“The Yautja are prey to none, friend to none, predator to all.”
This has certainly been a resurgent year for the Predator and Alien franchises. In the case of the Predator franchise, Badlands builds on the momentum and resurgence established by prequel film Prey. In the case of this iteration, we are treated with a film from the perspective of a Yautja warrior as he embarks on the rite of passage needed to be inducted into the Yautja clan. This was the unique perspective needed to take the franchise to new heights. For the first five films, we have watched the Yautja be the antagonists, and now we get to see what drives them as they come to the forefront for the first time. I expected that there would be a great deal of action, which was the lure that got me to the theater. What I didn’t expect was the healthy amount of humor that was also infused into the story. This of course is primarily courtesy of Elle Fanning’s character. Or least one of her characters; for this film, the actress pulled double duty as a pair of identical Weyland-Yutani Corporation synthetic androids; one that partners with our Yautja protagonist, while the other opposes him.
Does the name the Weyland-Yutani Corporation sound familiar? It should, especially if you are a fan of the franchise that Predator did a versus movie against back in 2004. And just like how that film establishes that the two franchises existed in the same universe. This connection solidifies it. There are dozens of Easter eggs like that across the film, which for me added to the entertainment as I attempted to spot the references. To include a reference to Independence Day (1996) on the Predator’s trophy wall.
The story follows Dek, a runt Predator from the planet Yautja Prime. As part of his rite of passage to join the clan, Dek takes a vow to hunt an unkillable apex predator, on the lethal planet Genna, in order to earn the approval of his father. Upon landing on the planet, Dek faces numerous environmental dangers from both flora and fauna, which leads him to reluctantly allying with Thia (Fanning), a damaged Weyland-Yutani Corporation synthetic who offers to help Dek track his prey. Meanwhile, Thia’s synthetic sister, Tessa, who is also tracking the creature, begins tracking Dek’s group.
I think it is safe to say that the franchise is in good hands with Dan Trachtenburg, who now has proven track record with installments Prey and Killer of Killers. Badlands just serves as further proof of his ability to take the franchise in exciting new directions. Under his direction, one of cinema’s most iconic antagonists has been transformed into someone I found myself rooting for. I wouldn’t go so far as to call him a hero, but the character is hero-adjacent.
This was a fresh take on the story as I watched Dek learn to adapt to his environment and build weapons from the resources of planet to create organic weapons. This effectively was a table-turning moment, as it’s typically been the Predator’s prey that ends up having to adapt in this manner. It was excellent to see this role reversal.
The film went the extra mile language-wise as the film featured a complete written and verbal Predator language created by Paul R. Frommer, the linguist who developed the Na’vi language for Avatar (2009). Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, who plays the lead Predator, Dek, learned the language for the role and delivered his lines while wearing a full Predator suit created by Alec Gillis. However, unlike previous Predator films, Dek’s face is CGI rather than animatronic, allowing the actor’s facial performance to be conveyed via motion capture.
The film is not a sequel to Prey, but rather a standalone film, taking place in the future on an alien planet. And speaking of potential exciting developments, discussions are reportedly ongoing with original franchise star Arnold Schwarzenegger about reprising his role as Dutch in a future installment. I for one would be intrigued to see how Trachtenburg could blend the old with the new in this way. He’s already proven himself to take the franchise in fresh direction. I have no doubt that this idea would be done in a fitting manner.
As far as this film goes, it ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, which could potentially set up a direct sequel with a potential bigger threat. I wouldn’t mind seeing such as sequel, but I am slightly skeptical regarding this coming to fruition. However, the threat identified at the film’s conclusion bears a striking resemblance to something seen in Trachtenberg’s animated Killer of Killers series. So I wouldn’t rule it out.
