Predator 2 ---- **1/2 (out of 5) (1990)
Cast: Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Ruben Blades, Maria Conchita Alonso, Bill Paxton
Director(s): Stephen Hopkins
Screenwriter(s): Jim Thomas, John Thomas
Released on: November 21, 1990
Reviewed on: January 9, 2005
Rated: R - for blood/gore, violence, profanity, and nude corpses
Whether stiff movie critics admit it or not, Predator was a great monster movie and was able to establish an emotional connection with the viewer and make them feel as if they, too, were lost in the dense jungle of Central America and being stalked by a sufficient killing machine. I enjoyed the original PREDATOR very much since I was a huge fan of both the protagonist and the antagonist so it made it a win-win viewing experience, but I was leery of renting PREDATOR 2 because of the changes made to the casting and to the surroundings. Filmmakers have to be extremely careful in pleasing their long-time fans with the sequels because tampering with the original movie's working elements to too high of an extent can ruin the series and the franchise altogether. I'm fairly disappointed in stating that the changes in the transition between the first and second films were too substantial to make the sequel totally solid. Going from a jungle to a city and from Schwarzenegger to Glover is just a bit too large of a burden to hold on the shoulders of a moviegoer that was a Pred-1 fan.
It's just a rehashing of the first film, honestly, but it makes a worthwhile attempt at recapturing the environment created within the original setting. The new jungle we have here is actually the concrete jungle of Los Angeles in the year 1997. During a summer with temperatures at all-time highs, Detective Harrigan is in the midst of trying to contain a shootout between the police and a gang of druglords. Things take a startling turn for the weird when the criminals barricade themselves inside of a building but are later found murdered and hanging from the ceiling. It appears to be the work of a large male and one that has the amazing ability to climb forty feet in seconds. This is when the unseen Predator first makes his mark. Later on, more citizens of the crime-infested metropolis, including a strange Jamaican voodoo clan, are killed and decapitated as the otherworldly Predator continues to feed on humans and collect their skulls as trophies. Of course, Glover as Harrigan is on the case acting out the stereotype of the cop who always strays from the politically correct path so he can solve things in his own vigilante way. But every time he gets some progress in tracking the Predator, he is stopped by persistent federal agents like the one played by Gary Busey.
Sequels to good movies are difficult to make, and that is evident here. The script has some high points to it, which saves the film from being the vomit-inducer that it had the potential to be. However, the film is weighed down by the presence of excessive amounts of extras and lackluster supporting actors who deteriorate from the real fight, which is obvious from the beginning: Predator vs. Harrigan. Busey presents another one of his stubborn "hardass" characters who we never develop a liking for. Along with him are people like Maria Conchita Alonso, who does little more than fill the role of the main cop's partner, and Bill Paxton, who just annoys the hell out of everybody including the viewer (His small role in TRUE LIES comes to mind). Unfortunately, his character's death was largely unseen.
The Predator itself is still basking in all of its muscular, menacing glory. If you don't categorize by race or species, the Predator is actually the easiest character in the film to like. He has an amazing hulking figure, a perfect monster face beneath its mask, and a wide array of ultra-cool gadgets and murder tools. The necessary background information that the filmmakers neglected to give us in the first PREDATOR is finally presented here and makes certain things in the original make more sense. Though it seems pretty clear now that the Predator uses humans for food, that was highly unspecified in the first, and it just seemed as if he were a psychotic murderer from outer space. The creature also seems to be attracted to heat and conflict. This explains why he stalks his prey in the middle of violent confrontations that take place in hot and humid weather, seen in both movies. So, no matter which way you analyze it, the Predator is definitely the star of the show.
The final battle is the best sequence in PREDATOR 2 since all of the other unnecessary fools are either dead or helpless to do anything, so we've finally got Harrigan and the Predator left to duke it out. It's reminiscent of the monster's fight with Arnie in the first film but not as tense or suspenseful. The dark jungle generated a lot more anxiety than in a slaughterhouse where the first part of the final fight takes place. Again, we don't quite know who to root for since Glover is just as likable as the enemy he's trying to kill so we have to rely on the writing to make things all work out. The last segment in the Predator ship makes an excellent ending for the segment and a decent resolution follows. I'd have to say that PREDATOR 2 was not an entirely good follow-up to the original. It has slow, steady sequences and stalk scenes much like the first, so it doesn't do much more than experiment with the same ideas in a completely different area. The Predator in the big city was the money-making gimmick for this sequel, so if you're looking for something much deeper, then you probably won't find it.
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