Predator: Badlands (2025)
Once upon a time, the summer movie season was reserved for action and science fiction escapist fare. Nowadays, these types of movies come out weekly, no matter the season. The surprisingly good Predator: Badlands, a November release, would have been a perfect summer movie. It just has that feel to it. Maybe it's because the original Predator with Arnold Schwarzenegger opened in June of 1987.
In Badlands, the alien hunter we all know as the Predator is the good guy instead of the heavy. The film's hero is Dek (stuntman Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi), the runt of his tribe. To prove himself to his father, Dek vows to hunt and kill the unkillable apex predator known as the Kalisk, which resides on Genna, a planet more dangerous and hostile than the Australian outback. Dek ends up crash landing on Genna with limited weapons. He eventually meets Thia (Elle Fanning), a synthetic human courtesy the Weyland-Yutani corporation. Thanks to her programming and research, Thia can help Dek navigate the dangerous planet. Thia's problem, however, is that she has no legs, because she was ripped in half during an attack by the Kalisk. So the stoic Dek begrudgingly decides to team up with Thia, who is very chipper and talkative.
Fanning is really great here. Not only does she play Thia, an android with a sunny disposition, but also another synthetic, Tessa, one of the main villains of the piece. She makes both of these characters memorable.
Like just about every action movie these days, the final third of Badlands is oversaturated with digital effects and quick cutting action. Before that, director Dan Trachtenberg (Prey, 10 Cloverfield Lane) does deliver several clever and tense action sequences.
Predator:
Badlands is a welcome
surprise, but it should have been released during the summer.
