Predator: Badlands is the best Predator movie since the first one. Ferociously original, it is simultaneously a dissection and a dissertation of what makes the franchise so much fun. The special effects are great, and the action is terrific, but it’s what’s brimming just below the surface that makes it an instant classic.
A young Predator (called a “runt” by his warrior father) sets out to prove himself by traveling to a hostile planet and kill an indestructible monster. Along the way, he happens along a heavily damaged synthetic (Elle Fanning) whom he uses as a “tool” to track his prey. He soon learns there are even more dangerous things lurking on the planet.
I never thought I’d actually care about a Predator until Badlands. Yes, I may have rooted for one in AVP, but I never in a million years could I have imagined being caught up in its warrior journey. The amazing thing about the movie is that director Dan Trachtenberg (encoring after the previous Predator film, Prey) is able to sneakily toss in some pretty timely themes into the film. I don’t want to spoil anything, so I will tread lightly. All I’ll say is that the movie is essentially a universal tale of not only finding yourself but family in a truly fucked-up world. Consider the Predator is spurned by his family for being “different”. While trying to make something of himself, he develops his own makeshift familial unit who grows to respect and support him. It’s a picture about shedding the baggage of the previous generation and blazing a new path of your own for the future.
Either that, or I’m just over analyzing the hell out of this. Either way, it’s a kick ass Predator movie.
Fans of the Alien series will no doubt love some of the touches here, especially in the third act. There were parts that reminded me of Avatar and Apocalypto too. They also managed to put an homage to Hard Target in there for good measure. Did I mention how great this thing is?
Fanning is hilarious as the plucky, wisecracking synthetic who is toted around on the Predator’s back like C-3PO in The Empire Strikes Back for much of the movie. Surprisingly enough, the bond that grows between her and the Predator is genuinely moving. The best performance though comes from the space monkey who completes their makeshift family. If you mixed the Cater-Puppy from House 2 with Boots from Dora the Explorer, it might give you an idea of what we are talking about here. Folks, there is a quiet, tender, and moving scene between the Predator and the space monkey where I got a legitimate lump in my throat. I’ve believed a lot of strange shit in cinema before, but in never thought I’d live to see that AND be genuinely moved. Yes, this movie is that fucking good.
The most beautiful thing about Badlands is that this is a wonderfully profound movie about humanity that doesn’t have a single human being in it. Yes, I’m serious.
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