Predator: Badlands Review - This Kid-Friendly Sequel Still Serves Some Thrills

Earlier this year, a bombshell report in Variety revealed that Disney executives have been desperately trying to get Hollywood's top names to pitch original blockbuster movie ideas for Gen Z men, as Marvel and "Star Wars" films increasingly fail to capture the generation's imagination. You can understand the internal panic, as they knew what was coming next: a "Tron" legacy sequel nobody asked for or particularly liked, and the first big screen "Predator" effort since "Prey" revived the franchise critically – outside of streaming, it was still a big gamble.

Much has been written about legacy sequels failing to capture public interest, with studios still betting the house on the hope that one will wind up as a sensation in the "Top Gun: Maverick" mold, But the timing of that report felt like an early admission of defeat from the Mouse House, admitting that they knew nothing on their slate was going to speak to their desired demographics. Young people are still going to the movies in droves, but why would it ever be for sequels to 40-year-old franchises, instead of stories that speak directly to them?

That article was consistently at the forefront of my mind while watching "Predator: Badlands," director Dan Trachtenberg's third film in the rebooted monster movie franchise, but the first where every creative decision seems to be geared toward getting a new generation of teenage fans onboard. Yes, it exists in the shadow of the PG-13 rating that seems designed to turn veteran fans off sight unseen, but beyond that, this takes the very familiar hero's journey template, making a mighty Killer of Killers the protagonist for the first time to tell a story about a Predator learning that he doesn't have to hide his sensitive side. It sounds like a car crash, a project reverse engineered in a lab as if to try and get middle aged men to complain about their beloved franchise suddenly going "woke," the badass lead told to explore his inner emotions by a female robot sidekick (Thia, played by Elle Fanning in the broadest of comic relief performances).

In "Predator: Badlands," there is no narrative decision that sounds particularly well-advised when singled out. The fact it all adds up to an enjoyable romp, albeit one that never feels as bold as its parts, is likely an encouraging sign that Dan Trachtenberg has attained a similar status to Phil Lord and Chris Miller a decade ago, taking pitches that sound disastrous and turning them into non-compromised crowd-pleasers against all the odds.

The core idea of centering the story on young Yauja Dek — played by Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi in a performance entirely in a language newly devised for this film — is an intriguing one, but Trachtenberg doesn't settle for simply flipping the script on the pre-existing "Predator" narrative template, pitting him against a ragtag army of humans. Instead, cast out by his family for being a perceived weakling, he ventures to the planet of Kalisk to find and kill a tougher foe that will reinforce that he's a fearsome warrior, hungry for blood. Naturally, navigating this landscape is easier said than done, with deadly plants and creatures that feel almost prehistoric always on the hunt for food — and Dek isn't the only person there, with Thia part of the Weyland-Yutani corporation's expedition for new energy resources in this remote intergalactic outpost.

Trachtenberg has said that Westerns and post-apocalyptic sci-fi like the "Mad Max" saga were the biggest influences on "Badlands," but his blockbuster is far less brooding than those comparisons make it seem. In fact, as soon as Thia is introduced, the film stops feeling like a sci-fi spin on "First Blood" and more like a mismatched buddy cop comedy, with a loose cannon lead hungry for violence and a sidekick who has been programmed to be by-the-book, even if she is gaining sentience and finding pure wonder within this hostile new world she's found herself in.

It goes without saying that your mileage may vary on this approach, as the "Predator" franchise has historically been at its worst when trying to tap into a comedic vein over the action; Shane Black's 2018 "The Predator" is also a low point for him as a writer. Considering that Black wrote the original "Lethal Weapon" movie, which coronated the formula for the buddy cop genre, you could argue that "Predator: Badlands" is best enjoyed as what you would have assumed a Black-scripted film in this universe would have looked like — and as that was the last "Predator" film to have been released in theaters, following that influence at this moment of creative rejuvenation for the long-derided franchise feels like a very deliberate course correction.

As with Dan Trachtenberg's two prior "Predator" efforts, it mostly works as a pure standalone film even though there are nods to more expansive lore; I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Kevin Feige is desperately trying to get Trachtenberg to hop on the Marvel train to similarly streamline their unruly cinematic universe. However, the minor crossover with "Alien," having our synth lead be from the evil corporation at the narrative center of that franchise, is distracting — the lack of narrative impact it actually has here does make it feel like a studio mandated inclusion in the hope of building toward another "Alien vs Predator" monster mash in the future.

This ultimately brings "Badlands" back to the same legacy sequel problem I outlined at the beginning: can a movie truly function as a standalone adventure if it's gesturing so much toward additional IP, and will a complete newcomer to the franchise find it too distracting, like they haven't done their homework before sitting the big exam? It's the only one of the bad ideas that "Badlands" comprises of to feel faulty in practice, a jarring reminder that in this age of blockbuster storytelling, nothing can truly exist on its own terms, standing in stark contrast to the two straight-to-streaming "Predator" movies that came before it. On the more risk-averse big screen, brand synergy is demanded as a safety net for a more challenging proposition, which only neuters its boldness.

"Badlands" is an enjoyable action-adventure when it's at its most straightforward, flipping the script on the franchise so subtly that the narrative never registers as the sum of several creative decisions that seem misguided on paper. It's also inarguably Trachtenberg's weakest "Predator" to date, even if it does work against all the odds.

"Predator: Badlands" premieres in theaters on November 7.