Ty Watches "Predator: Badlands"
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While I am admittedly last to the "Predator" game, I didn't see the original until the beginning of the pandemic, but I, to this point, have seen most of the movies that have been released. My personal favorite is "Prey". I just love the whole backstory and how quiet and confident that movie was when I saw it. My son has finally seen the original, and he loved it, and yesterday I sat down and watched "Predator: Badlands".
I tried to see the movie in the theaters, but the timing got away from me. I heard plenty of people, people whose movie suggestions I trust, say it was good enough, but no one really went any further on the movie. Then I heard someone recently talking about it on a podcast, and that energized me to finally watch it. It's nice that it is streaming on Hulu as well, a service which we subscribe to. So I sat back while everyone was out yesterday and tuned in.
I really enjoyed this movie. It is one of the more fun versions of "Predator". The original movies were supposed to be kind of scary, or that was what I thought when they were released. That's not the case anymore, and those are just straight up action movies. The stuff in the middle, like "AVP" and stuff of that ilk, I have avoided. I heard those are not good, not even fun good, so I'm going to skip them. I did see the more recent one with Adrien Brody and Topher Grace, and I thought it was fine, but they took it too seriously. That version was missing the fun from the Arnold movie. Then "Prey" came out and changed the game for me. With "Prey" I felt that they were finally telling us some stories from the actual Predator's viewpoint.
"Predator: Badlands", for all intents and purposes, is an origin story about a Predator. Sure, this movie has some adult themes in it, the whole opening act is brutal, but the movie plays out like a videogame when the Predator gets to Genna and starts to work with Thia, played by Elle Fanning. Fanning is really good in this movie by the way. She plays dual roles, as Thia and Tessa, and she does some solid work. She is playing two totally different characters too, and she brings levity to both. Thia is way cooler and more fun than Tessa, but Tessa has her moments too. I like the whole idea of her being two robots that were given feelings. They act on feelings, and to do that with robots makes this movie make sense.
But don't get it twisted. This movie is all about Dek's journey. From start to finish, Dek is onscreen with us. Dek is the younger brother of a pretty excellent Predator, and he just wants to follow in his footsteps, and maybe prove that he is not the runt of the litter and a worthy fighter. And we get a ton of action after the opening sequence, which is filled with action as well when their dad shows up. Throughout the movie we get some kick ass video game action sequences that are fun to watch. When Dek lands on Genna it is immediately on for him. He has to fight the elements while looking for the biggest trophy he can think of. This planet they created for the movie is dope. Everything can be used for battle. The trees attack Dek. There's plants that can paralyze you. The grass is as sharp as razor blades. The animals are big and ruthless and some can regenerate. Even the nice animals, one in particular who joins Dek and Thia's fight, have some vicious fangs and awesome fighting skills. I'm not usually a fan of slow motion in movies, but it works so well in this one. It is almost needed. Dek is such a fast fighter that the slow motion actually helps you see what he is doing. I like when slow mo is used properly, and they do it great justice in this movie.
I mentioned Fanning earlier, and when she shows up the movie kicks into gear. This is essentially building a team type of movie, and they do that pretty wonderful here. They have their trials and tribulations, but in the end they're there for one another and that makes the climatic scene even better.
So while I think "Prey" is a better overall movie, I had a blast watching "Badlands". It was fun, had jokes, cool fight scenes and made me want to know more and more backstory on Predators past and future. I would definitely recommend checking this movie out. It is well worth your time.
Ty
Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.
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