PREDATOR: BADLANDS
**
Directed by Dan Trachtenberg.
Starring Dimtrius Koloamatangi, Elle Fanning.
Science-Fiction, US, 107 Minutes, Certificate 12.
Released in Cinemas in the UK by 20th Century Studios on 7th November
When it comes to the Predator, or the Yautja to be more exact, Dan Trachtenberg seems to know what he’s doing. After re-invigorating the franchise in fine style with 2022’s PREY, which saw a young Native American girl against the intergalactic hunter in the 18th century, Trachtenberg co-directed this year's KILLER OF KILLERS, an animated anthology that jumped back and forth in time, showing several Predator’s run-ins with various vikings, samurai and WWII pilots. If anything it proved the directors enthusiasm for one of cinema’s most iconic killing machines and a willingness to get inventive with a creature who was threatening to become somewhat stale.
That enthusiasm shines through this latest entry, which hops forwards hundreds of years in time to an unspecified future date where we follow Dek, a Yautja who is seen as the runt of his clan. Desperate to prove his worth to his fierce father, as well as gaining vengeance against him. Dek finds himself on the planet Genna, hunting the Kalisk, a legendary beast on a planet that itself seems hellbent on killing Dek. As Dek struggles to survive he is soon aided by Thia, a Weyland-Yutani synth, who for a change is relentlessly cheery about the whole situation, despite being ripped into two pieces by the elusive Kalisk.
PREDATOR fans of a certain age will no doubt remember freaking out at the appearance of a Xenomorph skull amongst the titular creature’s trophy wall in the first sequel, then being thrilled by further exploits of the Yautja in the Dark Horse comics of the 1990’s, including the first crossover between the two species in the ALIEN VS PREDATOR mini-series that was far superior to the toothless films that eventually arrived onscreen years later. It could be fond memories of such stories, including separate tussles with Judge Dredd and Batman, that a feeling of recycled motifs, such as a sympathetic Predator, feel far less fresh than intended here. Even for the uninitiated this feels like a very safe film, lacking the ruthless, bloodthirsty thrills that made the original PREDATOR and PREY so exciting with their completely different protagonists to measure up against.
The presence of its family friendly certificate does not help matters either. Gone are the visceral and sometimes sadistic scenes of combat between human and alien, replaced by CGI monster on monster and/or robot action that skew closer to the cartoonish Godzilla and King Kong Monsterverse flicks. The presence of a cute alien sidekick to provide comic relief alongside Elle Fanning’s upbeat Thia, certainly lends the film such a safe vibe.
There is little on show here to stir the blood, yet it is still nowhere near as bad as Shane Black’s disastrous THE PREDATOR from 2018. The plot manages to fold the ever sinister Weyland Yutani in such a way that it becomes an interesting antagonist to the Yautja and to Thia than the large volume of beasties here. Further proving the point that the synths, are the most interesting characters in the most recent films, and streaming series ALIEN: EARTH, Elle Fanning steals the film with her portrayal of an artificial intelligence that stands in complete contrast against Lance Henriksen’s Bishop or Michael Fassbender’s David. Usually cast in serious roles, she provides the biggest surprises, and laughs, here with her fun and surprisingly sympathetic performance.
The film may scratch the itch for fans who have been desperate to see a Predator in otherworldly locations realised on such a scale as they are here, but it is hard not to feel short changed after the particularly impressive, and more immediate, work that Trachtenberg achieved with PREY. While passably entertaining this feels like a fumbled opportunity to create what could have been something truly unique in this long running series.
Iain MacLeod