The fact that the Predator series has continued for so long must mean it's entertaining. Out of the entire series, I had only ever seen one: the very first film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. At the time, I went in thinking it was a standard action movie, probably a confrontation between soldiers, so I was completely surprised when an alien creature showed up.
It was about the creature slaughtering humans, which wasn't what I expected, but I still found it enjoyable. I knew that Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn't in the subsequent films and that they focused only on the Predator. My interest was piqued when I heard about the one where it fights against the Alien. Even so, I was never pulled in enough to actually watch any of the sequels.
I wasn't even aware that this new movie, <Predator: Badlands>, was out. I regularly browse several movie apps, and I had a discount coupon—though I have no memory of applying for it. It was a coupon that let me see the movie for only 5,000 won, so I booked a ticket without giving it much thought. To be honest, after booking, I considered just skipping it, but in the end, I decided to go.
I got the time wrong and ended up entering the theater a bit early, only to find it completely empty. My immediate thought was, 'Just as I feared, the movie must be terrible if no one is here.' Thankfully, as the actual showtime approached, a decent number of people did show up. Since I hadn't seen any of the other films in the series, I just assumed it would be about the Predator fighting humans. I went in expecting a typical confrontation between a Predator that came to Earth and the humans.
However, after the movie began, I realized that wasn't the case at all. The Predator species, it turns out, ruthlessly eliminates anyone who is weak—even their own family. The protagonist, Dek, is a weak son who is not acknowledged by his own father. The only way for him to gain recognition is to travel to another planet and capture a creature known as a Kalisk.
This Kalisk is an absolute being, one that even Dek's formidable father had failed to capture in the past. To make matters worse, Dek's brother, who had defied their father's order to kill Dek, was also killed. The main plot, therefore, follows Dek's desperate struggle to survive on the planet known as the "Badlands." It's a place where all sorts of unimaginable plants and creatures constantly attack.
As soon as Dek arrives there, his survival is immediately threatened. He has no time to even get his bearings before he's attacked by plants, and there are even flowers that anesthetize the body. A creature also circles in the sky, waiting for Dek to collapse so it can eat him. In that desperate moment, a voice suddenly calls out from somewhere.
It was the voice of Tia, a character played by Elle Fanning. When I saw her, I thought her face looked somewhat familiar. I later learned she is Dakota Fanning's sister and apparently even appeared as a baby in the movie I Am Sam. Tia, it turns out, is not human but an android—a humanoid, to be exact—who is capable of translating the languages of various species in real-time.
Speaking in Dek's language, she explains that she can help him and asks to borrow his weapon. At first, Dek refuses, claiming, "I do everything alone," but he eventually relents and asks for her help. Tia exists only as an upper torso; she's a humanoid who was separated from a group of humans that came from Earth. Dek initially thinks of Tia as merely a tool and begins to travel with her.
To be honest, I started watching the movie with a fair bit of indifference, but I found it to be surprisingly entertaining. More than anything, the non-stop action didn't leave any room for my mind to wander. Dek's original mission was to eliminate the Kalisk on the Badlands, but a different situation arises. The movie is about a team forming as they work to resolve this new problem. It's the kind of film you can really enjoy if you just watch it casually without any heavy expectations.
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