While the sequel is slavishly devoted to fan service and the universe of James Cameron's 1986 "Aliens," it has a bright spot, thanks to the grabby presence of Elle Fanning.

“Whoever wins, we lose.” Not much was good about the Alien vs. Predator movies, but that tagline for the first entry is an all-timer. Conversely, Predator: Badlands is much, much better than either of those crossover flicks. Even so, it doesn’t have a tagline like “Whoever wins, we lose.” But then again, there is no “we” in Badlands.

Badlands is set in the future on a remote alien planet, where Dek, a young Predator (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi), outcast from his clan and desperate to prove himself with his first official hunt, finds an unlikely ally in a robot named Thia ( Elle Fanning ).

Predator: Badlands has finally arrived, but the seventh movie in the sci-fi franchise has left fans with unanswered mythology questions.

Predator: Badlands” flips the formulaic “Predator” approach from the 1987 original — choosing to depict the fanged, reptilian alien as the hero. The film is wholesome, but unmemorable, our columnist says.

An exceptional sci-fi action thriller with memorable characters and lead performances that deserve to be included in discussions of the year's best.

Badlands co-star Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, with one-of-a-kind skills.The Maleficent actress showed off her rare abilities in the film where she played

Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi and Fanning also discuss the challenges of learning Yautja, the alien language created for the film.