Dan Trachtenberg is doing today what James Cameron did at the peak of his imaginative and filmmaking prowess. In his new film Predator: Badlands, he does something similar to what Cameron did with the first two Terminator films. For one, he plucks a member of an alien race and turns him into a "good guy" — a shift reminiscent of Arnold Schwarzenegger's malevolent killing machine-turned-benevolent saviour evolution in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The immediate thought that came to me is the way in which we react when a terrifying reptile appears in front of us. Has it occurred to you that the reptile is minding its own business, and we just happened to cross its path, and whatever it does next will depend on whether we are going to attack it or move away from it?
Predator: Badlands opens with another familiar image, one from Trachtenberg's Prey — of a tiny creature consumed by a relatively bigger creature, which is in turn eaten by a larger predator. As though very attached to his creation, Trachtenberg makes this a recurring image a couple of times, but thankfully, he doesn't make the mistake of repeating what he did in the other two Predator entries. There are, of course, some delightful nods to not just earlier films in the series but also the original Alien saga. When Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi), the Yautja “hero” of Badlands, lands on a hostile alien planet in pursuit of a trophy, he encounters threats that make those faced by Jake Scully in his first arrival on Pandora seem extremely tame in comparison. Cameron's Avatar films may not have anything new to offer (a pity!), but Badlands owes as much to Cameron's early work as to the work of another legend, George Lucas.
Fans of Star Wars, specifically the original trilogy, will find the latest Yautja adventure bearing striking visual tributes. I also didn't expect to walk into an action spectacle and find myself deeply moved by the end. Who would've expected a Predator film to implicitly denounce the ills of patriarchal conditioning and toxic masculinity? It may seem funny to see these words in the review of an action movie. No spoilers, but the events in Badlands are kicked off with a disquieting conflict inside a dysfunctional family on the Yautja planet that quickly turns ugly. How could it not when you hail from a family where weakness isn't tolerated — a family that doesn't consider you a member of the Yautja clan unless you've brought back a trophy. And what’s this trophy? A certain creature that’s unlike anything we’ve seen before. But before getting to it, Dek has to overcome many life-threatening obstacles and game-like levels. The only way to do that is if he takes the effort to not only adapt and improvise, but also break away from the kind of conditioning that taught him that you earn the 'Alpha' label only if you do a certain thing.
The most brilliant quality of Badlands is Trachtenberg telling a very human story with two unlikely comrades: an extraterrestrial being who sees "sensitivity" as a weakness and an android with "feelings". When the former eventually realises it's time to do away with archaic ideas, it leads to some of the film's most stunning action setpieces, which include a remarkably ingenious callback to the finale of Aliens, the James Cameron-directed sequel for which Badlands is a perfect mirror image, thematically speaking. The deeper you go into Badlands, the parent-child bond — fractured or otherwise — is revealed as a recurring motif, thereby making Badlands undoubtedly the most moving entry in the Predator franchise yet. Even the Schwarzenegger original cannot boast of the various astonishing feats managed by Badlands in the emotional department.
The planet Genna, upon which Dek crash-lands, introduces flora and fauna with personalities both terrifying and amusing. Some are revealed to possess healing properties, others become potential weapons for future battles (with jaw-dropping choreography!). Of the several creatures of varying sizes, some may become enemies, others allies. Have you ever imagined a silkworm-type creature that can slowly turn its body into a grenade? Have you imagined an ape-like creature with a tough exterior capable of thwarting destruction from a giant creature's fang? You'll find them here. There are much more. Badlands is loaded with more surprises than you can count. And that also applies to the emotions department. Combine all this with the rousing score cooked up by Sarah Schachner and Benjamin Wallfisch, and seamless 3D, and you have a worthwhile time at the movies!
With the trio of Prey, Predator: Killer of Killers, and Predator: Badlands, Trachtenberg has firmly cemented himself as a maverick visionary whose storytelling talents are on par with the greats. Badlands ends with the promise of another installment, one I cannot wait to watch. Meanwhile, let me book another round of this one.
Film: Predator: Badlands
Director: Dan Trachtenberg
Cast: Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, Elle Fanning, Mike Homik
Rating: 5/5
