly helps them be more expressive, but almost everything else living on Genna looks like a cartoon. And yes, animation worked great for Killer of Killers, but here it clashes with the live-action and takes me out of the movie every time. But the most unfortunate comparison comes in having just rewatched Prey, which resultingly feels so quaint, grounded, and semi-realistic (with its own CGI animals being the exception) in contrast to the rapid-fire barrage of otherworldly action we see on-screen here. If I didn't already know those two movies were helmed by the same director, I don't think I would have guessed.
But don't get me entirely wrong-- despite not living up to its two immediate predecessors, Predator: Badlands is still mostly entertaining, and it's absolutely worth seeing for the performances of its two leads (not to mention admirable themes of found-family and rejection of toxic cultural traditions), but ultimately it left me wishing for something a bit more down-to-Earth. Fortunately it does answer the question of whether or not a Yautja-- once resigned exclusively to the role of emotionless villain against the likes of action stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny Glover, and Adrien Brody-- can be the hero in its own Predator movie, with a resounding "yes."
Predator: Badlands opens in theaters nationwide this Friday, November 7th.
My grade: 3 out of 5 hand-to-foot high-fives.