'Predator: Badlands' Review – Elle Fanning And A Kinder Predator Lead Dan Trachtenberg’s Bold Sci-Fi Thriller

HOLLYWOOD, CA — Following his acclaimed 2022 film “Prey,” Dan Trachtenberg returns to the “Predator” universe with “Badlands,” a bolder, more emotionally resonant vision. This time, the Predator isn’t just hunted; he becomes the unlikely hero, defined by empathy and restraint.

Since its 1987 debut, the “Predator” franchise has transformed from a jungle-set survival thriller into a sprawling sci-fi saga, expanding through sequels, crossovers and reimaginings that deepened the mythos of the Yautja. From the urban chaos of “Predator 2” to the interspecies warfare of “Alien vs. Predator,” each installment has explored the ritualistic alien hunters’ brutal code: strength, ceremony, and worthy prey above all else.

Trachtenberg now charts a bold new course — one that redefines the Predator with unexpected depth and emotional complexity. In “Badlands,” he fuses brutal spectacle with mythic grace, pairing high-octane action with vulnerability, nuance and a yearning for connection.

Set light-years away in a future where the hunt defines identity, the story centers on Dek — a young Yautja portrayed by Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi. Cast out by his clan for his slight frame and emotional vulnerability, Dek is exiled to Genna — the infamous “death planet.”

Dek's deadly solo mission? To reclaim his honor by hunting the Kalisk — a monstrous apex predator that has slaughtered every hunter before him.

What begins as a brutal rite of passage for undersized Yautja becomes something far more unexpected when he encounters Thia (voiced by Elle Fanning), one of Weyland-Yutani’s most sophisticated synthetics to date. Engineered for exploratory missions and left behind after a failed colonization effort, Thia is a ghost of corporate ambition, slowly eroding in Genna’s unforgiving wilderness.

Their uneasy alliance becomes the film’s emotional core. Thia’s compassion evolves into autonomy, while Dek, shaped by her presence, begins to question his species’ violent legacy.

In choosing to protect rather than dominate his newfound companion, Dek reclaims something deeper than his honor — the capacity to connect, to evolve and to choose compassion over conquest. This is where “Badlands” finds its soul.

Their bond is tested by Tessa (also voiced by Fanning) — Thia’s unnerving twin, engineered to capture the Kalisk. Where Thia adapts through empathy, Tessa enforces with chilling precision, viewing Dek as a threat. Their clash becomes a collision of ideologies and survival instincts.

Much of the film’s allure comes from Schuster-Koloamatangi and Fanning, each bringing depth to Trachtenberg’s meditation on monstrosity with a beating heart.

Schuster-Koloamatangi, beneath prosthetics and sparse dialogue, delivers grounded intensity. His stillness reveals hesitation, introspection and the flicker of compassion beneath primal instinct.

Fanning, meanwhile, matches his versatility with dual precision — her Thia brimming with haunted weariness, her Tessa seething with ruthless intent. Through voice alone, Fanning crafts riveting tension between two selves shaped by opposing philosophies.

These performances thrive under Patrick Aison and Brian Duffield’s bold, paradigm-shifting screenplay, which reimagines the Predator as a soulful protagonist.

Trachtenberg’s direction is as reverent as it is radical, honoring the franchise’s brute legacy while embracing empathy, isolation and control. He trades bombast for intimacy, guiding the story with a character-driven lens.

Visually, “Badlands” dazzles with VFX and action sequences choreographed with precision and purpose, never gratuitous. Genna is wildly imaginative, teeming with treacherous terrain and alien beauty: bioluminescent vines twist through bone-white cliffs, casting eerie glows across hunter and hunted alike. The landscape pulses with life — hostile, primordial and eerily attuned to Dek’s inner unrest.

The violence, though often gruesome, serves the story over spectacle, grounding the brutality in psychological stakes. Subtle nods to the original — plasma caster, wrist blades and cloaking device — add nostalgic bite.

Yet for all its grand ambition, the absence of human characters — while artistically daring — may leave some viewers unmoored, distanced from a franchise long anchored in human fear and instinct.

Ultimately, “Badlands” impresses with introspective storytelling in a rare fusion of myth, muscle and emotional depth. In a genre ruled by spectacle, it dares to explore vulnerability and transformation.

As a franchise entry, “Badlands” stands apart — pairing high-stakes action with a meditative exploration of empathy, identity and what it truly means to survive.