While the Predator movies have occasionally ventured beyond Earth, Predator: Badlands marks the first installment in the film franchise where a Yautja warrior serves as the protagonist. The decision to center a film on one of the iconic alien hunters raised some eyebrows after the initial trailers were released, but Predator: Badlands‘ critical acclaim confirms that filmmaker Dan Trachtenberg is on a hot streak, successfully revitalizing the series for modern audiences. The film is packed with exhilarating set pieces and top-notch creature design, delivering the visceral action fans expect. However, while the shift in perspective is a bold move, the film’s most brilliant trick is how it ingeniously reinvents the Yautja’s classic arsenal while paying homage to the very first movie.
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Warning: Spoilers below for Predator: Badlands.
The majority of Predator: Badlands is set on Genna, a planet so dangerous that even the most seasoned Yautja hunters avoid it. The young warrior Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) arrives on this hostile world intending to hunt down and kill the Kalisk, a legendary beast no other member of his species has ever managed to slay. As an undersized outcast, Dek believes this impossible feat is the only way to prove his worth and earn the right to return to the clan that tried to have him culled.
Genna proves to be an even greater challenge than Dek anticipated, a world where every life form has evolved to survive in one of the deadliest corners of the cosmos. Dek’s ignorance of the local flora and fauna puts him in constant peril, as even the plants and small insects are lethal. His fortune changes when he encounters Thia (Elle Fanning), a damaged Weyland-Yutani synthetic who lost her legs in a previous Kalisk attack. Dek allies with her to find the beast, and Thia’s encyclopedic knowledge of Genna’s ecosystem becomes the key to his survival, transforming him into an even deadlier predator.
Predator: Badlands Makeshift Weapons Prove the Franchise Is in Good Hands
During Predator: Badlands‘ final stretch, Dek’s personal evolution culminates in a decision to abandon the most toxic elements of the Yautja honor code to protect his new pack. This mission requires him to rescue Thia and the captured Kalisk from a Weyland-Yutani base after his advanced weaponry is stolen by Thia’s synthetic twin, Tessa. Stripped of his technology, Dek is forced to use the hostile environment of Genna as his armory.
Dek crafts a makeshift suit of armor from the durable husks of rhinoceros-like aliens he previously hunted for food. Then, he tames an acid-spitting eel, training it to fire on command from his shoulder, creating a biological replacement for the iconic plasma caster. The planet’s razor-sharp “glass grass” is also fabricated into replacement wrist claws, knives, and even a grappling hook tied with vines. Finally, the explosive caterpillars native to Genna become Dek’s version of hand grenades, while plants that shoot poisonous spikes are repurposed as traps.
This entire sequence is a lesson in creative action design, putting a twist on the high-tech equipment fans have known for decades. Trachtenberg had already innovated the Predator’s arsenal in the animated movie Predator: Killer of Killers, which introduced new tools and weapons never before seen on film. Badlands demonstrates that the filmmaker has a deep well of ideas for keeping the franchise fresh, with these improvised biological weapons standing out as the movie’s most memorable contribution.
More importantly, the sequence serves as a direct homage to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch from the original 1987 film. After being hunted and realizing his own firearms were worthless against the Yautja, Dutch used his environment to gain an advantage, relying on mud, traps, and guerrilla tactics. He ultimately defeated the Predator with cunning and ingenuity. Dek does exactly the same, learning to master the dangers of Genna to become its ultimate survivor.
Predator: Badlands is currently in theaters.
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