‘Predator: Badlands’ review: The iconic sci-fi villain turns hero in propulsive instalment of long-running franchise

Dir: Dan Trachtenberg. US. 2025. 107mins

Reconceiving the iconic sci-fi villain as an underdog hero, Predator: Badlands is a consistently entertaining action-thriller filled with propulsive set pieces. Director Dan Trachtenberg, who previously made Prey and Predator: Killer Of Killers, returns to the franchise for a third instalment – this time focusing on the runt of the alien clan, who is on a quest to prove himself by slaying a seemingly undefeatable beast. With Elle Fanning in an agreeable dual role as very different robots, this standalone picture boasts an arresting scope along with a soupcon of potent emotional undercurrent.

Grounded performances and believable scenarios

Disney unveils Predator: Badlands in the UK and US on November 7, hoping that the series (which began with the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle) still has a sizable audience. It will be the first Predator picture to hit theatres since 2018’s The Predator, which collected $161 million worldwide. (The 2022 prequel Prey and this summer’s animated Predator: Killer Of Killers both premiered on streaming.) Good reviews could help spread positive word-of-mouth, but Predator: Badlands may struggle to replicate the commercial success of another ageing Disney sci-fi property, 2024’s Alien: Romulus ($351 million).

Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi plays Dek, an inexperienced young Predator who barely escapes being killed by his heartless father, the tribal leader, because he’s the weakest warrior of the group. Setting off for the deadly planet of Genna, Dek hunts a fearsome creature known as the Kalisk, determined to kill it in order to demonstrate that he is a worthy fighter. But he will need help from Thia (Fanning), a friendly android he meets on Genna, whose bottom half was ripped off in an earlier altercation with the Kalisk.

Driven by Sarah Schachner and Benjamin Wallfisch’s percussion-heavy electronic score, the film exudes a taut efficiency, briskly moving from its gripping setup to Dek’s eventful arrival on Genna, a planet populated by all manner of bloodthirsty plant and animal species. The effects work needed to transform Schuster-Koloamatangi into the infamous Predator alien and Fanning into this badly damaged robot is impressive, and cinematographer Jeff Cutter utilises the New Zealand locations to make this futuristic tale feel appropriately epic and otherworldly.

Predator: Badlands can be a bit simplistic in its themes, with Dek and Thia conveniently bonding over the fact that they’re both outcasts. (In addition, this proud Predator, who insists his kind hunt alone, will come to learn that he needs the help of others.) But those occasionally corny interludes ultimately prove to be a welcome complement to Trachtenberg’s deft action sequences, which are stirring and brutally violent. 

As he illustrated with Prey, Trachtenberg has an ability to transcend what has sometimes been cheesy and self-mocking about this franchise. Although Predator: Badlands contains some lighter moments, the director largely invests in grounded performances and believable scenarios so that there are genuine stakes, especially as it relates to Dek’s slow realisation that being compassionate is not a weakness. And the film features a few nice twists, including the introduction of a second android, the malevolent Tessa (also played by Fanning), who is also trying to track down the Kalisk for her own reasons.

Schuster-Koloamatangi’s towering physicality is the most important quality he brings to Dek, but there’s also a subtle vulnerability to his muscular performance, hinting at how this alien warrior begins to soften. As Thia, Fanning may periodically overplay the robot’s endearingly irreverent, talky demeanour, but she and Schuster-Koloamatangi develop a touching rapport despite the amount of CGI required to bring their characters to life. (By contrast, Fanning’s sweetness melts away when she portrays Tessa, who views her fellow android as an inferior model.)

Longtime Predator fans will know that Badlands is not the first time these ferocious hunters have been the good guys. (In the forgettable but profitable Alien Vs. Predator films of the Aughts, audiences rooted for the Predators over the Xenomorphs.) But Trachtenberg and Schuster-Koloamatangi have crafted a legitimately heroic and nuanced extra-terrestrial who rises to the occasion, not just to save the day but also to grow as an alien. Nearly 40 years after his first big-screen appearance, the Predator may finally be coming into his own.