'Predator: Badlands' Review: A Bold, Emotional and Action-Packed Evolution of the Franchise
- Jack Ransom
- 53 minutes ago
- 3 min read
By Jack Ransom - November 8, 2025
The 9th (if we’re including Alien vs Predator) instalment in the Predator franchise. Predator: Badlands sees a young Predator (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) outcast from his clan finds an unlikely ally (Elle Fanning) on his journey in search of the ultimate adversary.
Dan Trachtenberg Keeps the Predator Series Fresh and Fearless
Very much one for the “movies rock” and “we are so back” categories. It’s beyond awesome that director Dan Trachtenberg has taken the Predator franchise under his wing and so far is currently keeping it continually fresh and badass with 2022’s back-to-basics 1700’s set Prey and this year’s lore expanding, crowd pleasing anthology gore fest, Killer of Killers. Now, roaring out the gates is the most unique, emotionally charged and risky entry so far… and I loved it.
Structurally this is very much akin to a video game level progression, crossed with a road trip and is laced with the themes of honour, legacy and family. After a visceral family feud with palpable drama, tension and blood we (and Dek) crash land on Genna where it’s quickly established that basically everything is out for blood: from the plant-life (tentacular vines, paralyse-inducing gas and knife sharp grass) to the animal inhabitants (armoured rhinoceros/bison, tentacular beasties, slithering serpents and of course the Kalisk of which Dek is hunting).
Expanding the Yautja Lore and Alien Connections
Predator: Badlands does a superb job fleshing out more of the Yautja lore and the bold swing of the Predator being our lead character pays off in spades here as Dek’s quest for glory and revenge by attempting to suppress and sever all emotion and reluctantly accept help or guidance leads to a strong character arc and gels effectively with his companion Thia (Fanning), of whom is a synthetic yet far more in touch with her emotions and bristling with optimism. The Alien connections were included in the marketing of course and the Weyland company seamlessly interlinks into the story here with an exciting and naturalistic door opened for both the franchise’s futures.
I’ll admit I was a tad sceptical when this was slapped with a 12A rating, however it still delivers on the action front. It’s packed to the gills with great sequences that keep the pacing ratcheted up. The hand to hand Yautja duels are fast, fluid and ferociously seamless, occasionally patchy CGI aside the big monster punch ups are chaotic and involve a lot of improvisation and survival skill usage from Dek (especially the awesome first encounter with the Kalisk) and the tension is always high due to his underdog persona. Lastly the finale Weyland base infiltration features a joyously goofy sequence involving Thia’s legs (yep, you read correctly). The visuals look great and the vast isolation and beautiful bleakness of Genna is presented in detail and mystique. The Yautja’s are incredibly expressive here and the blend of practical costumes and CGI implementation is superb.
Elle Fanning is on double duty here playing both Thia and Tessa. The former’s jovial, quirky, excitable and kind and bubbly whimsy coupled with the latter’s cold, calculated and ruthless dedication to the Company. Dimitrius S-K, does an excellent job of nailing Dek’s movements and nailing the vocal performance, coupled with the excellent facial animations and movements he is easily the best protagonist this franchise has seen.
A Fearless, Fresh and Fun Sci-Fi Adventure
Predator: Badlands is an absolute blast from start to finish. Delivering a fresh feeling story which takes bold swings and is laced with themes of honour, family and challenging expectation. Delivering on the monster mash-ups, big budget brawls and grin-inducing badass moments, a likeable and engaging lead duo dynamic which is carried along a well paced journey. Trachtenberg is three for three so far and long may it continue.
'Predator: Badlands' is available now to see in cinemas.
Want more film reviews? Check out more content on our website Film Focus Online!
