Movie Review: Predator Badlands (2025)

Predator Badlands (2025) co-written and directed by Dan Trachtenberg

On the Predator homeworld, a young one named Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) is considered the runt of his clan. Dek's father orders Dek's brother to kill him. Dek's brother thinks he can still win honor since Dek has sworn to go conquer an unconquerable foe--the Kalisk on the death planet Genna. Dek is sent off in his brother's spaceship as Dek witnesses his brother being slaughtered by their father. When Dek gets to Genna, he finds out why it's called the "death world." Seemingly every biological entity is hostile, even the plants. Dek discovers Thia (Elle Fanning), the top half of an android sent by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation to collect samples from the planet as biological weapons. She's been on her own for years and is glad for the company. Dek, being from an intensely hostile warrior culture, is not open to friendship with her. She sells herself not as a friend but as a tool to help Dek in his quest. She has her own motivation--the Kalisk slaughtered her expedition, including another android named Tessa (also played by Elle Fanning) to whom Thia has a lot of attachment. They head off to resolve their ambitions.

The movie provides an interesting starting twist with the Predator character being the hero of the story. Typically the Predators are enemies to be vanquished. The plot looks very predictable for the first two-thirds of the film. Then the movie gives a nice and unexpected twist in the third act, making it more than the B-movie it was shaping up to be. A lot of thought went into developing the Predator culture and into the plot of the film, much more than I was expecting. The action is fun, the CGI is so-so, the performances are okay. Overall, it's a satisfying action film and a top-tier Predator film.

Recommended--highly for Predator fans.