I was really rooting for this film. I loved the concept. I wanted this to be the modern masterpiece the Predator series needed. What I got was a generic, shallow, tone-deaf mess.

A predator known as Dek is ostracised from his clan. To earn the respect of his peers, he travels to a world to capture the ultimate kill. He meets a damaged android, Thia (Elle Fanning), and forms an unexpected alliance with her. As the two navigate the planet’s hostile environment, Dek begins to reconsider his clan’s barbaric philosophy.

The Characters

Right off the bat, I love the idea of a Predator being the main character. I love the premise of Dek being exiled from his clan and wanting to earn his place in it. Where Dek goes beyond this setup is where Badlands begins to seriously misunderstand the Predator mythology.

Dek’s ‘problem,’ we learn, is his and his people’s disdain for weakness. His arc essentially chronicles his shift from worshipping strength to embracing vulnerability.

Not only is this cliché but unbearably out of character for the Predator. Their entire culture and identity are based on that of a hunter. The notion of an empathetic Predator may work someday, but this is too soon. We’ve just started to see their world and existence beyond Earth, making a choice this drastic just isn’t wise. I felt more sympathy for the Predator at the end of Alien Vs. Predator than I did for Dek. 

Despite how poorly written he is, I appreciated the film for subtitling Dek’s dialogue and letting us hear Predator speech. That’s risky for a tentpole film like this so I almost expected there to be some sort of human presence.

I honestly don’t mind Thia the android, I think she works well as a comic relief. She’s also a good mouthpiece for Weyland-Yutani, explaining their reasons for landing on the planet. However, teaching Dek the virtue of ‘weakness’ makes her an asset to Badlands’ abominable mischaracterisation of the Predator.

The moment ‘Bud’ appeared on screen, I knew this film was dead. This character hasn’t been shown much in Badlands’ marketing campaign but when you do see him, you’ll be reminded of Grogu from The Mandalorian, that dog thing from John Carter or any other cutesy, Disney sidekick with massive eyes.

This is where the Badlands reveals its true colours; it’s not a Predator film, it’s a piece of crowd-pleasing, family-friendly content.

The Worldbuilding

No one knows how this film fits into either Alien or Predator mythologies, but it’s interesting to see Weyland-Yutani recognise the Yautja (Predators). In almost all the other Predator films, humanity knows little to nothing about the Yautja so it’s cool to see a universe where both species are aware of each other.

It’s nice to have a couple of scenes on Yautja Prime, the home world of the Predators. It’s nice to have a couple of scenes of just Predators, speaking to each other in their native tongue.

Genna, the planet Dek travels to, is beautiful. It has a varied ecosystem with numerous creatures, all perfectly evolved to challenge a Yautja from razor-sharp grass to flesh-eating vines. It doesn’t look as otherworldly as Pandora from the Avatar series, but you can tell the production team is trying to get it there.

Despite its really promising premise, the one overarching quality that makes Badlands a failure, in my opinion, is its execution. I can only hope the film’s box office success inspires sequels that’re more on-brand but with equally original concepts.

I give Predator: Badlands a mediocre 6 out of 10.