How you will react to this movie depends on what you expect. After the brilliant "Prey" [2022] by the same director, Dan Trachtenberg, I expected something more true to the original Predator universe. What we get here is a "young warrior against a collection of various monsters" movie. It doesn't feel one bit like the original "Predator" [1987] movie or "Prey" for that matter.
A young Predator, Dek [Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi], is on a trophy hunt for a dangerous monster species on a hostile planet. On the planet he meets an annoying synth, Thia [Elle Fanning], who is missing her legs and just keeps talking constantly for the rest of the movie. This synth doesn't make much of an impression if compared to Ash, Bishop, Call, David, Walter from the older movies. Dek also meets an annoying little mysterious creature, Bud [Rohinal Nayaran], and the 3 of them become a team. Who are they fighting then? Well, lots of monsters, and a whole lot of synths from Weyland-Yutani. The company is on a mission to catch dangerous species for their weapons research division, much like in the TV-series "Alien: Earth" [2025].
The camera work is a bit shaky at times. Also a lot of the images are kind of blurred. It started to annoy me. They used it cleverly to disguise monsters lurking in the background, but it is probably also a way to make special effects cheaper. I didn't like it. You don't go to an IMax cinema to watch blurry and shaky images. The movie is rated PG-13 because Predators, monsters and synths lives don't matter.
I have read a few reviews that praised this new Predator movie a lot. I can't say I agree with them. I doubt it'll have much replay value. If you treasure the original "Predator" movie dearly, and maybe also liked the "Prey" movie, then be warned that this new movie is nothing like them.
I wouldn't say that "Predator: Badlands" sucks. It is mildly entertaining, the pacing is fine with lots of action, and there is a bit of humor too. It's all just too little to impress. it's not a real Predator movie to me, just like "Alien: Earth" or "Alien: Romulus" [2024] weren't real Alien movies to me. It feels wrong. It's like parallel universes that don't respect the old universe.
Rating: 
Movie Title: Predator: Badlands
Director: Dan Trachtenberg
This Release: 2025
Genres: Sci-Fi, Action
RunTime: 107
Actors: Elle Fanning, Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, Rohinal Nayaran, Michael Homik, Reuben de Jong
Movie Format: Cinema
Content Type: Movie Review
Language: 
Updated: 2025-11-07 19:33
Created: 2025-11-07 14:14
