A quick jungle recap
The first Predator movie was a glorious 80s fever dream - all biceps, bullets, and baby oil. It was both a love letter and a parody of action movies. You had the most macho cast in cinematic history, and then boom - an invisible alien shows up and hunts them for sport. It was hilarious, terrifying, and brilliant.
Then came the sequels. Predator 2. AVP. AVP: Requiem. The Predator. It was like watching someone repeatedly try to microwave a steak. And then, out of nowhere, Dan Trachtenberg dropped Prey - a lean, beautiful, stripped-down reinvention that reminded us why this creature was scary and fascinating in the first place.
Now he’s back with Predator Badlands, and honestly, it’s even better.
The setup
This time, Trachtenberg does something bold. He makes the Predator the protagonist. The movie follows a young hunter trying to prove himself to his clan by taking on the deadliest creature on the deadliest planet in the galaxy - a savage wasteland where the atmosphere itself wants you dead.
But he’s not alone. On this planet, he meets a damaged synth (basically an android) named Thia, who was sent there by none other than the Weyland-Yutani Corporation - yep, the same shady company from Alien. Their mission went south fast when a massive creature wiped out her team, leaving her stranded and literally half broken.
So what do we get? A Predator teaming up with a half-destroyed robot girl to take on a monster so dangerous it could eat a Xenomorph for breakfast. And somehow, in between the explosions and the white synthetic blood, the movie manages to have… feelings.
Why it works
For all the claws and carnage, Badlands is shockingly emotional. It’s about family - the one you’re born into and the one you find. It’s about proving yourself, not to your clan or your superiors, but to yourself. It’s about connection, loneliness, and what it means to be whole when parts of you (literally or metaphorically) are missing.
That’s what makes Trachtenberg such a great storyteller. He gives the Predator an emotional arc without de-fang-ing him. You still get the brutal fights, the crazy weapons, the decapitations - but now you also get stakes that aren’t just physical.
And visually? Holy. The world design is insane. Every frame feels handcrafted. The creature designs are gorgeous and disgusting in equal measure, and the action never stops moving. The pacing is tight, the fights are inventive, and when the third act hits - you’ll feel it in your bones. The payoff is massive, and let me just say - the last line of the movie lands like a perfect mic drop.
My favorite part
It’s the first time I’ve seen a Predator movie where I actually cared about the Predator as a character. Not as a monster. Not as a hunter. As someone (or something) trying to find his place in a world - or galaxy - that doesn’t really want him.
It’s weirdly beautiful. Like, yes, this is a movie where an alien and a robot fight a monster, but it’s also a story about grief, identity, and connection. Somehow it works.
Final thoughts
Predator Badlands is everything I wanted and more - smart, sharp, emotional, and wildly entertaining. It proves that this franchise still has fuel left in the tank, as long as Trachtenberg’s the one driving.
If Prey was the rebirth, Badlands is the coming-of-age story. It’s a Predator movie with a soul - and for a franchise built on skull trophies, that’s kind of a miracle.
9 out of 10, easily. Watch it in IMAX if you can, it's worth it.
Now please, someone get Dan Trachtenberg a long-term contract and an unlimited effects budget. Let him cook.
