Re-watched Predator 1987 for about the 50th time, it's an all time classic.
Special effects hold up amazingly well, but the major selling point for me is the slow-burning tease revealing just a tiny bit of the Predator for two entire acts, it's still suspenseful despite knowing exactly what's coming. What also works is that Arnie isn't larger than life, rather he's surrounded by a team equally buff and larger than life men; after strutting their stuff as an elite force they are convincingly scared shitless but make rational moves all the way.
Predator 2, while not quite as good, is underrated and works very well in the urban environment and expands the universe without handing out stupid cop-out plot devices. I hope to god they don't go down the Alien route with this new movie, their crazy back-filling there ruined everything.
AVP was such dog shit I didn't bother again with the AVP movies.
Predators was ok, but felt like a slavish re-hash of the original and had the ridiculous Topher Grace character. Getting off the planet was a mistake for mine, took it away from the realism of the first two, it's far more entertaining when the Predator enters our world rather than vice versa.
I'm worried about this new one; Shane Black's shtick works great for oddball comedies but he butchered Iron Man 3 when using this style. Trailer seems to be going in that direction.
