INTRO:

I’m Hank, longtime podcaster, filmmaker, and YouTuber, and this is my review of Disney’s Predator: Badlands.

This is a spoiler-filled review of the movie so you’ve been warned.

BUDGET:

Predator Badlands cost $105 million dollars to make. It would appear the 20th Century Studios (a Walt Disney Company) is going to make money. That hasn’t been a very common occurrence lately in film.

SETTINGS:

I didn’t like the scaled down look of Yautja Prime. From the lack of scale to the hazy look, I wasn’t a fan at all. When I say scale I don’t simply mean the size of the area. I like to see expansive worlds that are populated. There were parts of the planet Genna that felt expansive but it mostly felt like we were in front of a green screen for two hours. If your budget wasn’t $105 million dollars I’d let it slide.

CHARACTERS:

• Dek portrayed by Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi. The concept is universal so it works for the most part. I simply couldn’t wrap my mind around all the emotional dynamics of a human family coming from Predators.
• Thia & Tessa portrayed by Elle Fanning. The first several minutes of Thia’s appearance were like nails on a chalkboard! She was so annoying that I regretted going to the film. Over time, thankfully, that leveled off. That dynamic works in many different types of movies, just not a Predator movie. She was the comic relief that had a strange motivation that I didn’t quite understand because they didn’t give us any insight on how or why she was so connected to Tessa. The Tessa version was a one-note villain that doesn’t hesitate to lie to Mu/TH/UR.
• Father is portrayed by Reuben de Jong.
• Kwei is portrayed by Michael Homik.
• Bud is the baby Grogu style ripoff. She’s even referred to as a baby Kalisk. She’s funny and extremely important to the story but the comedy distracts from what a typical Predator movie should be. 

HITS:

• The concept of going on an adventure to prove your worth is tried and true. 
• The action sequences work well and are exhilarating in most instances.
• If they were going for a couples or family movie they hit the mark. I was about 20 minutes in when I said to myself, “oh, this is a couples/family movie.”
• The marketing appears to have worked as the first weekend was pretty solid.
• I like that they attempted to go in a different direction with the franchise even though it doesn’t work for me.

MISSES:

• This is a predator movie in name only.
• This is a human storyline portrayed by brand name that sells tickets.
• The overall look and lack of scale detract from the movie.
• I didn’t sign up for this style of Predator movie. Subverting expectations can work when you stay in the confines of the source material (which they didn’t).
• The father son conflict dynamic is pushed beyond belief.
• The brother references being saved by Dek but they don’t show it.
• The hunt seems irrelevant to the story which is simply a revenge story. Especially once Dek knows he won’t kill the kalisk. So why are we going on this adventure again?
• They borrowed from too many franchises and genres to list.

MOVIE SCORE: 5/10

DIRECTION: C

WRITING: D

CINEMATOGRAPHY: C

POST PRODUCTION (INCLUDES: SCORE, SFX, COLOR GRADE) : D

REWATCHABILITY: D

1 Awful content = Fails on every single level.

2-4 Poor = Terrible on almost every front.

5 Mediocre = Some of the content is worthwhile but mostly broken.

6 Average = Okay writing, acting, storytelling and execution.

7 Good = Solid writing, acting, storytelling and execution.

8 Great = Great writing, acting, storytelling and execution.

9 Almost Perfect = Very minor nitpicks but otherwise excellent.

10 Perfect =  A masterpiece! No writing, acting or storytelling flaws. Would hold up against all time classics (e.g. M.A.S.H., Lost, Game of Thrones etc).