All 7 Predator movies ranked from worst to best

2. Predator

Arnold Schwarzenegger came face-to-face with his greatest adversary in 1987’s Predator when a rescue mission quickly turned into a desperate attempt to survive. And nothing would ever be the same again.

The idea of a movie like Predator wasn’t particularly groundbreaking at a time when Hollywood knew how to make successful monster movies. But it was something of an odd beast as it was essentially a B-movie with an A-list cast. The one thing that elevated it above that, though, was its incredible writing.

The Predator wasn’t your run-of-the-mill monster. It was a warrior hunting for sport, eager to find a worthy challenger and ultimately defeat them. It had its own code, and an odd sense of honor, and it would not stop until the hunt was over. That set it apart from the endless supply of creature features out there, and quickly solidified the title alien as one cinema’s most iconic villains.

The movie is a masterclass in tension, slowly peeling away the layers of the creature’s existence and motivations just as it slowly kills off its characters. And it’s a thrill to watch.

Predator is one of the most important movies of the ’80s and it’s easy to see why. It started the franchise on such a high note that it’s been virtually impossible for any sequels to come close to matching its greatness.

However, over three decades later, one might have just done it.