Title – Predator: Badlands (2025)

Director – Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane)

Cast – Elle Fanning, Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi

Plot – Young Predator Dek (Schuster-Koloamatangi) is sent to an unforgiving planet to hunt the ultimate prey and on his journey meets Thia (Fanning), an unexpected ally who may be able to help him achieve the impossible.  

“You’re hunting something that can’t be killed”

Review by Eddie on 07/11/2025

Falling into a decent sized hole after years of lacklustre entries (2010’s undervalued Predators not included) that culminated in Shane Black’s dire 2018 effort The Predator, it appeared as though the glory days of the 1987 classic that started the Predator brand off with a bang were days we’d never get back but thanks to filmmaker Dan Trachtenberg, the Predator name has it’s mojo back.

Delivering an unexpected treat with the Covid-affected streaming release of Prey and continuing on with the fun animated anthology release Predator: Killer of Killers, Trachtenberg gets the biggest set of keys to the kingdom yet with his third Predator film Badlands, a throwback action thriller that zones in on the fun and spectacle, while ensuring it remains baggage free and energetically paced throughout.

Giving us our most Predator centric entry yet, with Trachtenberg focussing his film on Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi’s young Yautja runt/warrior Dek as he attempts to prove his worth on a distant planet that is home to one of the galaxies most-feared adversaries, Badlands barely wastes a minute of its 100 or so minutes of running time, with Trachtenberg mixing in a nice amount of character development and interactions around some rip-roaring action set pieces that ensure anyone wanting a fun time out at the movies will be well-pleased.

It’s far from ground-breaking stuff, and with Disney having a vested interest in this I.P now there are some elements of Disneyfication going on here but for the most part it appears as if Badlands is very much the film Trachtenberg wanted to make and his love and passion for this brand is clear for all too see, making Badlands the rare film that will appease diehards who are willing to accept its new tone/focus and casuals alike who just want to have an uncomplicated big screen film to enjoy.

Wasting little time introducing us to the unforgiving world Dek finds himself a part of, Badlands throws us into the imaginative and ruthless world of Genna, a planet that just so happens to have Elle Fanning’s Weyland-Yutani Corporation owned synthetic Thia on it, creating one of Badlands strongest elements, the unlikely partnership between beast and machine.

Fanning is a fantastic addition to Badlands, getting to enjoy dual roles thanks to her additional turn as fellow synthetic Tessa, and she creates some great back and forward with Schuster-Koloamatangi who is also very good here, allowing Badlands to thrive as an entertaining offering, even when the green blood, synthetic materials and animal parts aren’t flying thick and fast across the screen.

There’s never anything ground-breaking at play here but it’s unlikely Trachtenberg was attempting to do so, as in his quest to craft a highly entertaining and playful action orientated blockbuster his succeeded where many recently have failed, making Badlands one of the year’s most purely enjoyable big budgeted rides and breathing new life once more into a property he has single-handedly brought back from the brink.

Final Say –

Fun, fast-paced and free from any unnecessary baggage, Predator: Badlands is a fantastic new addition to the Predator series and one that opens up a world of new possibilities for Trachtenberg and other passionate directors to explore.

4 angry vines out of 5