Watch this weekend: Predator: Badlands – A Wild Sci-Fi Spin That Turns the Hunter Into the Heart

Predator: Badlands is a refreshingly bold departure from the franchise formula, and director Dan Trachtenberg's latest venture proves that sometimes reinvention beats repetition. Hitting theaters on November 7, 2025, this ninth installment flips the script entirely—instead of watching humans hide from an unstoppable alien killer, you're now rooting for the Predator himself. And surprisingly, it works.

The premise alone is audacious: Dek, a young Yautja runt deemed too weak by his ruthless father Njohrr, gets exiled to a lethal planet called Genna with one mission—hunt the Kalisk, an unkillable apex predator. There's only one problem: survival. Enter Thia, a damaged Weyland-Yutani synthetic brought to life by Elle Fanning, who becomes Dek's unlikely ally in a landscape that wants them both dead. Together, they navigate otherworldly dangers, corporate greed, and the weight of family trauma.

What makes Badlands genuinely compelling is how Trachtenberg humanizes an alien. From the opening sequence where Dek's father orders his own brother killed for defying orders, the film strips away the mystique of the Predator as a mindless killing machine and presents them as a deeply flawed society bound by toxic masculine hierarchies. You watch Dek's face—that signature toothy maw—express rage, fear, confusion, and vulnerability. It's unsettling at first, but it works because the performances are grounded and convincing, blending practical prosthetics with digital effects seamlessly.

Elle Fanning steals much of the film as Thia. She brings warmth and humor to a synthetic character that could have been hollow, and her chemistry with the CGI Predator hero creates genuinely touching moments. Fanning also deftly handles dual roles as Tessa, Thia's antagonistic twin sister, adding complexity to the emotional stakes. There's an intriguing subtext here about identity, control, and what it means to be human—themes that elevate this beyond typical action fare.

The action sequences themselves are visceral and inventive. Trachtenberg refuses to hide the Predator during combat; instead, Dek becomes the focal point, learning, adapting, and surviving. The fights feel brutal without relying solely on gore—since most adversaries are synthetic beings, the carnage has a different texture. One standout sequence involving Thia's severed torso and legs working in tandem is both ridiculous and thrilling in equal measure.

However, Badlands isn't without criticism. The Hindustan Times reviewer nailed a valid concern: the film borders on demystifying the Predator entirely, reducing an iconic entity to a whiny teenager with family issues. Tones of toxic masculinity critiques and emotional melodrama occasionally clash with the franchise's brutal edge. The plot echoes familiar beats—think How to Train Your Dragon—and some emotional peaks feel overwrought for what should be a creature-feature spectacle.

The production budget sits at $105 million, filmed in New Zealand, and it shows in the alien landscape's stunning cinematography. The film racked $4.8 million in preview screenings, setting modest expectations for the wider theatrical run.

For UAE audiences, particularly fans of sci-fi action and creature-driven narratives, Predator: Badlands offers something genuinely different. It's flawed, occasionally melodramatic, but undeniably entertaining. The film doesn't reinvent cinema, but it does something rarer—it proves the Predator franchise still has fresh stories to tell.

Rating: 3.5/5