Predator: Badlands

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://movieswetextedabout.com/predator-badlands-movie-review-dan-trachtenberg-earns-the-franchise-keys-by-flipping-the-hunt/ "Predator: Badlands is an audacious exercise in reinvention that takes a risk and triumphs. The movie excels in every technical department, featuring a spectacle of creature design and sound work, and offering a new thematic vision for the saga's longevity. Elle Fanning's superb performance and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi's powerful p…

Predator: Badlands is the first Predator film since 2022’s Prey. It is also the second Predator-related media released this year. Hulu’s animated anthology film, Predator: Killer of Killers, is now streaming. All three titles were directed and/or written by Dan Trachtenberg. Badlands follows Dek, a young Predator who yearns for his father's approval but struggles to escape the shadow of his bigger and older brother Kwei. Their father, viewing proud Yautja lineage as something reserved for onl…

CinemaSerf

November 20, 2025

6/10

“Dek” is the runt of the “Yautja” clan so his militaristic father has asked his elder brother “Kwei” to get rid of him. Luckily, his brother isn’t so brutal and so with an impossible task on his hands to prove his worth, “Dek” manages to escape to a planet where he seeks to make a trophy from the menacing “Kalisk”. Thing is, this place is riddled with all sorts of flesh-eating monsters and plants so his own survival chances aren’t especially high until he encounters the top half of synthetic “Th…

Dave

December 2, 2025

8/10

> Director of his 3rd Predator project, I think…3 times a charm…Dan Trachtenburg , obviously understands Alien. I think he brought the “aliens” in Cameron style to this pg13 Disney + friendly film. So maybe for a newer audience that wants to understand and identify with the originals. Movies now get “universe” in comic book format is how we lay film work. New normal. So get with the program, ya hard-to-please Treky Boomers. If you watch Badlands with all things considered, you find it deliver…

"Predator Soy Boy" shows us all that no matter how wimpy you are, the power of diversity, equality and inclusion, is on your side. Biology be damned. Suffice to say, this is a rather ridiculous take on the Predator universe. Weird looking Dik oops I mean Dek, is the wussiest of the predators. Dad who dresses like a demonic deer, wants to croak Dek, for this very reason. Of course, he could have done so in infancy, as the Spartans did, if this is the kind of society they inhabit. Anyway for no…

daniel_carr

January 27, 2026

6/10

I thought it was a great idea, telling the story of the Predators and their culture! In fact I was hoping for more of that from when "Predators" came out. Loved how they tied it in with the "Alien" franchise also loved that when they first did it with AVP. But there were a few niggles that killed it for me. Firstly, reading subtitles for too long that really isn't necessary especially when they had a synthetic speaking English anyway, like hello. The idea of Predator has always been the hunt is …

"What time is it? It's !@#$% r@ping time!" Wrong movie in the franchise, I know, but I can't help it. I like me some Walton Goggins! I really like this movie for finally giving us a different perspective. I was concerned that this movie would irritate me after Prey (2022)'s ending irritated me, but I was pleasantly surprised, and I am now looking forward to the next entry from this director. I hope he doesn't !@#$ it up somehow. **MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD:** Dek, Thia, and Bud, join D…

Dean

February 15, 2026

10/10

Predator: Badlands is a masterclass in subverting expectations while staying fiercely loyal to the primal roots of the franchise. By shifting the narrative lens directly onto the Predator, the film achieves a level of intimacy and world-building we have never experienced in previous installments. It is a bold, visionary move that transforms the iconic hunter from a mere slasher-movie monster into a complex, nuanced protagonist. The storytelling is exceptionally tight, managing to balance the bru…