Retrospective: 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
X-RT-ReviewID: 1214838
X-RT-TitleID: 1031425
X-RT-SourceID: 1382
X-RT-AuthorID: 6769
X-RT-RatingText: 2.5/5