There aren't any big reveals or shocking twists in Predator: Badlands. There are no Xenomorphs, no surprise cameos, and no teasing post-credits scenes. There aren't any major Easter eggs even – unlike in Prey, which saw its protagonist wield the gun used by Danny Glover in Predator 2, and another character claim that if the titular baddie bleeds, they can kill it. I'm kind of baffled, then, as to why the marketing for the movie was so needlessly coy – and I wish that I, and several fans, hadn't tried to fill in the gaps before it was released.
You see, Dan Trachtenberg's latest offering in the Predator franchise is a good movie. I'd be lying if I said I didn't prefer my entries on the darker side, but this Mandolarian-esque take on the source material is undeniably fun as it swaps horror for humor and centers a genuinely fantastic performance by Elle Fanning as sassy, sociable synth Thia. But, thanks to all the wild speculation about potential comic book links and more doing the rounds in the run-up to the movie's release, I couldn't help but walk away a little disappointed in how simple and self-contained it was. Sometimes we fans are to blame for unfairly projecting an idea of a film onto the film itself, and judging it on those make-believe merits rather than enjoying it for what it is. I don't necessarily think so here.
