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Predator Badlands 2025 Movie Review
- Yadav B V
- Nov 13
- 4 min read
Updated: Nov 14
The Predator Franchise has gone through many iterations with a common storyline connecting the dots, yet each film has its own thing going on. In this iteration you see a ( somewhat ) more social Predator/Yautja with an actual name that goes on its hero's journey.
In case you want to catch up with all that has gone on with this awesome franchise you can check out Predator Movie Franchise Deep Dive Before Badlands.
TMJ Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿/5
The Plot of Predator Badlands
Predator Badlands is closer to The Guardians of the Galaxy than it is to any of the movies in its own lineage which is not a bad thing completely. The plot is simple - a dysfunctional alien family goes through issues such as the father trying to kill the son deeming him to be too weak to be a Yautja.
The brother falls on the sword in his place, kicking off the hero's quest for a rite of passage including an unkillable alien beast's head as a trophy to earn his invisibility doodad, so he can cheat like his ancestors and hunt other animals which seem fierce but have zero grasp of weapons tech.
One important plot point is highlighting dysfunctional families across the universe. the director also leans on the found families trope ( reminds one of Ice age trio, again similar to Alien Earth Ice age flashback of Sid )
The reason why Badlands works at all is because the plot is simple and the execution is stellar. There are no needless plot complications and loose ends, no forced cameos or CGI for the sake of CGI. The story is predictable, but still done really well, unlike the MCU that needs to time-travel just to take a piss, and an inter-dimensional portal to wipe the dirty seat.
The movie is pretty enjoyable, although Arnold purists would definitely take issue with turning the fierce franchise into an Ice Age wannabe.
Elle Fanning as the synth Thia and Dimitrius Koloamatangi as Dekk the Yautja do a great job of acting although this movie I feel is less about acting and depends heavily on direction, and action and CGI.
Symbolism in the movie
The trope of non-human getting on the back of a creature with a soul mirrors an ancient Indian tale of Vikram and Betaal where a King has to answer the questions of a restless spirit who has climbed on his back, with each wrong answer bringing the King closer to his death.
( the robot does represent a ghost )
A hint at the planet that Dekk crash-lands being hell is the grass that is made of razor blades which is mentioned in ancient Indian scripture called the Garuda Purana where sinners are sent to hell to atone for their sins. Razor grass is merely the welcome mat to such a cursed place, a lot more horrors are in store both in the movie and in those scriptures.
I was under the impression that Predator Badlands would go the way of the 2016 Ghostbusters, since much of the original lore has been altered along with the somewhat serious tone of the Franchise. But the audience loves the change in plot and responding well to the shift in storytelling.
The ship that houses the synth Tess is from the Weland Yutani company with the name Mother taking us back to Sigourney Weaver's debut on the Nostromo in the very first Alien.
The scene where Dekk picks up the synth Thia and tosses it aside seems to mirror the semi popular video of the gorilla picking up a meerkat and tossing it aside. I wonder if real life inspired the movie scene.
Sarah Schachner and Benjamin Wallfisch do an excellent job with the background score incorporating throat singing into the whole thing which gives the track an other worldly feel.
Action Sequences
The weapons used in Badlands are really cool with plasma weaponized in various forms from a sword or knife's edge to a shield and a bow that generates and shoots plasma arrows.
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The action is pretty unique in that almost every kill has something different in its execution, with Dekk even going on the lines of RDJ in Iron Man 3 and building his own weapons with the help of hell planet's indigenous matter and life-forms.
There is a scene where Dekk uses the hell-planet's Razor glass as Kunai or like the axe rope in Prey which is a good callback. Another scene sees one of the synths using what seems to be a massive version of the P-5000 Power Loader ( an exosuit cargo robot ) to battle the predator and an unkillable regenerative monster.
I tried out something called 3DX which so much more immersive than just 3D. Its not too distracting either, with the main screen showing the audience clear images and the background scene details being projected on the sides of the cinema hall. Pretty cool concept - simple, yet so much of a difference.
Should You Watch It? Yes!
The reason why this movie is worth watching is because of a simple plot, great action and so-so jokes. It is a lighter take on the classic Predator franchise.
