So whilst the concept of the Predator pitted against Arnie’s increasing stardom was lucrative the successive films took an almost inevitable downward trend of franchises hitting a nadir with The Predator (2018) and all seemed dead. But writer-director Dan Trachtenberg took the creature and revitalized the franchise quite brilliantly breathing new life into the creature with ‘Prey’ (2022) sending the predator back to a Native American setting and pitting it against a female. That it was met with huge acclaim frustrated the fans only because they wanted to see it on the big screen (and it deserved to be) rather than streaming platforms that now rightly sees a follow up film Predator Badlands in IMAX.
As with the brief animated series Killer of Killers Trachtenberg has put the creature in another era and this time it’s another planet in a future world were we meet Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) that we first meet in furious battle against another Predator. But that fight is a test turns as to whether he is fit to join his clam of killers. It turns out he’s not according to his father who struts up at the end of the battle telling Dek that he’s inadequate, an embarrassment that brings disgrace on the clan. Rumours that the role of Dek was to be played by Prince Harry remain unfounded.
Escaping certain death at the hands of his father Dek escapes to another planet one that is rife with danger at every turn with so many murderous monsters at every turn it could be Sadiq Khan’s London. It’s here that Dek stumbles across a synthetic Thia (Elle Fanning) or to be exact, half a cyborg as the robot has lost her legs and has to be carried on Dek’s back after they form an alliance to help each other ( the films working title was, ‘Backpack’). She’s been separated from her sister synthetic Tessa and has been awaiting rescue by her for some time but to no avail so Dek is possibly her only chance.
But Dek has other ideas with his intention to find the Kalisk and bring its head back to prove to his father that he not the runt of the predator litter. Dek is sooner to find that its easier said than done as the Kalisk is a brutal monster, and the apex predator on the planet and rumoured to be un-killable and its more likely that Dek will be a trophy skull for the Kalisk rather than the other way round. So he makes a grudging alliance with Thia to salvage her in exchange for her knowledge of the planet and its creatures.
But this is more than a simple monster v monsters film because as already hinted at in the trailers Thia is part of the Weyland-Yutani organisation that created Ian Holm’s synthetic Ash in the original ‘Alien’ film way back in 1979 and has been popping up throughout the Alien films and the company continues to be the most shady of organisations and Predator Badlands hints at just where the future of the franchise might be heading.
Trachtenberg and his co-writer Patrick Aison have fashioned a story that’s likely to appeal to a broad fanbase but it’s not without its issues. There’s am unwanted levity from a mini monster that may irk the hardcore fans with a creature that veers dangerously close to Jar-Jar Binks territory. Though Dek’s gruffness is balanced by Thia’s cheery upbeat disposition which gives the film a degree of lightness amongst the barbarity but the brutality of previous films is reserved for the monster v monsters demanded by the plot line.
But that aside Elle fanning provides the charm that for the first time sees the predator as a protagonist and the creatures are inventive and the fights engaging making much of Predator Badlands monstrously good fun and there’s enough intrigue to want to see how this franchise might develop to accommodate another equally famous alien life form.
related feature : The missing Alien v Predator scenes
related feature : Prey – we talk Predators with lead actress AMBER MIDTHUNDER & producer JHANE MYERS
Dan Trachtenberg, Elle Fanning and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi at the World premiere in London…..
Here’s the Predator Badlands trailer…..
The post Predator Badlands – REVIEW appeared first on Any Good Films.
from Any Good Films https://ift.tt/KR5BAs3
