Movie: Predator: Badlands (2025)
Production Companies: Lawrence Gordon Productions, Davis Entertainment, Toberoff Entertainment
Distributed by: 20th Century studios
Producer(s): John Davis, Brent O’Connor, Marc Toberoff, Dan Trachtenberg, Ben Rosenblatt
Directed by: Dan Trachtenberg
Written by: Patrick Aison
Starring: Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, Elle Fanning
Review by: Stefano Todaro

Few modern directors have managed to reinvent a classic franchise with the creativity and confidence of Dan Trachtenberg. After shocking critics and Predator fans alike with the success of Prey (2022), a stripped-down reinvention of the Predator mythos set in 18th-century America, Trachtenberg proved he could balance spectacle with character-driven storytelling. He then continued to push the franchise into bold new territory by releasing an entirely animated Predator film a few months ago, Predator: Killer of Killers. His animated feature took a unique and exciting swing with anthology-style storytelling, where three fierce warriors become the hunted. Trachtenberg is such a talented filmmaker because of his ability to meticulously blend engaging world-building with emotional depth. With Predator: Badlands, his second Predator release of 2025, Trachtenberg continues to tell intimate and character-driven stories in grand ways.

Part of what makes Predator: Badlands work so well is its commitment to telling a fully new story separate from his previous two Predator films; he’s not tied to the constraints of a proper sequel. Badlands tells a story from square one. Dek is a young Yautja who is the runt of his clan. The film begins with Dek and his older brother in what seems like a fight to the death; it’s a way for Dek to prove that he’s more than just a younger brother, but to no avail. There’s only one way to truly prove Dek’s abilities, and that’s to travel to another planet, defeat a predator, and bring it back home. Dek’s father returns home and wonders why Dek is still alive. He commands his brother to kill Dek because he’s of no use to the clan. Dek’s brother helps him escape to Genna, the planet where he is to hunt the unbeatable Kelisk and bring it back home.

Upon arrival, Dek is in immediate danger. He sees something trapped and saves it. It’s Thia, played by Elle Fanning, a synthetic owned by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation. Albeit reluctantly, Dek agrees to team up with Thia to find the Kelisk’s den. She’s lost her legs and needs to find them, and she’s certain they were left behind where she last encountered the Kelisk. This relationship is what makes Predator: Badlands such a joyous film. It’s a different tone than you come to expect from a Predator film; I’m not sure anybody anticipated a buddy film. Thia is sarcastic and sweet, but not in a cloying way. Elle Fanning is pitch-perfect as Dek’s counterpart. Her enthusiasm and care help Dek understand himself better as a predator, but also as a protector. I’m sure this buddy element might turn off hardcore fans of the series, citing this as a Disneyfication of the IP, but I find that to be a cynical outlook. Trachtenberg isn’t the type of filmmaker to sacrifice his vision to appease a studio.

Fans were also shocked to see Predator: Badlands get a PG-13 rating, only the second PG-13 of the Predator franchise (Alien vs. Predator being the other). Would this mean softened violence and less action? I’m happy to report that this PG-13 rating had nearly no impact on those things. Because there were no humans in this film, all of the violence was creature or synthetic-related. And because there wasn’t human blood, Trachtenberg was able to make his film as violent as he wanted without earning an R-rating. I’m not sure how many teens will go see a Predator film in theaters, but it can’t hurt. Many of the fight sequences were some of the most impressive I’ve seen all year. They were tense, brutal, and everything you’d ever want from a Predator film. The character designs for Dek and all other creatures were exciting and intriguing, and the CGI work throughout was impressively immersive. The only area where the CGI work and set design didn’t work for me was during the final battle. Even though it was tense and thrilling, much of the background and setting was dark and unintelligible. This tends to happen when a location is full of bland, gray machinery and technology.

Predator: Badlands is as good as it is because it has a huge heart. It’s maybe the only Predator film that cares this much about its character development and outcome. That’s not to say a Predator film needs character arcs and development to be good, but being able to see something that has that and the classic Predator elements makes for a special movie-watching experience.

8.8/10

By: Stefano Todaro