Reviewed By: Flickman
If someone asked me what I thought of Predator: Badlands, my answer would be simple and delivered with a shrug: “It was okay.” It’s a good movie, but it never once wowed me. Nothing about it left me impressed, amazed, or eager to revisit it.
The film centers on Dek, the runt of a Yautja (Predator) tribe, who goes on a mission to prove his worth by bringing back a trophy. His target is a creature known as the Kalisk, located on a distant planet. Once there, Dek meets a robot named Thia, who claims she can help him complete his mission. What Dek doesn’t realize is that Thia, and the corporation she works for, are also hunting the same creature for their own purposes.
The planet itself feels like something pulled straight out of Journey to the Mysterious Island or Jumanji. Nothing is as it seems. The plants are alive and dangerous, with their own defense mechanisms – Some explode, others fire poison darts, and even the grass can cut you like razor blades. While the visuals and concepts are cool, none of it feels particularly new or groundbreaking.
The biggest issue is that the story doesn’t feel like a Predator movie at all. At its core, the plot is simply about Dek trying to kill a monster. There’s nothing especially original here, and it brings very little new to the table. You could replace the Predator with a different alien (or even a human) and the movie would play out almost exactly the same. That alone makes it feel disconnected from the franchise.
There are also several moments that make absolutely no sense. For starters, there isn’t a single human in the film – everyone in the corporation is a robot. That’s not inherently a problem, but it becomes one when only some of the robots can understand Dek. If Thia, played by Elle Fanning, can understand him perfectly, why can’t the others? It’s never explained.
Then there’s Bud, the baby Kalisk. I understand that it’s a baby, but it looks nothing like its mother. Bud has these cute, oversized eyes that feel ripped straight from a Japanese manga, while the mother is a terrifying, monstrous beast that shares no resemblance whatsoever. It’s not a deal-breaker, but it’s definitely odd.
That brings us to the mother Kalisk herself. She appears to be essentially unkillable and regenerates from any damage, even decapitation. Fighting her is basically like fighting Deadpool. Yet, at the end of the film, she suddenly freezes and explodes for no clear reason. How the hell did that happen? Why did it happen? The movie never bothers to explain.
Things get even more confusing when Dek returns to his home planet with Bud. In the very next scene, Bud is suddenly about 20 times larger than before. Did years pass during the journey home? Was it a decade-long trip? Who knows – the film doesn’t seem to care.
Because the story appears to take place over only a few days, the finale is especially disappointing. The final fight between Dek and his father is short, rushed, and completely uneventful. It’s also hard to believe that Dek, still half the size of the rest of his tribe, is suddenly an unstoppable Predator who can defeat his father in seconds. The ending feels like the writers simply wanted to wrap things up as quickly as possible. And honestly, by that point, so did I.
That said, Predator: Badlands isn’t a bad movie. There’s a lot to like here. The subtle humor works, Elle Fanning delivers a strong performance, and her character genuinely improves the film. The visuals, music, set design, and creature effects are all well done, and there’s plenty of action to keep things moving – even if the story itself is underwhelming.
Overall, it’s worth a watch, just don’t expect it to feel like a Predator movie – because it really doesn’t. I’d rather watch the original Predator with Arnold Schwarzenegger a hundred times before revisiting this one. Badlands simply lacks that classic Predator spirit that made the franchise stand out in the first place.
I’m sure some people will strongly disagree and genuinely enjoy the direction the story takes. This is just my opinion and it’s not the direction I would have chosen for the Predator franchise.
Overall Verdict: It's a good sci-fi/action movie to watch but it doesn't feel like a Predator movie. Half the movie is subtitled as well so if you don't want to read, then I'd pick something else.
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