By Gabriel Payne
The newest installment of the Predator franchise, Dan Trachtenberg’s “Predator: Badlands,” is an excellent addition to a long list of quality movies. But this movie stands out for so much more than the raw action and adrenaline pumping sequences. It’s funny, heartwarming and thoughtfully deals with refreshingly relevant themes.
The film follows the journey of Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi), a young Yautja warrior seeking to claim honor and glory among his clan by proving himself the ultimate “Predator.” In pursuit of this conquest, Dek finds himself abandoned on the lethal death planet, Genna, and must quickly adapt to its environment, before he becomes its prey.
The defining characteristic of this movie is how genuinely fun it is. It takes a large step away from the typical genre that the franchise embodies, focusing on the heart of the characters and their development rather than gruesome action set pieces.
A large contributor to this shift is the synthetic android character, Thia (Elle Fanning). Her inclusion in the story offered a light-heartedness to the film’s more intense moments and drew out a deeply emotional aspect to Dek’s character. She humanizes him, shining a light on the soul within the beast.
The movie balances emotionally sensitive components with plenty of entertaining, albeit generic, action scenes. The world of Genna offers a plethora of unique elements for these scenes, from bizarre creatures to surreal landscape features. The creativity of the set designers and director really shines during these moments by crafting both visually stunning and wonderfully engaging experiences.
The central theme of the film is a thoughtful and purposeful message that is deeply relevant to any audience member. Throughout his journey, Dek is learning the true meaning of strength. While at first he is hesitant to accept assistance from those around him, he comes to learn that a true leader is not the one who undertakes every task alone. Instead, as Thia shares with him, the true leader is “the one who best protects the pack.”
To be strong does not mean to be alone. In fact, true strength comes from the people you surround yourself with and dedicate yourself to serve and protect. When Dek entered Genna alone, he only ever faced failure after failure. But once he embraced those around him, he was able to surmount any obstacle that came across his path. In the same way, when we embrace the community that surrounds us, we embrace one of the greatest resources that the Lord has provided for us as we walk this beautifully difficult journey called life.
This film provides an excellent family friendly experience with its immersive visuals and uplifting nature. The emotional beats hit hard, yet never take themselves too seriously. There’s always room for a laugh and it keeps you engaged with its creatively executed high adrenaline moments.
Most of what this film has to offer is pretty generic, but that doesn’t mean that it is not an enjoyable experience. The task that Dek undertakes parallels the basic hero’s journey storyline that Disney has familiarized us with. This feature is honestly refreshing to see in a landscape filled with so many projects trying desperately to be “outside of the box.” This movie is not overly complex and not overly dark, just a fun time at the theatre with your friends.
While I understand that Badlands is completely different from the vibe of its franchise, as a movie it does not leave much to be desired. By no means does it deserve the title of masterpiece, but it most definitely is a good movie. I would highly recommend this film to anyone and I give it a 7/10.
“Predator: Badlands” is currently showing in theatres
Gabriel Payne is a junior Mechanical Engineering major whose greatest passion in life is glorifying the Lord, followed closely by some good soul food.
Pictures courtesy of Toberoff Entertainment and 20th Century Studios
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