 "'Predator: Badlands' Movie Review: The legendary sci-fi villain turns Bollywoodish hero in an overstretch 'Avatar' retelling saga")
Star cast: Elle Fanning and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi
Director: Dan Trachtenberg
The Predator franchise holds a special place in every cinegoer’s heart. However, unlike the previous ones, this film, which is the ninth instalment in the Predator franchise, goes for a complete changeover and lets us find out whether this move hits the chord or not…
The plot begins on the planet Yautja Prime, where Dek, a runt Predator, is considered a disgrace to the Yautja Clan. To prove his worth and earn the approval of his father, Njhorr, he vows to hunt the Kalisk, the unkillable apex predator from the Genna planet.
As he enters the Genna planet, he faces several environmental and dangerous obstacles, followed by his alliance with a damaged Weyland-Yutani Corporation synthetic named Thia (Elle Fanning), who helps him track Kalisk. So, will Dek prove his worth to his clan by killing Kalisk?
Well, the plot of Predator: Badlands looks like a typical Bollywood film from the 90s, with the second half of the story being completely inspired by James Cameron’s Avatar .
Dan Trachtenberg, who earlier delivered a breathtaking film in the form of Prey, fails to create magic with an iconic franchise due to its outdated and predictable storyline. Despite having a runtime of under two hours, Predator: Badlands turns terribly stretched because of a shoddy screenplay and narrative. The dialogues also turn out to be a major setback as one has be completely rely on the subtitles to understand the conversation between Dek and Thia due to Yautja’s language and this does hamper the cinematic experience.
Talking about the performances, Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi brings out emotions with vulnerability and strength to the character of Dek. On the other hand, Fanning adds much-needed humour with a touch of warmth to the film.
On the whole, Predator: Badlands is a colossal disappointment for cinegoers and especially for the die-hard fans of the iconic franchise.
Rating: 2 (out of 5 stars)
Predator: Badlands is playing in cinemas
A cinephile, who loves, eats and breathes Bollywood and south cinema. Box Office specialist. Obsessed with numbers and trade business of the entertainment industry.