A young Predator outcast from his clan finds an unlikely ally on his journey in search of the ultimate adversary. (from IMDb)

When I first saw trailers for Predator: Badlands, I was certain I was looking at the advertisements for an R-rated movie. So imagine my surprise when I heard it was officially rated PG-13 by the MPAA. Now, I know some are reading this and thinking "So what if it's rated R? It'd be better if it were!" And I get it; to each their own, I suppose. But, for me personally, I don't handle overly graphic violence well. And it's for that main reason that I've never seen any of the previous Predator or Alien films (Save for the cheesy PG-13-rated Alien vs Predator from 2004). So, with the concept of a predator trying to survive being prey on a foreign planet being the gist of this film, I definitely became intrigued by Predator: Badlands.

Let's be clear here, Predator: Badlands is not a pretty movie. A predator - or more specifically, the species called the Yautja - is pretty ugly to look at. They're humanoid in form, but in addition to their main sharp teeth, they have four fangs with webbing surrounding their mouth. Then there's their eyes - piercing yellow eyes. The Yautja aren't winning any beauty contests anytime soon.

The only main human character in the story is actually a synthetic - an android - played by Elle Fanning. She has scars on her face and is missing her lower legs, so we sometimes see her android insides, especially its metal spine. This android is named Thia and our hero - a Yautja named Dek - stumbles upon her while trying to navigate an especially dangerous field of lethal plants. Thia convinces Dek to see her as merely a tool to help him and he ends up strapping her torso to his back for much of the journey. Fanning is excellent as a chatty, bubbly android, which is a stark contrast to the much more serious Yautja.

But the story of Predator: Badlands is surprisingly emotional. The film opens with Dek and his brother Kwei sparring on their home planet. But when their father shows up, he commands Kwei to kill Dek because he's seen as weak and just a runt of their clan. Kwei instead spares his brother and sends him in a ship to a planet where Dek can defeat a mighty beast, called the Kalisk, and prove his worth. But it turns out Dek isn't the only outside hunter on this planet. The organization that made Thia - Weyland-Yutani Corporation (a nod to the Alien franchise) - is also on the planet, and this throws a bit of a wrench into Dek's journey.

It's amazing how much heart is actually in Predator: Badlands. You go into it basically expecting some kind of testosterone fest - and sure, that's definitely there - but it becomes a story very much about clans, family, and belonging. Dek, who's young and naive in a lot of ways, wants to be the best hunter to have ever lived, but he just doesn't have the skills. Part of seeing Dek struggling on the planet to best the creatures native to the planet is part of what makes his character endearing. And knowing some of his backstory makes him a much more sympathetic character. In the end, Predator: Badlands proves to be a truly solid survival action film that is easy to get wrapped up in.

It doesn't hurt either that the score from Sarah Schachner and Benjamin Wallfisch is really strong, too. It's got a tribal flair to it, but with a kiss of industrial flourishes and some vocal chants (apparently in the Yautja language). It becomes the perfect soundtrack to what we're watching unfold on screen, and it only adds to the power of the film.

But, as you can guess, it's a very violent film. Dek slices open beasts with his sword and takes a few battle wounds himself -- not to mention we see some gruesome results from the Yautja fighting each other. Then there's the synthetics. Thia isn't the only android on the planet, and there's an extended sequence of Dek fighting the androids, decapitating and dismembering them and just tearing them to shreds. The fact that they look like real humans can appear disturbing to some viewers, especially when one character crushes a lifelike android skull under its boot, cracking it open like an egg. In previous Predator films, humans have been skinned and defeated in gory ways, but you'll see none of that here. We do see a human-looking android that has been severely damaged with pieces of skin torn from its face and its eyes turned white or damaged. There's also several views of a needle of sorts being inserted into the ear canal of the androids. Then the beast gore also includes a creature getting its tail cut off and then decapitated, with it regenerating its limbs (or reconnecting them) in both occasions. Put it to you this way -- it's not a movie for the squeamish.

Violence is really the only deterrent here, too, as only one "S" word is said as the lone cuss word in the entire film. It's completely unnecessary, but clearly said (by Thia) for a bit of comic relief.

I'm really surprised by how good Predator: Badlands turned out to be. We caught it in IMAX, so the big screen format definitely leant to the experience. I'm also curious to see how repeat viewings might hold up. But after one viewing, my family and I all were really pleasantly surprised by Predator: Badlands. (If you're wondering about bonus scenes, there is a brief one right after the credits start, but there's nothing after the credits.)