Taking the fight from one jungle to another, Predator 2 releases its grip on Dutch and begins a new hunt for Lieutenant Mike Harrigan (Danny Glover) in the streets of a semi-futuristic Los Angeles. While the original got by on its barebones approach to hunter versus the hunted, Predator 2 receives a budgetary boost and takes out all the stops. Unfortunately, the ability to do more seems to have stripped the story of the cleverness and wit of the original. Gone are the brilliant days of Dutch slathering himself in mud to hide himself from the heat-seeking Predator; in their place is an over-produced series of explosions and special effects which take away from the rustic charm the series created with the first installment. However, while Predator 2 may deny its primitive origins, it does do its part to further the Predator mythology.
Harrigan and his team fight everyday down in the bullet streaked streets of LA. Chasing down gangland kingpins and drug dealers, their job never seems to get easier. When Danny (Ruben Blades), one of Harrigan’s team members, is brutally slain in a bust, Harrigan and his team catch sight of a creature they’ve never seen before. But the creature’s activities in the area aren’t without benefits as one by one gangs are slaughtered with startling efficiency leaving Harrigan with a trail of blood to follow. Harrigan, along with Leona (Maria Conchita Alonso) and newcomer Jerry (Bill Paxton), must track down and kill the cloaked hunter roaming their streets before it comes looking for them.
Predator 2 definitely suffers from a high usage of special effects which show their age more with each passing year – but it’s still passable by today’s standards. What really help the film are the action scenes which, using one technique or another, are all creatively shot. But even if the final battle between Harrigan and the Predator was all the film had to offer, Predator 2 would beat out a fair share of action films. The final battle lasts for upwards of 25 minutes and goes all over the place.
Danny Glover has great acting chops and when you consider he’s following in a franchise starting by Arnold Schwarzenegger, it’s that much more impressive. Few people would really think of Glover as an “action star” per se, especially since we’ve heard him say “I’m getting too old for this shit!” over and over again in his most popular role of all time. Glover shows the world that you don’t need to be a world-class weight-lifter to contend with alien life forms with kickass equipment – you just have to be relentless.
Who are we kidding? It’s no coincidence that Aliens (arguably the best of the Alien films) and Predator 2 both feature Bill Paxton. The man has this tremendous blend of freaked out, comic and smarmy style that makes him an invaluable character to be killed by some raging beast. He’s spot on in his role as the new, cocksure partner.
Oh, and Gary Busey is, as always, freakin’ nuts.
Speaking of Paxton, it’s odd to consider that Alien and Predator have become intertwined series despite their filmic origins being thematically different. Ridley Scott’s Alien incited a claustrophobic panic aboard a futuristic ship. The fear was triggered by the knowledge that in such close confines, it was inevitable that the deadly creature was going to get you because there was nowhere else to go. While Ripley would have reveled in a wide open space to flee towards, John McTiernan’s Predator offered danger based on a foe who could be hiding anywhere in a complex and vast arena. It wasn’t written in stone that the predator would find Dutch, whereas Ripley knew sooner or later the alien would sniff her out. Claustrophobia vs. agoraphobia. Inevitability vs. endless possibility. Both films involved an alien being hunting down humans, but neither film relied on the same tools to make it work and both are superb creature-features in their own right. To both its credit and detriment Predator 2, does little to change the equation offered by the original save for changing from one jungle to another. That’s why it works, but that’s also why it feels like a retread.
The video has a great clarity that maintains the somewhat gritty look the original strived so hard to capture. Watching outdated special effects in high-definition is a bittersweet happening. At the same time it’s painfully obvious when something isn’t right, but at the same time it’s the best Predator 2 has ever looked. If you can glaze over the sketchy effects, you’ll have a great time.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
Even if you don’t watch the movie with the commentaries by director Stephen Hopkins or writers Jim Thomas and John Thomas, all of the special featurettes will show you just how much fun everyone had making this movie. With the original Predator such a fan-favorite, Hopkins and crew knew they had to match the action of the original while expanding on the whole Predator concept. To help reveal all the work that went into this, they’ve supplied the Blu-ray with a healthy heaping of extras. There are entire subsections divided between production pieces (designing costumes, actors talking about their characters or time on set, etc.), set and prop design (specifically the design of the Predator’s weapons and ship as it appears in the final scene) and little pieces from the “Hard Core” news program whose segments are strewn about the film as an expositional tool of sorts. It sounds somewhat dry, but truth be told, all of the pieces are either quite interesting or amusing because of Gary Busey, who is waaaaay too into his character.
In closing, Gary Busey is freakin’ nuts.
"Predator 2" is on sale June 9, 2009 and is rated . Action. Directed by Stephen Hopkins. Written by Jim Thomas, John Thomas. Starring Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Bill Paxton, Adam Baldwin, Ruben Blades.
