All 6 Predator movies from worst to best

The Predator is back on the hunt in the new action sci-fi movie Prey, out next week on Disney+. In it, the series jumps 300 years into the past, where Comanche warrior Naru (Amber Midthunder) is targeted by the alien hunter.

To mark the occasion, we look back at the long-lived sci-fi series that began with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s mud bath in Predator in 1987. There are now several sequels and crossover films that play with the concept of alien manhunters.

We therefore rank the Predator films from worst to best. But which films bring new facets to the basic idea and which ones hit the wall? Here you will get the answer.

Best Predator Movies – #6: Aliens vs. Predator 2

Imagine you’re making a movie about legendary sci-fi monster fighting machines, but everything is dark, poorly edited, and terribly boring. The Strause brothers did just that with 2007’s Aliens vs. Predator 2. While the sequel offers more gore than its predecessor, it’s technically the lowest point of the series. The Strause brothers are still active in the effects area, but there are good reasons why they didn’t direct again after AvP2 and Skyline. (YY)

Best Predator Movies – #5: Predator – Upgrade

With Shane Black, a veteran of the Predator series returned in 2018 – but this time not as an actor, but as a director and screenwriter. The Predator – Upgrade directed by him should breathe new life into the long dormant franchise with robust action. The result turned out to be a hollow miscalculation on all levels, which was only surpassed by the bold sequel teaser at the end of the film. No wonder the next part completely distanced itself from this embarrassing Predator misunderstanding in its direction. (MH)

Best Predator Movies – #4: Predator 2

Predator 2 was brave enough to switch locations (like the other sequels will do) and move from the jungle to the urban jungle of LA. But maybe he would rather not have done it. In the wide street canyons, the menacing narrowness and lack of clarity of the predecessor is lost. In addition, Predator 2 fails to provide a credible opponent for its title monster, even if Danny Glover gives it his all. The movie creates a nice stuffy atmosphere, but overall it simply lacks consistent tension. (HB)

Best Predator Movies – 3rd place: Predators

More people should be talking about Predators (2010): About the excellent cast from Topher Grace to Alice Braga to Mahershala Ali and Walton Goggins. About the decision to direct Adrien Brody as an action hero. About the duel of the katana wielding Louis Ozawa Changchien with one of the four Predators. About the insane US soldier by Laurence Fishburne. And about the fact that of all the sequels and spin-offs in the sci-fi series, Predators comes closest to the charm of the original. As I said: Oscar winner Adrien Brody plays Arnie junior! (YY)

Best Predator Movies – 2nd place: Alien vs. Predator

In 2004’s Alien vs. Predator, director Paul WS Anderson brought the two iconic sci-fi horror monsters together for the first time on the big screen. His film is set up as a big event taking place in the depths of an underground pyramid. In winding corridors, the humans are only marginal figures, witnessing a far greater conflict that has existed for centuries and extends far beyond the confines of the earthly arena. Anderson savors the exaggeration this larger-than-life encounter entails, and along with the action, doesn’t forget to add excitement to the darkness of the pyramid. (MH)

Best Predator Movies – #1: Predator

How do the best-trained, well-trained mercenaries stack up against an even more effective killing machine? Predator starts out as a parody of the action type that emerged in the 80’s. Its most prominent representative was Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is introduced here with the manliest handshake of all time.

He gathers half a dozen grumpy Vietnam veterans and heads into the jungle for another senseless job. Soon the super-soldiers shoot their war trauma out of their muscular bodies against an invisible enemy and yet they are just helpless toys. Director John McTiernan’s franchise starter was not only style-defining, he heralded the end of the bulletproof action hero a year before Die Hard. (HB)

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