Next year marks the 40th anniversary of Predator, and the franchise has yet to lure Arnold Schwarzenegger back for a sequel to the 1987 original film.
The latest Predator movie, Predator: Badlands, is making its streaming debut on Hulu this weekend after becoming a modest hit at the box office.
This film was directed and co-written by Dan Trachtenberg, the man behind Hulu’s great Predator prequel, Prey.
Now, Watch With Us is sharing the three reasons you should watch Predator: Badlands on Hulu this week.
‘Badlands’ Fleshes Out the Predators for the First Time Onscreen
It may surprise you to hear that the most interesting Predator characterizations have come outside of the films. Books, comics and video games have allowed members of the Yautja race to be more than just on-screen monsters. Predator: Badlands is the first film in the franchise where the main character, Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi), is a Predator/Yautja. He’s considered an outcast from his race in part because he’s smaller and less physically imposing than his fellow Yautja.
It would have been simple to make Dek the only worthwhile member of a race that hunts humans for sport. Even Dek’s father, Njohrr (Reuben de Jong), thinks he should die for being a runt. But the film also introduces Dek’s brother, Kwei (Mike Homik), who demonstrates a brotherly love for his sibling. Kwei won’t simply sit back and allow Dek to be executed, and he even shows his brother how to hunt. That went a long way towards humanizing these creatures.
Elle Fanning Provides a Human Perspective — Sort of
Technically, there aren’t any human main characters in Predator: Badlands, since this is a story about the Predators themselves. The reason why Elle Fanning gets top billing in the movie is that she plays the closest thing to a human, an android named Thia. Viewers who recall details from the Alien films and TV show may notice that Thia is a model created by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, which keeps the shared universe of Alien vs. Predator alive.
Thia is badly damaged, but still useful enough to be the best ally that Dek has in the film. The hilarious thing is that she’s kind of the C-3PO to his Chewbacca. But she does give the audience a human-like character that can be identified with. Fanning also plays another android named Tessa, and to protect spoilers, we’re not going to say much about her. It’s enough to know that Fanning gives a dual performance, and her second character is very different from her first.
The Action Is Intense
Although Predator: Badlands is not an R-rated film, it feels a cut above the standard PG-13 action. Since most of the characters aren’t human, that may have loosened the restrictions on what could be shown. And like all of the Predator movies that came before it, the action is the real star of this movie. We like watching Dek and Thia trying to survive on an alien world, but it’s even more fun watching Dek kick butt.
For now, there’s no word about any sequel to Predator: Badlands, but it works well as a stand-alone adventure. And if you’re looking for action, you won’t be disappointed.
Predator: Badlands is streaming on Hulu.
