Dan Trachtenberg’s Disneyfied Predator: Badlands Still Offers Some Bite for Fans
Image Courtesy of Twentieth Century Studios
By Luis Zonenberg
With Disney’s acquisition of Twentieth Century Fox and its subsidiaries in 2019, many audiences were initially skeptical about the future of Fox’s household franchises like Alien, The Predator, and Planet of the Apes. Thankfully, each addition to these franchises that Disney has released has been met with critical acclaim and impressive box office numbers. With the release of the latest Predator film, Predator: Badlands, the question remains if Disney can keep this momentum strong moving forward. Thanks to director Dan Trachtenberg, the answer seems to be yes!
The story focuses on a Yautja runt called Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) who embarks on his first hunt on the dreaded planet Genna. He is in search of a dreaded monster known as the Kalisk, reluctantly allying with a Weyland-Yutani synthetic called Thia (Elle Fanning), whose team was nearly destroyed by the monster. The two trek across the planet’s wild terrain, unaware that they are the ones secretly being hunted!
Trachtenberg was wise to flip the script and have the Predator be the main character this time around. This allows the film to take a fresh approach to the usual formula while also blending with the expanded world of the Alien franchise. Sure, it may rip away some of the mystique and horror of its character, but Trachtenberg and company cleverly knew what to expand while maintaining some of the franchise’s core components.
The film explores themes of honor and familial bonds while also touching on the concept of nature vs nurture. The main character, Dek, is ostracized by his family and his clan since his physique makes him a weak link in their chain. This is akin to the beliefs of the Spartan army, who prided themselves on strength above all else and would toss out any weaklings in their arsenal. This fuels Dek’s sense of honor and belonging, with his quest forcing him to rethink his beliefs as he forms a strong bond with Thia.
The cast was excellent in the movie, with Elle Fanning turning in a wonderful dual performance as the synthetics Thia and Tessa. Fanning is wonderfully demented in her portrayal of Tessa while contrasting with her compassionate, bouncy portrayal of Thia. I also think Schuster-Koloamatangi deserves some love as Dek, with his movement and gestures really adding a lot to his character. The two have great chemistry with each other, serving as wonderful foils who have to work together to achieve the same goal.
The overall makeup and VFX of this movie were quite spectacular. These are some of the best designs for the Predator franchise yet, with simply breathtaking makeup which made the Yautja species feel so authentic and realistic. The VFX also blended in nicely with the more practical set-pieces, with the action-heavy moments especially giving such an adrenaline rush that you never have time to pick apart which effects were practical or not.
The cinematography certainly had its moments, capturing some really epic scenes in such a wide landscape. This really helped amp up the action-heavy set pieces while also showcasing the beauty and terror of the planet’s terrain. At times, though, it felt more like a gimmick, dragging out some rather awkward slow-motion shots that felt more distracting than they were entertaining. There were also a couple of times it really made the film look more cheap, but thankfully, shots like those were very few and far between.
By far the most polarizing thing about the film is probably the comedy. There are many quips and jokes in this film that really caught me off guard. The film trades away much of the suspense and grounded storytelling for more streamlined action and quippy banter. It walks a real tight rope in the film, but somehow it actually pays off, with many of the jokes feeling organic and actually doing a great job of establishing the relationship between the characters while still moving the story forward.
The film rose to become No.1 at the box office, grossing over $80 million, with original projections estimating it to only pull in around $60 million worldwide. The wide acclaim from both critics and fans is well warranted, with Trachtenberg’s gamble on the film clearly paying off. Under the assured direction of Dan Trachtenberg, Predator: Badlands successfully walks a tight rope and packs a mean punch that will please both long-time fans and newcomers alike.
Predator: Badlands is now playing in theaters.
Rating: ★★★★☆
