The Mosley Review: Predator: Badlands
Who would've thought this day would finally come? For the longest time, the holy trinity of 80's sci-fi monsters have had their day in the sun. The Alien, the Terminator and the Predator have all had films in their catalogs expand on their lore and for the most part one of them has been the most prolific. I have waited for someone to delve deeper into the lore and culture of the Predator and I am truly astounded that we got something that stays true to the spirit of the character. The Yautja has always been the villain of human stories and now comes the time for it to shine as the hero. I loved the stripped down and dirty nature of the story as it should be. Most will say that there wasn't much to mine from this story of survival, redemption and the all familiar coming of age story, but I dare those to look harder at the many other themes at work here. I did enjoy the brutal action and set pieces, but it was the moments between the Yautja and the synthetic that surprised me the most.
Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi delivers a spectacular performance as the new Predator, Dek. Right from the beginning, you empathize with Dek as he is the runt of his clan and you see how that fueled him to prove that he is worthy of becoming a respected warrior. The age old story of being the smaller black sheep of the family pulses through the film and Dek fights valiantly to prove his father otherwise. I loved his dedication to the hunt and I was so glad that his adaptability was not hampered in any way. The physicality that Dimitrius conveys through the character's movements in the practical suit was nothing short of amazing. There is an emotional scale to Dek that was interesting to explore as his warrior ways prevent him from showing too much empathy, but there was just enough there to show that he was well rounded. Elle Fanning was excellent and charming as the new synthetic, Thia. I loved her calm, bright-eyed approach to many of the dangerous the situations. Her chemistry with Dek was so much fun and surprisingly hilarious at times. The two of them learn so much from each and the many twists that happen along the way were sometimes sad. Like David Jonsson did in Alien: Romulus, Elle has given a new level empathic definition to an android. Elle also gets another chance to show her range in the film as another synthetic. As Tessa, you get to see her as the more cold and militant version of a synthetic. There is a bond between her and Thia that was explored in a decent amount of time and I loved it. Through the both of them, you get to see the cold and manipulative nature of the evil Weyland Yutani Corporation.
The score by Sarah Schachner and Benjamin Wallfisch was perfection. It was exactly the perfect amount of tribalistic drums and adrenaline fueled synth that gave every action sequence more heft. The film had shades of Spartan and Viking levels of masculine energy that I haven't felt since The Northman. I loved the chanting in their language during the Yautja Prime sequences. Visually, the film was great to look at even though the opening action scene was a bit muddled in the low lighting. The action in the film does have the necessary CGI enhancements, but for the majority of the time, its done practically. It was as brutal as I was hoping it to be even if there are no humans to dismember. Director Dan Trachtenberg truly gets the feeling and lore of the Predator race and understands the warrior spirit of the Yautja. I cannot wait to see where we go next in this newly revitalized franchise. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!
