#scfi

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I'll go over a few negatives first: Thia was sadly a bit annoying at times. Its not as bad as say...C-3P0 from The Empire Strikes Back (seriously, people gave Jar-Jar Binks a bad wrap when 3P0 was a thousand times more ear-grating in that movie), but her constant chatter did take me out of the immersion a few times.

This doesn't mean Thia was a bad character, though! She was very likable, her optimism was almost infectious, she had more emotional depth than I expected, and her chemistry and banter with Dek was so, so good!

On that note, while some of the humor landed, other times well no so much, especially when it came to Bud.

I admit I liked the plot-twist with her (yes, Bud is a she), and she had her own part to play in the story, but in the end I can't shake the feeling she was included solely to appeal to kids and sell toys for Disney.

Finally, for being built-up as a near-mythic, unkillable beast, to the point where no Yautja ever succeeded in killing one, the Kalisk felt a tad underwhelming. Oh don't get me wrong, it was an absolute badass in its own right (its roar shook the theater speakers, it was incredible), but the way it was captured and later destroyed didn't feel quite right. Like it was something anyone, including the Yautja, could've figured out a long time ago.

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That's all I've got for the negatives, time for the positives!

Let's start with the biggest one: DEK LIVES!!!

F*cking Finally, we get a main Predator that survives the movie for once!!! Thank Paya and the Black Warrior (sorry, nerd alert)!

Dek himself was the heart and soul of the film. His grumpy, recluse and almost emo attitude was strangely charming, the way he used what he learned about Genna's wildlife to his advantage was satisfying in the best way, his friendship with Thia was cute (the way he deals with her non-stop chatter, and the fact he clearly missed it when she stops talking to him at one point was amusing), what little we see of his bond with his brother, Kwei, was genuinely heartwarming, and then there's his character arc.

At the beginning, Dek is reckless, prideful, and keeps his emotions, as well as his grief over losing Kwei, bottled up as they're seen as 'weak' in his clan's eyes (specifically his father's). By the end, his experiences on Genna and his relationship with Thia and Bud allow him to open up, without losing his edge, and it made him stronger. Dek is probably the most developed Predator we've seen on-screen yet (of course, he's the main character), and seeing him lay the smack-down on his father was oh so satisfying.

On top of Dek being one of the best things ever, the emotional value and the theme of found family was surprisingly strong (seriously, screw all of the whiny, nostalgia-blind Schwarzenegger fanboys complaining about this), they did a great job bringing in familiar Yautja lore and establishing Genna (Genna almost gives Pandora a run for its money. Almost.), the action and set pieces were so much fun, and finally there's the music.

I'll admit a lot of the music flew over my head as I was paying more attention to the story and characters, but listening to it now, its mesmerizing. The deep guttural chanting, growls and synths goes hard, and fits so well with the Yautja and their culture (pretty sure they were actually chanting in the Yautja language. Extra badass points there).

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So overall, Predator: Badlands was an absolute blast, and I'm so glad we finally got a film where the Yautja is not only the main character, but they actually survive in the end! Is it the best Predator movie yet? Honestly, I don't know. Part of me doesn't want to compare it to the Pred movies of the past since it's so different from its predecessors (Don't go in expecting your standard Predator 'man-hunt' fare. Go in expecting a classic underdog story with buddy-cop elements, some neat world-building, and heart).

I can safely say its far better than AVP: Requiem and the 2018 disaster, though. I'd definitely put it above Predators, Killer of Killers (I'm sorry, the ending of that film kind of killed it for me, despite giving us the holy-f*cking-huge Warlord Pred), and maybe Prey, I don't know.