Predator wreaked
havoc in the jungle and struck box-office gold, so Hollywood
logic dictated that Predator 2 should raise hell in the
big, bad city. Los Angeles, to be specific, and this near-future
L.A. (circa 1997) is an ultra-violent playground for the invisibility-cloaked
alien that hunted Arnold Schwarzenegger in the previous film.
For many people who saw Predator and
liked it, this might be a bit of a disappointment. However, for
those of us who saw the first Pred flick and loved it, this is
another cool installment from the deadliest alien to grace the
silver screen.
This time his victims range from Colombian and
Jamaican drug lords to gang members to cops. Equipped with even
more advanced weaponry, the Predator goes on the rampage in LA,
thrilling us with some great action scenes. The film also shows
us the deadly being has an honourable and sympathetic side to
him - a truly great hunter.
Check it out, it's a good action
movie with plenty of thrills and spills. (look out for the skull
of an alien from the ALIENS movies in the Pred's trophy cabinet)
Review by Amazon Reviewer Aonghus
of Dublin, 30 December 1998
Alien was followed
up by the even better Aliens. Predator, even better
than them both, was followed up by this, the worst of the lot.
Let's hope Predator 3 is better.
Predator 2 is
merely your average nineties rogue cop movie with all the boring
ingredients (the "I'll do things MY way" cop in the
lead, the no-nonsense female who makes fools out of the men who
try to chat her up, bloody shoot-outs, drugs, harrassed and packed
police station)... it's so damn boring and predictable. But the
scenes with the Predator are so superior they could be from another
film. Tense, exiting, scary... the alien creature is just as
intriguing and terrifying as before. The climatic battle between
it and Danny Glover is great.
However, ALL the characters are
annoying and 2D, and the train attack scene is not half as exiting
as it should have been. It's a boring, average cop movie spliced
with bits of a great alien-on-the-loose movie that should have
been so much better.
Review by Amazon Reviewer Kevin
of Norwich, 15 March 1999
Produced by: 20th Century Fox
Released: 19 November, 1990 (USA)
Taglines:
Silent. Invisible. Invincible. He's
in town with a few days to kill.
Hunting season opens again.
This Time... Los Angeles, 1997.
Plot Outline:
The monstrous alien is at it again. This in time in Los Angeles, he leaves a trail full of dead bodies, and the only man who can stop him this time is Lieutenant Mike Harrigan of the LAPD (Danny Glover).
Genre:
Action / Sci-Fi / Thriller
Certification:
Australia: M, UK: 18, USA: R
USA Box Office: $30,669,413
Filming Locations: Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco; California, USA
Kevin Peter Hall
Danny Glover
Gary Busey
Rubén Blades
Maria Conchita Alonso
Bill Paxton
Robert Davi
Adam Baldwin
Kent McCord
Morton Downey Jr.
Calvin Lockhart
Steve Kahan
Henry Kingi
Corey Rand
Elpidia Carrillo
Lilyan Chauvin
Michael Mark Edmondson
Teri Weigel
William R. Perry
Charlie Hauck (I)
Sylvia Kauders
Charles David Richards
Julian Reyes
The Predator
Lieutenant Mike Harrigan
Peter Keyes
Danny
Leona
Jerry Lambert
Captain Phil Heinemann
Garber
Captain B. Pilgrim
Tony Pope
King Willie
Sergeant
El Scorpio
Ramon Vega
Anna
Irene Edwards
Gold Tooth
Columbian Girl
Subway Gang Leader
Charlie
Ruth
Commuter
Juan Beltran
Directed by: Stephen Hopkins Produced by: John Davis, Lawrence Gordon Writing credits: Jim Thomas, John Thomas Original music by: Alan Silvestri (click here to
go to the Predator Soundtrack section) Produced by: 20th Century Fox Special Effects by: Howard Anderson Company, Pacific Titles & Optical, R/Greenberg Associates,
Inc., Stan Winston Studio [us], VCE (Visual Concept Entertainment),
Video Image (video & graphic displays, Predator P.O.V.)
Sequel to the action-packed blockbuster, Predator,
replaces Arnold Schwarzenegger with Danny Glover and the jungles
of Central America with the urban backdrop of Los Angeles.
Glover is Harrigan, a seasoned LAPD liutenant
trapped in a war-infested heat wave as Columbian and Jamaican
drug cartels attempt to wipe each other out. Little do the cops
or the drug posses know, there is a new player in town: The Predator.
The creature is even more deadly the second time around as he
packs an even larger arsenal of weapons that he uses to take
out everyone in sight. While the police believe that the gruesome
murders are the work of the rival gangs, Gary Busey's government
operative who is posing as a DEA agent is after something else.
When Harrigan calls for a meeting with the Jamaican drug lord,
King Willie, he soon begins to realize that he may be dealing
with something other than rival dealers. Willie seems to believe
that it is a supernatural force.
Predator 2 is not the epic suspense thriller
that the first film was but it does have fun with its story. Glover is chasing his alien
nemesis all through out the city before tracking him down to
a slaughterhouse where the creature disposes of an elite unit
of governemnt agents in record time. There isn't a lot of plot
to be found in the concluding act of the film (or anywhere else
for that matter) but if you're the kind who likes for the action
to tell the story then you won't be dissapointed.
This DVD edition of Predator 2 isn't particulary
remarkable. You get the film's theatrical trailer and a nice
little featurette from the promotional days of the film but not
much else. I still would
have liked to see some deleted footage or maybe an audio commentary
but seeing as this movie was only a marginal success in its theatrical
run, I should have expected as much.
Review by Amazon Reviewer Crazy Jim
from Massachusetts, December 31, 2003
Produced by: 20th Century Fox Released: 25 January, 2001 Format: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.85:1 / Region 1 Audio: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo),
French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround) Extras: Theatrical trailer(s), >"Predator 2: Creating the Ultimate Hunter" featurette
With this Special Edition DVD, the FX are not as fresh as they were in the original movie, but they are still adequate for the story and action. The Predator, when visible, gets more screen time than he did in the first film, and genre fans will be delighted to see that Stan Winston and his staff manage to make him look just as cool as before.
In short, PREDATOR 2 is not as fresh, classy, or suspenseful as its progenitor, but Danny Glover -- who, though no Arnie, is a talented and interesting actor -- creates an urban hero who is both compelling and sympathetic.
THE DVD from Fox offers a nice anamorphic Widescreen transfer and good Dolby Digital sound, and in addition to the theatrical trailer, the extras include a pretty cool behind-the-scenes featurette that was filmed during the movie's original production. Good movie and good DVD, but be sure to also get the DVD version of the even better original PREDATOR.
Produced by: 20th Century Fox Released: January 25, 2005 Format: Closed-captioned, Collectors edition, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc, Widescreen Anamorphic, Region 1 / 1.85:1 Extras: Commentary by director Stephen Hopkins, Commentary by writers Jim Thomas and John Thomas, All-new documentary: The Hunters and the Hunted, Three behind-the-scenes featurettes: The Predator Goes to Town, International Featurette, Creating the Ultimate Hunter, Predator 2 Evolutions: special effects development clips, Predator Weapons of Choice: weapon analysis clips, Trailers and TV spots, 'Hard Core' full-length mock news reports from the movie, Behind-the-scenes still photo gallery
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