Predator: Badlands Understands Exactly What Makes a Predator Movie Appealing (Hint: It’s Not the Predator)

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As a film critic, it’s surprisingly satisfying when a movie defies expectations. And for the Predator – the alien hunter known for battling action heroes since 1987 – there’s a thrill in the hunt. These are very different experiences, of course. But director Dan Trachtenberg’s recent work with the Predator franchise – starting with the fantastic Prey in 2022, followed by Predator: Killer of Killers, and now Predator: Badlands – brilliantly combines unexpected twists with the brutal, aggressive nature of the Predator’s alien hunting game.

Trachtenberg’s work with the Predator franchise has helped define what makes a good movie in that series. Essentially, a good Predator film needs a few key ingredients. First, it needs a Predator! Beyond that, it benefits from a large cast to create more suspenseful action, a balance between raw power and skillful choreography in the fight scenes, and impressive special effects – particularly when showcasing the Predator itself. Just including a Predator isn’t enough; the creature needs to look convincingly good on screen.

Interestingly, what truly makes a good Predator movie isn’t about the Predator itself. It’s actually a well-made film within another genre—like horror, action, or sci-fi—that just includes a Predator.

The original Predator film, set in Central America, draws inspiration from classic war movies. The 1990 sequel leans into a more hard-edged crime story. Prey is both a story about growing up and a look into the world of the Comanche people in the 1700s. Predator: Killer of Killers is particularly ambitious, blending a Viking revenge tale, a samurai film, and a World War II air battle, ultimately recreating the arena scene from Star Wars: Episode II but in a more compelling way. What connects all four movies is the Predator itself – its look, its hunting style, and its brutal attacks. The creature is the central element each film is built around; remove it, and the entire structure falls apart. It’s like trying to run a fried clam shack without any fryers.

The best Predator movies—the original, Predator 2, Prey, and Predator: Killer of Killers—are surprisingly more focused on the human characters and their stories than on the Predator itself. These films feel like Vietnam war movies, police dramas, coming-of-age stories, or even samurai films—but with the Predator unexpectedly thrown into the mix. If you’re only interested in seeing Predators hunt, the series does deliver: Predators (2010) was the first film to focus solely on the creatures since Predator 2. However, The Predator (2018) didn’t quite live up to expectations, and the Alien vs. Predator films from 2004 and 2007 offered limited Predator action after a long gap of fourteen years.

The Predator movies released after the 1987 original haven’t lived up to its quality. A key mistake they make is focusing on the Predator as the main character instead of a terrifying villain, giving it too much screen time and diminishing the fear factor. These later films aren’t really [genre] movies; they’re simply about Predators, which removes the mystery that made the creature so frightening and turns it into a predictable character. The Yautja are most compelling when they’re a mysterious and unstoppable monster, but their true power lies in how they challenge the human characters and force them to confront their own limitations. This is especially evident in Killer of Killers, where several characters experience significant growth: Ursa, a Scandinavian warrior, realizes the emptiness of her lifelong quest for revenge after losing her son; Kenji and his twin brother Kiyoshi mend their fractured relationship, stemming from their father’s unfair treatment; and John J. Torres proves his skills and character as a Navy pilot.

Neither of the Alien vs. Predator films, Predators, nor The Predator manage to capture the same thrilling feeling as the original Predator, because their directors didn’t understand what made that first film work. That magic came from the writing of Jim and John Thomas, who created the world and creatures of the Yautja. Predator: Badlands actually feels closer in spirit to the original. It focuses on Dek, a young Predator considered weak and insignificant by his own people, and even threatened with execution by his father, Njhorr (both played by Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi). Dek escapes to Genna, a planet that seems incredibly dangerous to humans but is a paradise for Predators, filled with razor-sharp plants and vines that literally hunger for meat. He hopes to prove himself to his father by killing the Kalis – a supposedly invincible predator – and bringing its head home as a trophy. It’s a sweet, if desperate, attempt to earn his father’s approval.

Here’s the basic idea: Predator: Badlands takes place on an alien planet full of strange creatures and human-like robots, and it’s packed with intense action. Surprisingly, it also feels a bit like a buddy comedy. Dek is a newcomer to this dangerous world, completely unprepared for what he finds, until he meets Thia (Elle Fanning), a cheerful android who works for the Weyland-Yutani corporation – the villains from the Alien movies. She helps him with his mission. Along the way, they find a little creature and Thia names him “Bud,” and the three of them team up. Thia excitedly calls them “a tree-o!” after Dek accidentally crushes a giant insect with some wood during their first encounter with Bud.

The humor delivered by Fanning is essential to what makes Predator: Badlands work so well. Most fans don’t expect a Predator movie to be genuinely funny, and director Trachtenberg’s use of comedy is what elevates this film to being a truly good entry in the series. While the movie explores Predator culture – how their brutal, survival-of-the-fittest mindset makes them frightening yet also flawed – it’s fundamentally a story about a young person on the verge of adulthood, learning to overcome loneliness and build a chosen family.

The Predator films, starting with a code of honor presented at the beginning of the first movie, emphasize the importance of a solitary life, particularly when hunting. Predator: Badlands really digs into this idea, and as a result, the personal journeys of characters like Dutch Schaefer from Predator, Mike Harrigan from Predator 2, and Naru from Prey end up becoming more central than the journey of the hunter, Dek, in Badlands. While Dek certainly hunts and defeats many creatures, he also discovers his identity as a Yautja, much like the human characters learn about themselves. Ultimately, this self-discovery—not just the hunting—is what defines a truly compelling Predator character and makes for a great Predator movie.

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2025-11-08 00:07