The original Predator was, for me, one of the best sci-fi/horror/action movie mashups I have ever seen. While I wanted the story to continue, I was careful what I wished for. I mean, how do you do a follow up/sequel to that gem of an action movie? So in 1990, when Predator 2 came out, I was excited and nervous as I headed to the theater. As it turns out, I came away with mixed feelings (blissfully unaware of the mess the franchise would become soon after)
I will say this: at least those behind the camera tried something different and did not simply jump back into the jungle (Predators, I’m looking at you), although the setting is in an “urban jungle,” that being Los Angeles in the year 1997. It is a war zone of sorts and something a Predator is attracted to, making it interesting in that sense. It is really not that big of a leap to see why a hunter would love hanging out here.
The setting is dirty, violent, noisy and bloody. They opened the movie with a bang, with all the ’90s action and violence you’d expect and at a frantic pace. The first part of Predator 2 is just that, frantic, and it feels right. Danny Glover, who had already established himself as a name in the action genre with two Lethal Weapon movies, plays Mike Harrigan, a tough as nails street cop who knows something about the streets of L.A. and quickly realizes there is a new player in town. His go-to cop friend Danny (Ruben Blades), as well as Leona (Maria Conchita Alonso) and Jerry (R.I.P. Bill Paxton), round out the rag tag team of cops.
Unfortunately, it’s the second act of the film where things fall apart. Yeah, we get the gleefully manic Gary Busey as Peter Keyes, the mysterious government agent that is a pain in Harrigan’s ass, but beyond that it’s a big bore. While the setting is great, Predator 2 kind of goes off the rails as it follows some uninteresting and unneeded story lines. The first act introduced us to sweaty, cursing violent cops who fight to do what’s right, and then all that momentum falls by the wayside. Do we really care about the personal lives of these cops? Not really, and to be fair, they did try to form a bond between said characters and the audience, but it just fell flat.
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Saying that, the third act is everything a fan of the original Predator could hope for. We learn more about why the Predators are here. There is a great showdown between Harrigan and the Predator, which gives us a fan boy moment when we see a Xenomorph skull in the creature’s trophy case. Pure Predator bliss. It’s a shame the first two acts book-ended a lame middle, but again, kudos to those involved for moving away from the original’s setting. It’s just hard to match the chemistry and comradery of Arnie and his team of soldiers.
This is a violent and angry film and while the violence is done well, it is hard to sustain anger effectively from beginning to end. It made the movie very one-dimensional emotionally and efforts to bond with the characters failed, making them for the most part, easily disposable. On the whole, though, Predator 2 still holds up 30 years later and, while not perfect by any means, is a decent sequel in a franchise that would soon lose its way.
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