Predator: Badlands

This weekend, Predator: Badlands, the newest film in the Predator franchise and the second Predator film to come this year, releases in theaters. Predator: Badlands follows a young Predator outcast as he journeys to a distant planet to kill a deadly creature and earn his place in his tribe. This Predator movie shifts the focus to the alien species instead of humans, so I was interested to see how that was going to work in this film.

I thought this was a pretty good Predator film. I appreciate that Predator: Badlands does something different in the franchise. Instead of being another story about human characters fighting off a Predator, this movie centers around a Predator as he attempts to earn his place in his tribe. The movie humanizes the Predator in a way and allows the audience to better understand his culture and why they are so hunter oriented. I wasn't sure how easy it would be to get invested in the Predator character, but he grows on you very quickly, and you hope for him to capture his trophy and earn his cloak in his tribe. I also liked the found family aspect of the film. Dek, the Predator, is an outcast in his tribe, but going on his journey allows him to find a new tribe and actually feel important to people. On top of being a found family story, Predator: Badlands is also a great coming of age story as we get to see Dek grow and become more caring of the creatures around him while also growing as a stronger fighter. We also get to see a lot of cool action sequences with the Predator and other creatures on the planet. Instead of just Predators vs people, we get to see the Predator fight giant creatures and beasts. I also loved the Bud creature in the movie; she is just really cute and helps provide some lighter moments.

The biggest issue I had was that I wasn't a big fan of the tone of the Elle Fanning character, Thia. She is just too jokey for this story. Bud provides enough comic relief that works within the story's context, but I don't think Thia's humor really fits with the rest of the story. If they would have darkened her character a bit but kept everything else the same, I think the tone would have been much more consistent. I also thought that the CGI for legless Elle Fanning did not look great but the movie was smart enough to hide it most of the time.

Overall, this was a solid addition to the Predator franchise that brings a different story to the table, though I wish it had been a darker, less jokey tone with a less jokey Elle Fanning.

Score: 8/10 Grade: B+ Recommendation: Check it out