I know this is sacrilege. But, despite all the Predator lore, no one figured out the best way to use the creature until Dan Trachtenberg came along. 2022’s Prey was a revelation, and Predator: Killer of Killers earlier this year pushed the story a little bit further, into the animated realm. Trachtenberg, not content to sit still, swerves again with Predator: Badlands, almost reversing course but still coming out a winner. I’m guessing Ahnold is paying close attention.
Instead of making the Predator a plot device like he’d done before, Trachtenberg’s Badlands dives deep into the Yautja (the Predator race) tribe. We’re with Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi), the runt of his clan, desperate to prove himself to his father (Reuben De Jong) and his brother Kwei (Mike Homik). Despite his father’s cold heart, Dek is single-minded, choosing to hunt the dreaded Kalisk on the planet of Genna. He flies there, not realizing that this whole planet is basically a murder planet: everything there is evolved to kill…or be killed.
Thank goodness Disney rewarded the right person with a bigger budget! In Dan Trachtenberg’s hands, he took that money and conjured away. Genna is a wondrously evil creation perfect for the big screen. There’s jagged edges everywhere, with majestic overlooks hiding all sorts of hidden death traps. At the micro scale, each new challenge is wonderfully rendered: the glassland is probably my favorite, elegant and horrifying. Plants that explode and shoot poison darts, Harry Potter like angry trees, and frightening creatures that look like unholy breeding experiments gone wrong. Plus, the adorable monkey like sidekick. Dek’s Genna journey goes on a roller coaster of quiet scenic boding sequences, followed by a roller coaster of new different inventive action setpieces, and repeat. It’s simple in concept, and beautifully delivered in execution, designed for maximum entertainment for all.
But this isn’t just some hollow excuse to make a cool movie. Trachtenberg wants to honor the Predator, its journey, and the lore too. The first 20 minutes was genuinely heartbreaking; I was shocked how quickly the director got me invested in Dek and the Yautja culture. On Dek’s side, we need a new enemy while we wait to fight the Kalisk. Who better than the Weyland Yutani corporation. Despite the sh*tty Alien vs. Predator movies, using a soulless parasitic company pillaging with androids is a great big bad lurking the minute we run into Elle Fanning’s Thia. Trachtenberg quickly realizes Dek isn’t much of a talker, so it’s up to Fanning to carry the load during the quiet times. For the most part she’s on the right side of chatty, and has a lot of fun playing a “tool.” Now we’ve got a band of misfits and lost souls, and…well I think you can see where this is going. The planet has enough surprises that Trachtenberg keeps the story straightforward and pretty grounded, carrying the emotional goodwill of the first 20 minutes through the rest of the movie.
Even if this is the last Predator movie Dan Trachtenberg makes, he’s done a great service here for everyone with the joyful fun of Badlands. I hope he gets more money and more chances, to deepen the lore. I’m picturing an actually GOOD Alien vs. Predator movie down the line, something that seemed impossible a decade ago. Stupid Disn, er, Weyland Yutani corpoaration. That’s your fault.