IR Film Review: PREDATOR - BADLANDS [20th Century Studios]
With a franchise that seemed to get old in the tooth after the 2nd go around, writer/director Dan Trachtenberg has brought "Predator" back to the cinematic structure it needs to be but albeit from a different point. "Badlands" has the DNA, edge and balance of an old school "Predator" movie but it is also made and adjusted for the era we live in. This time we do it from a Predator point of view as he becomes a prey of sorts. Dimitrius Koloamatangi plays Dek, a young predator trying to make his bones. The beginning establishes almost the loophole that allows him to exist without damaging the dark hunter mentality of the Predator legacy. That said, this movie is definitely more woke beyond any Predator film of the past. It allows the idea of teamwork to creep in while still keeping the rude piousness of the Predator alive.
Dek arrives on a demon planet on a hunt he needs to complete in order to keep structure and honor to his clan (not unlike Klingons if you will). That approach though is flawed but the stakes (involving his brother) are definitely vivid and that is what throttles the movie up after its first quarter. What is interesting is the addition of Elle Fanning as Thia as well as another android...sisters if you will. Most of the time, this reviewer has not necessarily been keen on Fanning's performances, preferring her sister Dakota (who unfortunately hasn't done as many visible choices as of late). For Elle, "Badlands" is a conscious choice to be in the zeitgeist. It was definitely a good movie."Neon Demon" was a great choice but too off the beaten path. Fanning was in "Sentimental Value" at Cannes and that made sense but her performance didn't fill out that role (though the film was less dynamic than its director's previous). Here in "Badlands" she creates an innate balance that works but keys in much more when she plays the dark twin. The ice she shows indicates the range especially when Thia, half an android, forms an alliance with Dek.
The connection to the "Alien" universe is also much more defined since the androids are part of Weyland/Yutani Corporation and it does work in the aspect of the bio-weapons division we know so well. Now granted the timeline is not uber-clear in terms of its placement or where canon begins and ends. A couple interesting sequences (which revolve around how many ways the planet can kill them) create the MacGuffin of the eventual climax of the film and Dek's journey. It does make sense and creates some of the most human (per se) moments getting there. Trachtenberg by using androids and aliens in a new way gets a PG-13 rating whereas with real blood it would have been an R. But this is definitely a jump forward (even from "Prey").
The filmmaking is very confident with its own pace and humor without seeming derivative. It creates its own mythology without damaging details elsewhere. It creates a new world without losing view of the old one. Kolomoamatangi and Fanning create the right balance in terms of friends and foe. However at a few key points, it brings to mind the psychology of the Predator but also the notion of existence with the androids. There are bigger themes and yet it functions like a good action movie with a detailed script that doesn't lose sight of itself. "Predator: Badlands" knows what it is by pushing its bounds while not going too overboard and keeping itself in check. It ends up being edgy and entertaining while still existing in a state of wokeness yet not overstepping those bounds in an adverse way. A-
By Tim Wassberg
