Plot: What’s it about?
If you’re a fan of the Predator franchise, well you’re in luck. Predator: Badlands represents the ninth entry that dates all the way back to 1987 when Arnold Schwarzenegger christened it. And, like many other franchises, there have been hits and misses. As for me, I really only cared for the first one. The rest just seem to follow the same format as the one that preceded it. And that’s fine. After all, it’s entertainment and if it turns a profit – the studios are happy and if it entertains on top of that, the audiences are. If we turn back the clock a few years, we’ll get a previous entry with Prey. It was a rather avant garde film that never saw a theatrical release, instead debuting on Hulu. They didn’t make the same mistake twice as Predator: Badlands went to theaters as the studio tried to re-create lightning in a bottle (same director and all). It worked.
This time around, the Predator doesn’t simply exist as a monster for people to fight, he’s somewhat the “good guy.” Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) is thought of by his father as the weakest of the Yautja species. In an effort to prove him wrong, he sets out for Genna, a planet far away, to kill one of the “unkillable” beasts known as the Kalisk. After he’s arrived, he finds that the planet isn’t exactly user-friendly. Add to that a chance encounter with a synthetic woman, Thia (Elle Fanning) and it leads to a deal: she’ll lead him to the Kalisk if he helps her retrieve the lower half of her body (I don’t feel this is a spoiler if you take a look at the cover art). And, in a nutshell, that’s it.
In a way, I suppose you could look at this as the Terminator 2 of the franchise. We’ve become so accustomed to the Predator being the antagonist, that this time around he/it’s flips the script. The same approach was done with M3GAN 2.0 though I’ll say the results were a bit better with this offering. I’ll be the first to admit that, as of this writing, I’d never seen Prey. I might have to go check it out. Generally if I don’t get it on disc, I don’t have the drive to go watch films that aren’t for review. It’s a double-edged sword and one that I’ve forged for myself over the last quarter of a century. There’s more to this than mindless action and killing, the story drives it and it really makes the film work. The talents of Elle Fanning (working with “half” a body) don’t hurt either. This is a great action film.
Video: How’s it look?
The Predator films have always had a very unique look and visual/visceral feel to them. Perhaps it’s just me, but I like the way they translate to on screen action. A majority of the film takes place in the jungle, so green hues tend to dominate. Detail is impeccable, we can see every leaf of nearly every tree. The beads of sweat on the actors’ faces and detail of the predator’s body armor. Amazing. The latter half of the movie is rather dark and I didn’t feel that it looked bad. There’s a bit of crush in a few scenes, but it’s hardly noticeable and otherwise this transfer is concurrent with what we’d expect from a new 4K release.
Audio: How’s it sound?
The Dolby Atmos soundtrack is right up there with the video – outstanding. Give the main two characters on screen, there’s been far more dialogue in other films, but what’s presented passes the test. Or maybe that was just me. Still, surrounds take control in several of the ending sequences and the LFE are involved as well. The front heavy soundtrack is about what I expected and though I wouldn’t classify this as anything terribly memorable, it more than served its purpose here and certainly heightens the viewing and listening experience.
Supplements: What are the extras?
- Audio Commentary – Watch the film with audio commentary by Director Dan Trachtenberg, Producer Ben Rosenblatt, Director of Photography Jeff Cutter and Stunt Coordinator Jacob Tomuri.
- Deleted & Pre-Visualization Scenes with Optional Audio Commentary:
- Sand Trap – An early animatic version of Dek’s very different first encounter with Thia.
- Squirt Canyon – The full version of Dek and Thia traversing the water-filled trench while trying to survive Genna…and each other.
- Tessa vs. Abe – Tessa faces off against a superior synth in this deleted scene and storyline.
- Razor Grass – The original previsualization of Dek, Thia, and Bud’s first hunt together…sort of.
- The Outpost – Thia takes Dek to a small Weyland-Yutani field facility where they experience a few things that ended up being used elsewhere in the final film.
- Super Power Loader Extended – Special additional moments during Dek’s climactic final battle with the Super Power Loader and the Kalisk.
- Featurettes
- Embodying the Predator – Meet the talented team of designers, performers, and effects artists responsible for bringing one of cinema’s most terrifying creatures to life on screen in ways we’ve never seen before!
- Authentic Synthetics – Get up close and personal with synths Thia and Tessa as star Elle Fanning walks us through the process of crafting two characters who may look the same but have evolved in surprisingly unique ways.
- Building the Badlands – With razor sharp grass, killer trees, and terrifying animals, never has a planet been more deadly than Genna. Uncover how a team of artisans built this threatening landscape, transforming real locations into the dangerous environments seen on screen.
- Dek of the Yautja – For the first time ever, director Dan Trachtenberg has given audiences an extended peek at Predator culture. Follow the evolution as filmmakers reveal the process behind developing the Yautja’s home world, spacecraft, and family dynamics.
The Bottom Line
I often don’t understand why they keep dragging franchises out over…decades. I mean, it’s easy for one. The storyline is already there and if you can come up with a good storyline then it really shouldn’t matter. Predator: Badlands isn’t the best entry in the series, but I’d put it just below the original. And that’s saying something.
