'Predator 2' and the promise of even more 'Predators'

Last night, for the first time, I watched the much-derided, but also somewhat widely-defended sequel to the 1987 action movie classic Predator, 1990's Predator 2.

I actually really enjoyed the movie despite it's frequently laughable eccentricities and occasional narrative incoherence. The action is deliriously over-the-top, Danny Glover makes for a very amusing, unconventional action hero lead, and the finale takes great pains to establish something akin to a Predator 'universe' which is something the Arnold Schwarzenegger original never bothered to do.

And that 'universe' is coming soon to a theater near year in Shane Black's upcoming reboot The Predator.

I must say, I am surprised that these movies have enough story and momentum to sustain several iterations, even though commerce dictates it must be so.

Even the more cerebral Alien films feel as though they've painted themselves into a narrative corner with nothing new to say. These movies have long ago abandoned any kind of high-brow intentions to become high-concept horror films, where the slasher is a monster instead of a pervert with a knife.

The trailer for the new film looks entertaining enough, but it also appears to be adding literally nothing the series' mythology. The predator will show up, hunt, kick some ass. skin some people and will likely eventually be brought down by our hero or heroes.

The formula worked the first time in 1987 because the effects and execution were relatively fresh and gritty.

And say what you will about the sequel, it did try to do something new, transferring the alien from the jungle to a stylized, crime-ridden version of '1997' Los Angeles.

That film seems to be trying to echo Robocop's brand of muscular cynicism but is at times too silly to fully land its punches, although its violence is so relentless and amped up that I spent too much time being shocked by the film to be ashamed of it.

I purposefully skipped the mash-up 'vs.' films. They seemed little more than exercises in mind-numbing butchery, with uninteresting human characters there simply to be fodder for slaughter. I remember 2010's Predators being just ok -- a great trailer for a mediocre movie -- that was truly more of the same: band of grunts getting picked off one by one until a showdown between man and beast.

Still, I have faith in Shane Black. He not only acted in the original film, he made his name scripting some of the best '80s-era blockbusters like the first Lethal Weapon. And, with Iron Man 3, he proved capable of shaking up 'franchises' that have started to become hopelessly stale.

I am waiting on the reviews before I commit to seeing his Predator, but my hope is that the film uses modern special effects and hopefully a refreshing storytelling approach to make it more than just another hunter vs. hunted movie.