etermined to earn his place amongst his clan, young predator Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) ambitiously chooses to hunt the “unkillable” Kalisk on the murderously inhospitable planet of Genna for his official rite of passage, to become a Yautja. Once there, the hunter soon becomes the hunted, however, as all manner of local wildlife attempts to consume him. With the aid of a stranded synthetic (Elle Fanning) and a curious alien primate, Dek must learn to become something more than a mere killer if he hopes to claim his trophy.

Opening with booming music and sound designs that are immediately reminiscent of the “Dune” movies (several members of the sound department previously worked on “Prey” and “Alien: Earth”), “Predator: Badlands” wastes no time getting into the excitement. Quite relentlessly, alien beings fight one another, tearing through unforgiving terrain as they slash and hack at their surroundings and their opponents. And it looks fantastic; the imagery is crisp and exotic for this exceptionally heavy-hitting sci-fi smorgasbord, which further boasts plenty of appropriate seriousness and bloodshed (though nothing outrageous, since it earned a humbling PG-13 rating).

The main character may be a monster, but he exhibits all the emotions of a human: pride, betrayal, guilt, grief, fear, anger, and more. Interestingly, the world he’s thrust into is so hostile and treacherous that he’s instantly a source of sympathy; everything is trying to kill him, right down to the little caterpillars. And because the hazardous environment of Genna is so unyielding, it’s the perfect setup for Thia, the robot woman, to settle into as comic relief. In the central, unlikely partnership, Thia’s humanity allows for Dek to remain as severe as he needs to be to keep up appearances as a noble hunter. From a special effects standpoint, it’s a bit clunky when the synth is hoisted around on the predator’s back (movement is noticeably unconvincing), but for the sake of the story, it’s a useful way to keep the two in frame, engaging in conversations, and working together.

After all, despite the focus on extraterrestrial monstrosities biting and snapping and ripping at everything in their paths, the premise pinpoints one of the prime examples of the human condition: teamwork. Building upon the notion that Dek’s species hunts alone for the sport of being in danger, it’s amusing to see the cultural shift when he realizes that joining forces just might be the only way to survive. It’s the mindset of the individual staying solo against the values of a family or a clan looking out for one another (hinted at with a wolf-pack analogy), which can afford varying perspectives and more complex strategies; and since there are no limits on what can pop up on the planet, greater numbers certainly helps. Allies and emotional bonds arrive in unexpected places, especially when artificial intelligence is allowed to do a touch too much thinking on its own.

Ultimately, “Predator: Badlands” is all about nonstop combat and violence; the pacing is so fast that there’s never time to catch one’s breath. Mayhem is around every corner. Perhaps what the film does best is to strike an enjoyable tone; it may be inexorable in its brutalities, but it’s an awful lot of fun in the process, as it lightly expands upon Predator lore and introduces some new weaponry and tech and critters. It may be fairy simple, feeling derivative at times of other pictures that boasted uneasy alliances and twists on who the real enemies are (“Jurassic World: Rebirth” most recently featured a gimmick or two reused here), but it’s spot-on for the series, staying faithful to the films that came before it. And though some of the creature designs could have been more unique, and the source of villainy could have been more original, this is still one rivetingly action-packed production, welcomingly good-natured in its savagery and satisfying in its interspecies collaborations.

– The Massie Twins