22.Predator 2 (I actually like this movie better than the original)
Likewise. Over time it's picked up something of a following & I've read more than one article on "why Predator 2 is better than the first". One such article: http://www.scene-stealers.com/top-10s/top-10-reasons-predator-2-is-the-best-of-the-%E2%80%9Cpredator%E2%80%9D-franchise/
Very good article. Those are most of the same reasons I have. I don't necessarily completely agree with all of #5, I would have liked if they successfully had a badass woman character (Maria Conchita Alonso is a TERRIBLE actress in this). But I totally agree in the disdain for force fed romantic subplots. So the lack of that was a breath of fresh air.
What he didn't mention, though, was the fact that this movie did NOT make the mistake of trying to put the Predator back in the shadows and not seen very much, like it was in the first one. Some people criticize it for this, but I think once you've revealed the Predator in all his glory at the end of the first one, you can't go back. So they wisely showed him, and they gave him more toys, so there is still stuff to surprise you.
However, one of the hardest things to do in filmmaking is world building. And the first movie has the establishment of the Predator and what it takes to fight him down pat. So that can't be taken away from it.
EDIT: And I cannot agree more with how absolutely BADASS Danny Glover is in this. Without the bullshit baggage of "I'm getting too old for this shit" from Lethal Weapon, he is a force of nature here, and far more interesting a character than Arnold in the first one. It will forever be my favorite thing Danny Glover's done