The Predator franchise is one of many examples of cinematic universes where the debut entry is such a singular achievement, it’s difficult for any follow-up film to replicate that success, no matter how many talented filmmakers step into those waters. Directors Robert Rodriguez and Shane Black both attempted to revive the property, and while they touched on exciting elements, their forays failed to leave much of an impact. Even crossing over with the Alien franchise failed to excite Predator fans, leading many to claim the concept was dead. In 2022, though, things changed, as Dan Trachtenberg delivered Prey straight to Hulu, which saw the iconic alien facing off against Comanche warriors in the early 1700s. Not only a thrilling technical achievement for the crowded field of sci-fi and action, Prey also confirmed that Predator movies can be pretty simple: make the Yautja fight people in other times and places. Trachtenberg returns to the world of Predator with Predator: Badlands, our first installment in the series where a Yautja is the protagonist, and while he doesn’t entirely replicate the magic of Prey, he delivers another competent adventure that proves this franchise is far from dead.

The Yautja Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) is considered the runt of his family, which makes him all the more motivated to embark on a ritual hunt to kill a beast to prove his worth to his clan. In search of the beastly Kalisk on a dangerous planet, Dek crosses paths with Thia (Elle Fanning), a Weyland-Yutani synth on her own quest. Despite the difference in their end goals, the two partner up to help one another, as they’re stronger together than they are alone, no matter how reluctant Dek is to admit it.

What made the original Predator work and what made Prey work is that the audience connected with our heroes in their own right, with the events of each film only getting more engaging and exhilarating when we saw the terror of the stalking Yautja. Subsequent films gambled on concepts like “but what if Predator came to the city?” or “but what if people landed on a Predator game preserve?” to middling success. Even the original Alien vs. Predator seemed like an obvious success, as it brought together two iconic sci-fi properties for the first time in live-action, only for that first movie to be convoluted and tame in the realm of horror, while the follow-up, Alien vs. Predator: Requiem, added more gore, yet the production spent all their money on gore and seemingly forgot to buy lights to let audiences see what the hell was happening.

Point is, people making Predator movies tend to overthink things or try to create the unlikely entry point for a narrative that wants to reimagine the concept. As proven with both Prey and even the animated Predator: Killer of Killers, though, people just want to see the Predator fight things in different scenarios. That’s it! It’s simple! With Badlands, devout Predator fans will appreciate getting a glimpse into the culture of the Yautja that has been absent in big-screen outings, which sheds more insight into why they do what they do. However, despite his success with Prey, by Trachtenberg attempting to deliver a new perspective on the franchise, it feels a bit like he misses the mark on why people like this mythology.

Some fans have been concerned about what will happen to the various R-rated franchises that Disney acquired when it purchased 20th Century Fox, with many of those fears being shattered by very gruesome releases in recent years. Badlands, though, feels less like a Predator movie and more like the Disney-fication of a beloved property. Its PG-13 rating and the loophole that a lot of the film’s carnage is alien creatures or synths makes it feel like it’s specifically aimed at teenagers, with there even being a cute alien that joins Dek and Thia at points on their journey that is reminiscent of Baby Yoda. The Predator franchise hasn’t been devoid of humor over the past four decades, but the nearly bloodless Badlands combined with the prevalence of goofy humor and the concept of “stoic warrior partners with unlikely allies and hilarity ensues” truly feels like the entire story is just an abandoned The Mandalorian script.

Even if Badlands feels more like a Disney movie than sci-fi-horror, the comedy does work, and that’s largely thanks to Fanning’s performance. Given that she spends a majority of the movie without legs, Thia feels like Fanning doing her best C-3PO hitching a ride on Chewbacca. She captures the wholesome nature of a synthetic attempting to learn more about another culture without ever being irritating, and her naivete never gets on the audience’s nerves. Badlands might feel like any number of countless movies where a stoic protagonist has to accept assistance from others, but this movie does still work, thanks to the on-screen presence of Dek. This is a credit to Schuster-Koloamatangi’s performance, as well as the visual effects that brought the character to life. One of the most impressive things is how rarely you can tell the difference between CGI and practical effects, which helps immerse audiences in the experience.

In addition to Dek seamlessly blending CGI with practical effects, Trachtenberg proves his talents with visual storytelling and action-oriented pieces with Badlands, as even in entirely bloodless encounters, the movie delivers impressive battles. Whether it be Dek taking down massive prey or an infiltration into a Weyland-Yutani facility, Badlands is a visual treat that deserved the big screen, and hopefully confirms that more Predator features won’t be relegated to streaming debuts.

Based on how effectively Prey and Killer of Killers managed to honor the key components of the franchise yet remix them in satisfying ways, Predator: Badlands does get points for taking a new approach to the material, which works thanks to Fanning’s performance. Getting any new Predator after having to settle for so many lackluster experiences is exciting for fans of the franchise, and even if Badlands shies away from the more intense and brutal elements of the series fans have come to love, this deviation from expectations proves how much potential there can be in this mythology.

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