An action movie doesn’t have to be wildly original.  Provided you get the technical elements right, you’re on a winner.  That’s my best attempt to explain my appreciation for Predator: Badlands.  You’d think the 9^th instalment in a 38-year franchise might be running on “low fuel”, but American director Dan Trachtenberg has crafted a tale with an interesting world and interesting heroes.

I’ll concede the story is rudimentary.  Dek (Schuster-Koloamatangi) is a fearsome alien predator who can kill almost anything… but that doesn’t exempt him from family drama.  His powerful dad thinks he’s the weakest member of the clan and demands that he be killed.  Dek escapes in the nick of time and, via spacecraft, flees to one of the most dangerous planets in the universe.  He intends to prove his worth by slaying an “unkillable” creature known as the Kalisk but before doing so, he’s forced into an alliance with Thia (Fanning), a damaged robot sent from Earth.

As strange as it sounds, I cared about these two characters!  I realise one is an alien, one is an android, and dialogue is minimal… but that doesn’t mean you can’t cheer for them.  It taps into our tendency to root for underdogs and those down on their luck.  It’s satisfying to see them get the upper hand over their adversaries even if the film succumbs, at times, to action cliches.  Elle Fanning (The Great) brings well-timed humour to the role of Thia.  He’s unrecognisable but I also admired what New Zealand actor Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi brings to Dek – a balance of strength and vulnerability.

It’s the crew who do the heaviest lifting in taking the script and realising it on screen.  I can’t imagine how many different sound effects were required – from the weird noises generated by the planet’s varied inhabitants, through to the swishes of attacking plants and sharp-edged grass.  It’s easy to overlook the work of sound designers and editors but movies like Predator: Badlands place their work front and centre.  The same can be said of the make-up and prosthetics teams (Dek is great) and the visual effects folk in creating a planet where deadly trouble lies around every corner.

The predicable finale can’t quite deliver a memorable, knockout punch but if you’re a fan of the genre or the franchise, Predator: Badlands is above-average entertainment.