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| Year: 1990 |
| Director: Stephen Hopkins |
| Cast: Kevin Peter Hall, Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Bill Paxton |
| Genres: Action, Crime, Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller |
| Runtime: 108 min. |
| IMDB: This film on IMDB |
| Soundtrack: available |
Lt. Harrigan (Danny Glover) is a cop fighting the good war against drugs. But recently, the major drug lords have been killed off in a very brutal fashion. His superiors tell him to stay out of it, but Harrigan knows that something is wrong. His instincts are right when he discovers that the person behind the murders is none other than the Predator, the human-hunting alien who likes to make trophies out of his victims' skulls. But how can Harrigan stop the Predator when it can turn invisible and kill him without him knowing it? |
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| Date: 2008-02-02 09:08:41 |
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After the success of the original PREDATOR in 1987, a sequel was bound to show up sooner or later. In 1990, PREDATOR 2 hit the movie screen to lackluster response. As with most sequels, it failed to capture, or duplicate convincingly, what had made the first film so popular. The first PREDATOR was a violent, well produced action film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as the leader of a band of army commandos who are hunted by an alien creature in a South American jungle. The film remains a holdover from my formative adolescent years and I have come to appreciate it as a tight, suspenseful action thriller with inspired makeup design by Stan Winston. Well, in the sequel (as the tagline would suggest), the scene has changed from the actual jungle to the "urban jungle" of L.A. Where, during a heatwave, the city is beset upon by another malevolent visitor from beyond the stars. The hero this time is the tough L.A. cop (is there any other kind?) Mike Harrigan (Danny Glover). He is surrounded by mainly disposable characters who are designed to be threatened or avenged: Danny Archuleta (Ruben Blades), Leona Cantrell (Maria Conchita Alonso), Jerry Lambert (Bill Paxton, still in his screeching whine period; see also ALIENS), as well as various captains (Kent McCord, Robert Davi) who repeatedly tell Harrigan he is a "loose cannon" or that he is "officially off the case", etc. There is also a subplot involving a gang war between the Colombians and the Jamaicans, the turmoil being covered by a tabloid journalist (Morton Downey Jr. [!]) who adds bits of editorial insight into the various happenings. Adding to the cluttered attic that is the plot of PREDATOR 2 is a group of military researchers, lead by Peter Keyes (Gary Busey), who are out to capture and study the Predator; it is through them that Harrigan gains a more formative knowledge of what he is dealing with.
PREDATOR 2 is one of of those sequels that fleshes out the "mythology" of an enigmatic concept. We get insight on what the creature eats, various medical gadgets it uses, a brief glimpse at a "trophy case", and lengthy conversations on numerous behavioral patterns. In PREDATOR 2, we learn, for example, the actual "physics" of the creature's cloaking device, which is great trivia, but much of the mystery is explained away. The result of all these explanations is that the Predator becomes mundane, a bit of a bore. In the preceding film, many of these questions are left unanswered or implied, focusing on the tension and isolation of the events. Gone also is the juxtaposition of the original storyline: the soldiers are professional killers who encounter something that is even more dangerous than themselves. They are not heroic in any real sense, but highly skilled men on which the tables have been turned. In PREDATOR 2 we get the more straightforward good cop versus the evil alien scenario which is not as satisfying. Black and white is not as interesting, to me anyway, as the varied shades of gray that the original film created.
The fact that PREDATOR 2 has many well produced action sequences, but very little character development, should come as no surprise considering that it is directed by Stephen Hopkins (LOST IN SPACE, JUDGMENT NIGHT, BLOWN AWAY, THE GHOST AND THE DARKNESS). The first PREDATOR did not exactly have the most dynamic characters, but John McTiernan, and his actors, did much with narrative shorthand in creating a functional situation in which the viewer was, at least, concerned about the ultimate outcome of the commando's plight. In the sequel, however, the cast is mainly B-list, and those who aren't are wasted. Danny Glover steps into the lead role, but seems out of place as an action film tough guy (his character in the LETHAL WEAPON series, the closest comparison, had much more nuance). I would guess he was cast to lend some credibility to what is, in essence, an attempt to produce the same financial return as the original. It would also seem that the filmmakers expected a veteran actor like Glover to carry much of the human drama of PREDATOR 2 without much help from the supporting cast. Not to be overly critical here, the film does have some good points: Hopkins has a flare for explosions (forgive the pun) and gunfights and PREDATOR 2 is fun to watch for those reasons. Alan Silvestri returns as composer, adding layers of aggressive rhythm to his themes from the first film. The film looks good and the production design, particularly the interior of the Predator's ship, is impressive. I can't really say that I like PREDATOR 2, but it has enough action and goofy sequences (the scene in the subway were every passenger carries a gun for example) to make it a mildly entertaining guilty pleasure. 4/10 |
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