Predator 2 Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: Veteran detectives fighting a growing drug war must also contend with a new predator lurking in Los Angeles.

Review: While this is a pretty good movie that does its best to equal the first entry, you do realize why Arnold turned down the chance to reprise his role from part one. There's just something unbelievable about the predator running around the city trying to kill people like it did in the jungle. At the same time I think you would still notice an alien running around invisible or not. The motivations of this predator feels off as well; he is killing the drug gangs but what makes them worthy prey? Just because they have guns? The predator takes a liking to the lead, Harrigan (played by Danny Glover), because he demonstrates his abilities early in the film as a worthy adversary, but nobody else really seems like it would be worth a predator's time. While Harrigan and his crew are investigating the predator's killings, the "government" is covertly tracking the predator because they idiotically believe they can capture him. While I did think it would make sense that the government may be onto the predator, I thought it was so dumb that they believed they'd stand a chance against an alien lifeform so advanced it comes to earth to kill people for fun! Even though this predator kills like ten times the people the first did, it still loses far too easily; the predator is often shown being shot at point blank range but not taking damage...say what? I don't know if it was the writer's intention, but this predator is a lot dumber than the first making many mistakes. There's actually quite a few questionable moments that have you rolling your eyes. On the other hand, this is still a solid sci-fi/action film. With two drug gangs, the cops, and the government all at the mercy of the predator, an entertaining dynamic is created. The same great music returns with a few nice touches added, whether intentional or not. For example, we see a shot of the girl that survived part one on a TV monitor, an "alien" skull, and I love having Bill Paxton here since he was also in "Aliens;" still kind of playing Hudson too! While nowhere near living up to the expectations the first created, it is still worth a watch and a little better than critics would have you believe.

Notable Moment: After Harrigan has defeated the predator aboard its ship, many more predators emerge to "clean up."

Final Rating: 7/10