"Not all Predator movies are great, but they all exist along some basic spectrum of good. This includes 2018's much-despised The Predator, which was certainly a mess (the result, reportedly, of endless postproduction tinkering) but still managed a heady charge of irreverent, hyperviolent silliness, and it certainly includes Nimrod Antal's mostly forgotten but quite terrific Predators (2010), which somehow starred Academy Award winner Adrien Brody."
"Which brings me to the reason why Predator movies are hard to screw up: The Predator (or a Yautja, as the species has been retroactively identified), that terrifying intergalactic big-game hunter who loves to hoist human skulls as trophies, is a deceptively compelling nemesis - too calculating to be a proper monster, too interesting to be a slasher, and too cruel to be anything resembling a human villain."
Predator films vary in quality but share a core appeal: the Predator as a calculating, nonhuman big-game hunter. Some entries lean into irreverent, hyperviolent silliness while others deliver tight, exciting genre work; 2018's The Predator was a messy but energetic example, and Nimrod Antal's Predators (2010) offered a strong, underrated take starring Adrien Brody. Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem fails to qualify as either franchise's film. The original Predator 2 (1990) stands out for its sweaty, shout-y, sleazy energy and bold Los Angeles gang-war setting. Dan Trachtenberg's Predator: Badlands shifts focus entirely to Predators and begins on Yautja Prime.
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