Since 2022, director Dan Trachtenberg has single-handedly revitalized the PREDATOR franchise. Before him, I had only seen the original from 1987. His first was PREY, a story about a colony of Indigenous natives having their lives disrupted by a Predator. You can find this underrated gem on Disney Plus. His second was PREDATOR: KILLER OF KILLERS, an animated but still violent triple tale of three different Predators in three different time periods I will call “The Shield”, “The Sword”, and “The Bullet”. Also great, also on Disney Plus. Now, in his third foray of the franchise, and his first to be released in theatres, is PREDATOR: BADLANDS. This is a sci-fi action thriller about a young Predator named Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi), who is the runt of his Predator tribe, the Yautja. Outcast for being “weak”, he journeys to the most dangerous planet Genna (sounds like somebody’s ex), to kill the most dangerous game (no, it’s not man), the legendary alien Kalisk. As soon as he crash-lands everything is trying to kill him (is it Australia?). Everything except a synthetic robot named Thia (Elle Fanning). She is bubbly and yappy in the most charming way. She helps Dek survive the planet in exchange for him getting her to her legs that were ripped off. I absolutely love the fact that Koloamatangi actually carried Fanning on his back like a backpack for most of the runtime. Dude’s got calves for days! This is the first time in the franchise where we see from the Predator’s perspective. Their culture is very much like the Klingons of Star Trek, only the strong survive. I’ve heard some complaints from franchise fans about how it’s not as dark and violent as it needs to be, but to me, the bits of humour and light-heartedness are a bonus. On top of that, it humanizes the characters, even though there are no humans in the film. Being the runt of his tribe made me empathize with Dek; I was pretty much immediately rooting for him. He has an extremely large chip on his shoulder. The world-building is unbelievable. From the various creature designs to the deadly plant-life, it really feels like an ecosystem. Even the Predator lore and culture is there. They got the guy who created the language of the Navi in AVATAR to create the language of the Yautja. The script is tight and paced really well. The action scenes are still very violent and satisfying, even though there’s no blood. The visuals are unbelievable, considering the budget. It has a beautiful marriage between the PREDATOR and ALIEN universes without being forced in or too obvious. It feels like an odyssey of an underdog. The story gets a little predictable but there are still quite a few surprises. I love the chemistry and banter between the characters. The movie is badass, entertaining, and satisfying. Trachtenberg stated that he is well aware that Predator purists may criticize PREDATOR: BADLANDS, but insists that retreading and remaking the same thing over and over risks upsetting everyone. He also stated that if this film does well (it is), he will make one more. Yes! Take risks. Make bold choices. I am here for all of it. Keep going Dan!