"Dan Trachtenberg loves the Predator more than most people love their own children, but that doesn't quite explain why his "Predator" movies - of which there are suddenly now three - continue to be so much better than all of the series' previous sequels, spinoffs, and reboots (let alone most of the IP-driven garbage that Hollywood churns out on the regular)."
"No disrespect to the many different warrior tribes who may have inspired the Yautja, but there's something fundamentally backwards about a hyper-advanced alien species that - despite having solved intergalactic travel - still only knows how to measure its own worth in murder and masculine aggression. 'Twas ever thus, on Earth as it is in the heavens, but Trachtenberg recognizes that the Predators are always just a bit more embarrassing than they are badass."
"The genius of the franchise-reviving "Prey" and last summer's utterly awesome " Killer of Killers" is that they both cast the Yautja as a foil first and an antagonist second. Now, the super fun and fantastically spirited " Predator: Badlands " takes that approach to its logical conclusion by making one of these creatures the hero of a story in which he gets deprogrammed of his culture's "The Most Dangerous Game"-inspired approach to other species."
Dan Trachtenberg treats the Predator franchise with intense affection while using that affection to spotlight the species' absurdities. He frames Yautja warriors as comically macho and evolutionarily regressive despite technological prowess. Trachtenberg positions the Predators as foils first and antagonists second, allowing human and monster perspectives to invert expectations. Prey and Killer of Killers humanized or satirized Yautja behavior; Predator: Badlands advances that by centering a Predator who is deprogrammed from his culture's ritualized hunting ethos. The films critique the glorification of violence and masculine status rituals by exposing their inherent stupidity alongside kinetic, entertaining filmmaking.
Read at IndieWire
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