The Ultimate Ranking: Every Predator Movie Ranked from Worst to Best

With Alien: Romulus released this month, I rewatched the other 1980s-based Alien franchise. The Predator franchise is another classic action franchise with an iconic base film. Much like the Alien franchise, the Predator franchise has varying quality in terms of its films. Some are great but others, not so much. While some of them are hot garbage, I still get some level of entertainment out of pretty much all of the films. With that being said, here are my thoughts and ranking of the 8 Predator films.

7. Alien Vs Predator: Requiem

Alien Vs Predator: Requiem is easily the worst film in the franchise. It does have some of the novelty of seeing The Predator fighting against a bunch of Aliens even though the first AVP movie does it better. It isn't an unwatchable pile of garbage but is instead a so bad it's good pile of garbage. It doesn't deliver as much of the Alien vs Predator mayhem and essentially sidelines the Predator in the story. The worst thing about this movie is that it sidelines the Predator hunting Aliens plot in favor of a bunch of forgettable characters and their life problems. The movie is so bogged down by the 20000 different characters and spends too much time setting all of them up to bring them together in the last 15 minutes. The movie also pulls a Game of Thrones and makes exciting action sequences very hard to see as they are shot in near darkness. Overall, this is just a bad movie, that, while entertaining at times, is probably not worth watching.

Grade: C Score: 5/10

6. The Predator

The Predator is easily the worst of the pure Predator films. The movie tries to be a typical modern blockbuster instead of holding true to the predator roots. The movie has such an uneven tone as it swings to Shane Black's written jokes to Predators ripping people's heads off. It is trying to match the tone of current blockbusters while also trying to hold true to the original film and it just doesn't work. Aside from the tone, the plot itself is just not good. The movie makes all sorts of nonsense up to get characters in the movie. The Olivia Munn character is supposed to be an on-call biologist but somehow turns into a special ops shooter 30 minutes into the movie. The soldier characters that get introduced just feel so out of place and like they should be in a completely different movie. The movie also has a random predator dog subplot that doesn't really go anywhere. The only positive I can give this movie is at least the badness is entertaining. If I am in the mood for a bad movie, there is a chance I could turn on this film where is the second AVP, I don't find myself ever rewatching. In the end, this is an entertaining enough bad movie that brings just enough to keep me entertained for two hours.

Grade: C Score: 5/10

5. Predator 2

Predator 2 is kind of the odd duck in the franchise. It is essentially a typical big-city cop thriller with The Predator thrown in there. I can appreciate what the movie is going for. It does the cop aspect of the story reasonably well. I thought the tone and style fit the 90s action cop genre well. I also liked the Bill Paxton and Danny Glover characters. I felt that they both fit well into the story that was being told. The thing that really drops this movie for me is that it tries to mesh a cop story with a Predator story. I don't think the two really fit well together. The Predator isn't made for an urban setting so seeing in a city just isn't as much fun. The two halves of the movie also feel like two different stories. The first half is all about the war on the drug rings while the second half is a predator story. There are individual moments about this movie that are cool but the overall story just doesn't work for me. I want my Predator movies to be Predator movies, not Predator movies overshadowed by a cop story. The Predator movies are all about the Predator hunting a bunch of people and this movie doesn't really give that. Overall, this is a decent enough cop story that gets bogged down by being combined with a not-so-good Predator movie. I think this movie may have worked better had it been some random alien instead of trying to be a part of the Predator franchise.

Grade: C+ Score: 6/10

4. Alien Vs Predator

Alien Vs Predator is definitely one of the more fun installments of the franchise. It delivers exactly what you would expect with a movie of this name. The movie doesn't get too bogged down on the human character. It gets them together as soon as possible and comes up with some nonsense plot to get them to the location where they see the Aliens and Predators fighting. The movie just does a great job of staying focused on what people come to see. People don't care about the humans or the Aztec temple. They just want to see the Predator cut the heads off of aliens. Of course, this isn't a quality movie by any means. The characters are one dimensional and the plot is just nonsense. However, it ultimately delivers what people want to see. This is a perfect definition of a junk food movie. It is very fun and entertaining but seriously lacking on a plot and character level. Overall, this is a very fun movie that delivers exactly what people want. You come to see Aliens and Predators fight and that is what you get.

Grade: B- Score: 6.5/10

3. Predators

Predators is a significant jump in quality from the other pure Predator sequels. I like that this movie still captures the essence of the original film while also somewhat flipping the premise on its head. While the original follows a Predator coming to Earth to hunt humans, this movie takes a group of elite humans to an alien planet to be hunted by Predators. The movie introduces us to a bunch of highly skilled characters and while there isn't much character depth to them it is fun to watch them take on these Predators. To me, this movie feels a bit like a survival of the fittest/Hunger Games type of story. I also appreciate how to movie doesn't get bogged down by bringing all these characters together. We are automatically introduced to them on the Alien planet and just kind of learn about them as time goes on. This still isn't a top-tier movie by any means. The plot itself is paper thin and I thought the whole tied-up Predator plot line to not really go anywhere but aside from that I had fun with this movie. In the end, this is a fun Predator movie that gives some solid moments and human vs predator action.

Grade: B Score: 7/10

2. Prey

Prey is easily the best of the Predator sequels and is miles ahead of the previous films on this list. I like how this movie is a very simple movie without too many characters or a complicated plot. This is just a very good coming of age story for Naru character. The movie does a great job of showcasing aspects of the Comanche culture and even had a couple of Comanche tribe members consult on the accuracy of the film. The movie also takes an interesting approach of having the predator being hunted by our characters instead of the one doing the hunting. It makes for a nice change of pace. I also like how the movie handles Naru fighting the Predator. Obviously, she isn't able to overpower the Predator, not even Arnold Schwarzenegger was able to do that, but the movie shows how she is able to out smart it. I also like how the movie showcases Naru as being smart and capable instead of just being a girl that needs saving. The movie takes us through her shortcoming and really lets us see her grow as a person. Finally, I like how we get to see a more primitive version of The Predator. It still has advanced weaponry but not at the level we see in the other film. Even the guns it uses are more dart guns then the typical laser guns. It makes it interesting to see The Predator having to hunt with its hands and spears instead of shooting with lasers. Overall, this is a great Predator story that does something a bit different but still keeps the essence of the Predator franchise.

Grade: A- Score: 8.5/10

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1. Predator

Predator is one of the greatest Sci-Fi action films ever made. It has so many good action sequences, one-liners, and memorable characters. While Arnold Schwarzenegger is the lead in the film, the film does not feel like your typical Schwarzenegger film. All of the characters have such great chemistry together and they all get at least one memorable line. The movie does a great job of showing these characters as elite soldiers, only to have The Predator cut them down like paper. Doing this really emphasizes the power of The Predator. I also thought the Predator was a very formidable villain and was really fun to watch. I also thought the final fight between Dutch and the Predator was very well done. Dutch learns that he has to outsmart the Predator as compared to overpower him and thus sets all of these traps which make for a very fun finale. Finally, I like that since it is an 80s movie, it uses solely practical effects and displays the action and Predator in such a way ages very well. Aside from a few jokes that don't age well, this movie could still be made today and be no different. In the end, this a by far the greatest in the franchise and just a great Sci-Fi action film.

Grade: A Score: 9.5/10