Every time you think it's dead, it's back for another hunt. Since John McTiernan's classic original, the Predator franchise has gone through all manner of evolutions; our favourite dreadlocked killer has swapped the clammy jungles of Central America for the grimy streets of LA, mixed it up with Xenomorphs, dipped its claws in animation (not to mention comic books, novels, video games and toys aplenty) and shifted from gritty action-horror to rollocking buddy-cop japes.
That latter twist came in the form of this year's thoroughly entertaining Predator: Badlands, the third of Dan Trachtenberg's entries in the series, and arguably the surest sign yet that the Yautja is in the midst of a new golden age. In fact, with two new Predator films releasing this year, what better time to cast a look back over the franchise as a whole, and rank them in reverse order of greatness? Let's separate the weaklings from the alphas, shall we?
And don't forget, all the movies are available to stream on Disney+.
9. Aliens Vs Predator: Requiem (2007)
In fairness, there may well at least be some cool gore and striking visuals somewhere in Requiem. We say "may", because we honestly have no idea: you can't see a fucking thing for 90% of this clunkily-paced, messily-plotted, poorly-lit plop of a film. It's a shame, because whatever you may have thought of the first Alien Vs Predator (more on that later), the introduction of the 'Predalien' was a tantalising thread for its sequel to pick up on.
As it happens, not only can we barely see the damn thing once it turns up, but Requiem follows in the footsteps of so many come-lately horror sequels in ignoring what helps make the originals so great in the first place: compelling protagonists. Arnold et al might be hilariously over-the-top caricatures in Predator, but they're memorable, charismatic and badass as hell. Dumping a bunch of monsters into a random, no-name municipality in middle America to reap (badly shot) carnage upon a host of faceless, forgettable locals just doesn't cut it. Unsurprisingly, this stinker killed the AvP franchise.
8. The Predator (2018)
All signs, initially, were good for The Predator. Helmed by Shane Black, whose writing and directorial credits included two Lethal Weapons, Last Action Hero and Iron Man 3, not to mention having appeared in the original Predator, it seemed like the series now had someone in charge who know exactly how to bring it back to the look and feel of the original. Throw in an ensemble cast that included Narcos' Boyd Holbrook, Moonlight's Trevante Rhodes and Emmy winner Sterling K. Brown, and the pedigree surrounding the film looked bulletproof.
How wrong we were. The Predator is a mess, packing a jarring clash of tones, an inexplicable lack of chemistry between its stars and some unforgivably goofy ideas (friendly Predator dogs! A giant Predator!). While we give Black some credit for trying to mix some of the themes of the original (quick-quipping military bros) with something different (A GIANT PREDATOR!!!), it just doesn't come off, the final reveal of a stupendously daft-looking 'Predator killer' robo-suit feeling like something that should have come from an abandoned kids cartoon pilot, not a movie designed to resurrect a flagging franchise. Oh well.
![The Predator | Official Trailer [HD] | 20th Century FOX - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/WaG1KZqrLvM/maxresdefault.jpg)
7. Alien Vs Predator (2004)
Ok, let's get this straight out of the way: Alien Vs Predator is neither a good Alien movie, nor a good Predator movie. It lacks the visceral tension and bloody violence of either franchise (a 12A rating didn't help), and its canon-shaking revelation that Xenomorphs and Predators have been brawling on Earth for millennia felt way off given everything we knew about both species to this point. Plus, Sanaa Lathan's Lex Woods buddying up with a friendly Predator felt like one cuddly step too far (although in hindsight, maybe it was ahead of its time?!).
There is serious fun to be had, though, if you can stomach the negatives. On its own merit, Alien Vs Predator is a fun, knowingly daft, popcorn-friendly dust-up, at least offering a handful of memorable characters to root for/against, some cool set pieces (Alien Queen running wild!) and a fun cliffhanger to hook a sequel on (even if we all know how that went). Although it really didn't do a good job of portraying the Yautja as the ultimate hunting machines we know and love. Like, two of them get annihilated by a single Xenomorph at one point. Poor show, lads.
6. Predator 2 (1990)
Receiving cold reviews upon release, time has been somewhat kind to Predator 2. A decent stab at attempting something different with the franchise, it switched the eerie surroundings of the jungle for the stark and gritty environs of (future) 90s LA , switching the intense, muscular presence of Arnold Schwarzenegger's Dutch for worldweary but determined cop Michael Harrigan, played with just the right amount of gravitas and manic energy by Danny Glover.
To be fair, it is a batshit crazy movie, throwing the Predator in with cocaine-guzzling gangsters and voodoo-practicing drug lords, so it's perhaps no surprise that its frenetic pace and off-kilter tone jarred with many fans of the original. Given some of the dross that followed it, though, we think Predator 2 deserves some credit for bringing the franchise recklessly freewheeling into the 90s.
5. Predator: Killer Of Killers (2025)
A surprise bonus feature from Dan Trachtenberg arriving three years after his franchise-resuscitating Prey and mere months before his wickedly fun Badlands, Killer Of Killers brought the Yautja into the animated world via three, stunningly rendered, interconnected stories. Continuing's Prey's theme of bringing the Predator into different time periods, we get to see vikings, samurai and even the U.S. navy go toe-to-toe with the best hunters in the universe.
The three main plotlines are good fun, feeling a little reminiscent of Marvel's What If... series in terms of being enjoyable side-quests rather than essential viewing, but the movie's final chapter, bringing all three stories together, gives Killer Of Killers some extra gravitas. Some juicy post-credit reveals also suggest there may be some tantalising future threads for this particular part of the Pred universe to pick up later on.
4. Predators (2010)
It kinda feels like Nimród Antal's Predators is the forgotten entry of the franchise. It's a shame, because not only is the film's premise great fun (a mish-mash of soldiers, warriors, murderers and psychopaths get dumped on an alien planet to try their luck against a horde of you-know-whats), but it produces a surprisingly convincing performance from leading man Adrian Brody, who makes an against-type star turn as a haunted Special Ops soldier-turned-mercenary. Alice Braga, too, puts in a decent shift as a guilt-ridden sniper trying to keep the would-be team together.
Sadly, the majority of the other characters just don't click as well, and an unconvincing and predictable twist unveiling Topher Grace's bumbling doctor as a maniacal serial killer is a silly and needless distraction. Luckily, there's more than enough great action, tense moments (Danny Trejo's Cuchillo being used as bait is nightmare-inducing) and fun new Predator designs to make this a very solid, if imperfect, addition to the fold.
3. Predator: Badlands (2025)
The moment the Predator franchise finally went full MCU. Feeling tonally closer to something from the Guardians Of The Galaxy trilogy or the more rambunctious corners of the Star Wars universe than anything related to the original, Badlands embraces two clear objectives: make this shit fun, and kick as much ass as possible in the process. Having alien beasties and white-blooded cyborg synths as blade-fodder enables Dan Trachtenberg to push the 12A rating just about as hard as it'll go, while a big clutch of enthralling action set-pieces provides more fist-pump moments than a Wrestlemania main event.
Doubtless, the more Disney-fied aspects of Badlands will stick in the mandibles of many diehard Predator fanboys and girls: cuddly monkey-alien buddies, fluffy themes of family (sorry, clans) and a Yautja cracking jokes isn't going to be for everybody. But if you're in for the ride, it's a doozy, and when Trachtenberg dials up the more visceral action - most notably on Dek's homeworld - we're served some genuinely gripping scenes. Plus, Weyland-Yutani and the Yautja are officially canon again. You know what that means...
2. Prey (2022)
How do you inject a franchise on life support with the boost of adrenaline it so desperately needs? You don't just take it back to its roots: you go back even further - a few hundred years further, to be precise. Pitting ol' Pred-head against a determined, intuitive Comanche warrior in the American wilderness was a masterstroke, and Trachtenberg's direction managed to reintroduce the kind of tension and earthy ambience we hadn't seen in a Predator film since 1987.
Crucially, in Amber Midhunter we also arguably had the series' most magnetic protagonist since Arnie himself, with Naru's relationship with her tribe, and in particular brother Taabe, giving her final battle against the Predator some extra emotional grounding. Throw in a super-gnarly, new-look Predator and some all-time-great franchise scenes (the French voyageurs getting wasted and, yes, that bear scene are our favourites), and Prey officially gave us a new entry into the Predator canon that is truly worthy of the name.
1. Predator (1987)
You already knew this though, right? Predator remains not just the ultimate Predator flick, but one of the single greatest action movies of all time. Tense, bloody and filled with memorable characters, the original nonetheless succeeds most where other entries fail in its understanding that, sometimes, less is more. For every explosion of violence or fist-pumping, on-the-nose flash of braggadocio, there's an eerie moment of silence or clever bit of misdirection that leaves you second-guessing. Was the monster even in the trees that time, or are we seeing things?!
Plus, the Predator itself not revealing its full, terrifying visage until its final battle with Schwarzeneggar's Dutch was a masterstroke: we get to experience Dutch's relationship with the beast in realtime, and his fraught, desperate final throw of the dice is all the more nerve-racking as a result. Those final, bone-chilling laughs ringing out as the Predator is blown to smithereens is also one of the most effective final stands of any horror baddie ever. Even if he was one ugly motherfucker (sorry, we had to get one in).
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
