Predator 2 (1990)

PREDATOR 2

Verdict: 2.5/5 stars

REVIEW BY JOHN ULMER

The problem with most sequels is that they lack their predecessor(s)' creativity and freshness. Take "Predator 2" for example: The entire notion of being trapped by an indestructible murderous creature in a world unknown to you is put to waste by moving the Predator to the urban jungle of LA, where cop Harrigan (Danny Glover), a drug enforcement officer, hunts down the Predator on his own turf. This isn't too bad of an idea, as the city grants the agile and almost invisible Predator room to hurl himself from building to building above the skyline at night, picking off prey in stealth and hanging them from the top of buildings, skinned alive, just like he did with Dutch's (Arnold Schwarzenegger) commando team, only there they were in Columbia and had only trees to be hung on.

That doesn't happen here. "Predator 2" moves slowly like it doesn't know what it's doing. It rarely shows the invisible Predator stalking its prey above the below--instead, it shows him walk into a moving subway train and slice and dice everyone. This isn't scary. This isn't even really all that fun. The entire greatness and pure genius of the first film was the way it took its time getting to the Predator, and when it did you were scared of the idea of a creature like that.

The film starts with a painfully stupid action sequence that looks like a game of "Grand Theft Auto III" gone awry. A gang has held up a street outside a building, blasting away their super-duper machine guns at the cops on the street, who act as if there's nothing they can do about it. (Getting snipers on top of a building and picking off the idiots might be a good idea.)

Enter Harrigan (Glover), the man who knows exactly what to do. What he does, Reader, is ridiculous, but I won't ruin it. Anyway, before he has a chance to send his team of men into a large skyscraper where there are more gang folks hiding, an invisible Predator murders them (the gang, that is) and hangs them from the ceiling in a ritualistic pattern right before Harrigan and his team arrive.

Thinking it's a new gang leader on the streets trying to make a name for himself, Harrigan shrugs off the startling incident--until it happens again. A young, eager rookie (Bill Paxton) joins his team and they put a manhunt in effect for whatever is out there killing gangs and pretty much anyone with weapons.

I get tired when films repeatedly use the futuristic look of "Metropolis" and "Dark City," but if there were ever a film that needed that edge it would be "Predator 2." It is, of course, lacking it. The film's Predator sequences should all have taken place at night, showing glimpses of him perched high above skyscrapers, totally indestructible and invincible.

This film has no tension, no wonder. It's rarely an improvement over the first in terms of the creature--sure, we get to see new weapons, but they've totally screwed up his sound effects and POV. (What's with the red junk on the left? The other Predator didn't have it. In the videogame it's his health counter, but I doubt an advanced life form would need to know if he's dying or not by looking at a meter.)

I have respect for Danny Glover, I really do. He's one of my favorite actors. He is good at playing the overwhelmed (or under-whelmed) everyman role, just like in "Lethal Weapon" (1987). That's why this role is wrong for him. Very wrong. Watching him battle a merciless Predator species is just a bit sad, while watching him run around panting is even sadder. Action roles are good for him when he's got jokes to spit out or someone to roll eyes at while he's trying to catch up (like Riggs and Murtaugh).

Plus, and I mean no respect to Danny Glover as I admire him so much, but let's face it: When it comes to hardboiled action films about alien species battling macho men, who else can play the role but Arnold? He was filming "Total Recall" (1990) at the time and couldn't come back for a sequel. The plot references him once--which I liked. I like when sequels reference their predecessors. (Part of my love of "Back to the Future Part II" is because of this.) But quite simply, "Predator 2" is lacking everything its predecessor had.

Moving the Predator to an urban area could have given the filmmakers plenty of fresh perspectives and ideas to catch. Plus, sequels are rarely allowed to use the original theme song unless it's sort of remixed (see "RoboCop 2" [1990]). "Predator 2" had full access to its original theme song by Alan Silvestri, and it uses it in the entirely wrong places. Towards the end of the film, there is an explosion and Glover jumps to the ground just like Arnie did at the end of "Predator." When the camera comes back to him, it doesn't use the end theme of "Predator" that plays in a subtle fashion when Arnold is standing in the rubble with his hands on his sides, reflecting back over the incidents. It was a perfect place to play it and they didn't. They do, however, play it in the background at a funeral halfway through the film.

Another thing that "Predator 2" is lacking is the heart. This film is vile--everything the first film has, this doesn't. The first had swearing but not too much; this has the F-word even spewing from the Predator himself--a reference to the first film, but actually quite comical and not as scary as it should be (remember one of the best lines of the first film, when Arnold says, "You're one ugly mother__"? Danny Glover starts to say it this time and the Predator finishes the sentence for him. Good reference, perhaps, but also pretty stupid). This film also resorts to more gore, nudity, sex, and so on than it really needed. It's like they're trying to push past the first film's level of violence and make a real hard R-rated film. It feels corny.

This movie opened the gateway for 2004's upcoming "Alien vs. Predator," presenting the fact that the Alien and Predator species live in the same galaxy together. When Harrigan investigates inside a docked Predator ship, there is an Alien skull clearly visible along with another creature, which I thought was a T-Rex but have just now read is another alien species from the second (and terrific) videogame. That's about all you can credit this film for.

It leaves a lot open in terms of species exploration, but doesn't follow through with any of it. I suppose it thought there would be room for the sequels to delve into all the open discussions regarding Predators, but too late. I admire the first "Predator" film very much. I admire the false species itself, even more so than that in "Alien," simply because I think they're a lot...well...cooler. They can use a light-bending trick to turn practically invisible; they have masks that pick up heat forms; they have advanced weaponry and really neat ways of killing people. I admire what the first film started. I'm not sure I really admire what the second film cloes. And while most sequels have a reason to be bad, "Predator 2" doesn't, and though it left me grinning in some places, I was overall pretty disappointed.

Note: I noticed in one scene that dialogue between Glover and Garey Busey reflects a conversation in "Alien" (1979). Glover says, "You admire it." Busey says, "I admire what it can give us." Sounds like the conversation between Weaver and Holm, doesn't it? Also, here's a fun fact: Bill Paxton, who appears in this film, also appears in many of James Cameron's films, as does Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was, of course, in the original film.

- John Ulmer
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X-Language: en
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X-RT-TitleID: 1031425
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X-RT-AuthorID: 6769
X-RT-RatingText: 2.5/5