Predator: Badlands is not only a great action movie, but it is a fantastic expansion and shift of focus for the Predator franchise.

Since the release of the original Predator in 1987, the franchise has expanded to nine movies. Most of these Predator movies follow the same formula: the introduction of a group of people, then a reveal that a predator is hunting them, and action-packed sequences of the humans getting killed off one by one until there is a final showdown between the predator and the strongest, smartest human who had survived.

Predator: Badlands shows a whole new side of what the Predator franchise can be. Instead of focusing on the hunter and the hunted – the predator and humans – it shows the rite of passage the predators must go through to earn their title. Though it is packed with intense fights, hunts, and chase scenes, it is a through-and-through coming-of-age film. 

The movie follows Dek, who is the runt of his clan of predators. His brother sacrifices himself to save Dek, and then Dek journeys to kill the “unkillable” Kalisk on the planet Genna, hoping to earn his father’s respect and prove himself as a strong warrior. Though predators are supposed to be lone wolves – or, as the intro of the movie states, “prey to none, friend to none, predator to all” — along the way, he teams up with Thia (Elle Fanning), a damaged synthetic humanoid. Through this character, the audience gets comic relief, an interesting side plot, and an unlikely ally for Dek.

The movie transforms one of cinema’s most brutal and iconic hunters ever into a hero worth rooting for. Showing the inside of the predator world after almost 40 years is not only interesting for fans of the movies, but it also adds some depth to the creatures, detailing their rite of passage and savage way of life. 

At its core, Predator: Badlands is an action movie. But it has a strong message about having humanity, choosing the right though sometimes hard path, and working together to find a family.