ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Dan Trachtenberg deserves more attention for what he has quietly accomplished inside of the “Predator” universe over the last few years. After his “Predator” prequel film, “Prey,” landed on Hulu in 2022, reinventing the wheel for a franchise that felt like it had run its course, Trachtenberg continues to push “Predator” in new directions, from debuting the first feature-length “Predator” animated film, “Predator: Killer of Killers,” to his newest movie, “Predator: Badlands,” the first of the franchise to tell a story from the perspective of the titular alien warriors.

“PREDATOR: BADLANDS” (2025, 107 min., directed by Dan Trachtenberg)

While the franchise may have started as a rough ‘n tumble ‘Nam allegory in the jungle, “Predator: Badlands” is science-fiction with a capital SF. In a year without a “Dune” film, “Badlands” is a blessing for fans of cool spaceships, alien worlds and crazy colored blood. The film follows Dek, played by Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi in impressive prosthetic makeup, a Yautja – the Predator species’ name for themselves – who sets out to score his first “trophy” in order to prove his worth to his clan. The planet Dek chooses to hunt on, however, is filled with hyper-deadly flora and fauna, creating danger at every turn, even for a predatory alien of his species’ stature. It’s a pretty classic set-up, but filtered through the “Predator” premise, Dek’s Herculean journey is a whole lot of fun.

That is in large part due to the charms of Elle Fanning, Schuster-Koloamatangi’s costar, who plays Thia, a plucky, legless synthetic – an android crafted by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, the overarching villains of the “Alien” franchise and the only major bit of fan service the film indulges in – Dek enlists to help him survive the hostile terrain. Thia, bright, chipper and quippy, serves as a great foil for the utilitarian, self-serious Dek, who refers to her exclusively as “tool” in his garbled Yautja language.

While “Badlands” is filled with cool action sequences and fun creature design, the movie is unexpectedly foregrounded in the relationship between its characters. I found myself unexpectedly attached to Dek, Thia and the creature companions they pick up by the end of the flick. Though one was a robot and the other a fanged alien speaking in a subtitled made-up language, they might be the most lovable characters in the entire “Predator” canon.

Despite the kudos “Badlands” deserves for the originality it brought to “Predator” nine installments in, the story is undeniably archetypical. The movie will remind you of a dozen other things, not the least of which is “Avatar,” which will compete with “Badlands” for sci-fi movie of the year when “Avatar: Fire and Ash” is released this December. However, Trachtenberg is on the right track with this franchise. No matter how derivative it may be of anything else, “Badlands” is a very, very good “Predator” movie.

Rating: 3.5/5

“Predator: Badlands” is now playing in theaters