"Predator 2": Hear Me Out, Guys...

Okay, okay, before you all sharpen your claws (pun intended, sue me), let's talk about "Predator 2." I know, I know, it's blasphemy to even suggest it's… anything other than a massive disappointment compared to the original. But hear me out. Danny Glover is actually pretty decent as Harrigan. Yeah, he’s no Schwarzenegger, but he brings a different kind of grit to the role. And honestly, the setting – a sweltering, gang-ridden Los Angeles – is a stroke of genius. It's way more interesting than just another jungle. Think about it: the first movie was all about manly men fighting manly monsters in a manly environment. It was peak testosterone. This one actually has something resembling style. I'll even go so far as to say that the subway scene, with the Predator stalking through the train, is more effective than most of the jungle action in the first one. Sue me. Also, the Jamaican drug lord stuff? Kinda dumb, sure, but also kinda...fun? At least the movie tried something different. It didn't just rehash the first one beat for beat. Look, nobody's saying it's a good movie in the conventional sense. The voodoo stuff is corny, and Bill Paxton's overacting is legendary for all the wrong reasons. And that ending, while kinda neat with the elder Predators, feels a little tacked on, right? But I think people are too quick to dismiss it as garbage. It's a guilty pleasure, for sure. A flawed, messy, but ultimately…entertaining guilty pleasure. Maybe I'm just contrarian for contrarian's sake, I dunno. But I'd watch "Predator 2" again before I bothered with some of the later Predator sequels. At least it kinda swings for the fences, even if it completely misses sometimes. What do you guys think, am I totally off my rocker here?