‘Predator: Badlands’ yields pleasant surprises on the cineplex scene. One approaches these kinds of movies with preconceptions, and it’s refreshing when they’re broken down.

• ‘Predator: Badlands’ (2025) is the ninth Predator movie.
• The film’s director Dan Trachtenberg says that ‘Jaws’ (1975) was a big influence in the making of ‘Predator: Badlands’, citing the Spielberg film’s ability to encompass humour, drama, thrills, and even comedy.
• Catch Tat Wolfen’s entertainment commentary on The Sandton Times Hour, every Monday at 7pm on 91.9FM.
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Stripped down to its essence, this is a “buddy movie”. A grisly-looking creature, Dek, from the planet Yautja, is on a mission to prove himself, as his father clearly regards him to be the runt of the litter; a useless creature not worthy of life. Dek travels to “the most dangerous planet in the universe”, in order to bring back a creature from an “unkillable tribe”. In the process, he finds himself somewhat unwillingly teamed up with a female humanoid, Thia (played by Elle Fanning) and a cute furry creature that looks like a distant relative of Disney’s Stitch. So we have Disney-cute meeting classical Fox sci-fi. Visually, the movie has much to engage us; think ‘Avatar’ in darker robes…

Official Predator: Badlands (2025) Trailer

Is ‘Predator: Badlands’ Canon? (Joining the Predator Franchise Timeline)

“But is it Canon?” No, not the camera brand. It used to be that “canon” referred to either works of literature or scripture that date back many decades, or even millennia, and were written by respected scholars. So, if you were asked whether a work was canon, the query would relate to whether it fell within a specific timeline or set of criteria that applied to the relevant group of writings. Fast forward now to the 21st century, in which “canon” largely refers to movie franchises.

So, when studios make sequels, prequels, “re-imaginings” and TV spin-offs, the die-hard fanbase of each those movies will earnestly ask (in the same way as book-heads will enquire as to whether Shakespeare really wrote all of his works): “But is this new film canon?” In other words, does it fit into the story and character arcs of its predecessors? The Predator franchise overlaps with the Alien stories, and between their movies and TV series, this amounts to 16 pieces of work, including crossover titles in the fashion of the ‘Kong vs Godzilla’ movies.

The problem here, is if you haven’t been following each franchise’s canon, it can be quite alienating to join the party at movie #9, with the hope of knowing what on earth is going on. The good news, in this case, is that ‘Predator: Badlands’ is a completely stand-alone story, so it was easy for someone such as myself (not an Alien/Predator geek) to get immersed in the tale. Kudos, then, to director Dan Trachtenberg (who also co-wrote) for breathing new life into the franchise. Of course, the downside of this, is that we may still be watching Predator sequels twenty years from now!

Why ‘Predator: Badlands’ 3D Is Worth The Higher Ticket Price

‘Predator: Badlands’ is a very visual film, and the 3D experience adds an immersive element that will place you right in the middle of those spaceships and far-off planets. But here’s the thing: 3D movies used to be made in native 3D — in other words, they were shot in 3D from the get-go. Sadly, however, in the name of production speed, and because most modern movies contain lots of CGI, the majority of current 3D films are post-produced for 3D. So, they’re shot in regular 2D, and a bunch of graphics wizards convert them to 3D at a later stage.

The result, unfortunately, has been 3D movies that aren’t always visually impressive, and have even given the format a bad name. I’m happy to say, however, that ‘Predator: Badlands’ is not such a movie. Three different companies were involved in its 3D processing, meaning that greater care was paid to this aspect of production. And, by Jiminy; does it show! It’s also worthy of note that filmmaker James “Avatar” Cameron was involved as a consultant. Of course, he didn’t only direct the original ‘Alien’ (1987), but is industry-recognised as the pre-eminent 3D expert. As a reviewer of stereoscopic bent, I found the movie to be hugely satisfying in this respect.

Badlands Or Goodlands? Final Verdict On ‘Predator: Badlands’ (2025)

One of the film’s biggest surprises is that it doesn’t feel like a two-dimensional monster movie (pun intended, I suppose). One doesn’t expect humour, for example, in a movie of this nature, and it brings a refreshing element to proceedings. We also experience some human sentiment – despite the fact that there are no humans in the movie – humanoids, yes; humans, no. Granted; there is a disturbing aspect of films that feature compassionate and empathetic humanoid robots. Do movies like this conceal a darker agenda, that’s conditioning us to accept AI robotics as our “newly human” counterparts? That, I think, could be the subject of a meaty debate outside of these pages…

I found the movie to be a trifle overlong, with some action sequences that I thought could be pared down a tad. This gripe is largely overcome, however, by the Saturday-matinee fun of it all. And if you want to fully savour its immersive audiovisual treats, go and see ‘Predator: Badlands’ at a Scene Xtreme theatre or in IMAX 3D. Your eyes and ears will thank you.

‘Predator: Badlands’ (2025) receives a satisfying 7/10 rating.

Tat Wolfen is a multimedia communicator, entertainment commentator and leisure journalist. Tune in for Tat’s razor-sharp takes on the latest on stage and screen, every week on The Sandton Times Hour – Mondays at 7pm on 91.9FM or on a fine selection of the world’s leading podcast platforms. [Disclaimer: Views expressed by reviewers/contributors are their own, and do not necessarily reflect those of The Sandton Times and its ownership or management.]

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