LOS ANGELES, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- Predator: Badlands, in theaters Friday, makes creative use of the franchise's mythology dating back to the original 1987 film. Centering this story on an alien shifts the dynamics of the franchise, but the movie displays a satisfying commitment to the creature.
Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) is a Yautja, the species commonly referred to by human moviegoers as Predator. Dek is a smaller Yautja, rejected by everyone in his clan except for his brother.
Dek wants to prove himself by going to planet Genna, known as The Death Planet, to hunt the unkillable Kalisk. On Genna, Dek meets Thia (Elle Fanning), an android separated from her legs in a Kalisk attack.
Making a Yautja vulnerable is ambitious. In eight prior films, the Yautja hunt people, or the equally threatening xenomorphs from the Alien films.
Director Dan Trachtenberg, who conceived the story with screenwriter Patrick Aison, creates an inventive hostile environment on Genna. As soon as Dek arrives, he is attacked by aggressive roots and explosive bugs, and there are more dangers seen lurking in the distance. Even the flora of Genna is deadly.
