Predator 2 (2003)
Silent. Invisible. Invincible. He's in town with a few days to kill.
Starring: Kevin Peter Hall, Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Ruben Blades, Maria Conchita Alonso, Bill Paxton, Robert Davi, Adam Baldwin, Kent McCord, Morton Downey Jr., Calvin Lockhart, Steve Kahan, Henry Kingi
Director: Stephen Hopkins
Running Time: 108 minutes
US MPAA rating: N/AUK BBFC rating: 18
Action, Science Fiction, Thriller
On DVD Los Angeles, 1997. Riots between rival Colombian and Jamaican drug gangs have turned the streets into a war zone. To make matters worse, there's a dreadlocked space-baddie picking off passers-by and using their skulls to decorate his front room.
The Predator is back, and it sounds like a job for Arnie. Right! Eh? What's that? He's not available? Oh. Who have we got instead then? Danny who? Danny Glover? The bloke from the 'Lethal Weapon' movies? Oh, alright then. Suppose he'll have to do. Still, at least we can still have John McTiernan directing. Sorry? He's not here either? Stephen Hopkins is just as good though, isn't he? Isn't he? Hello?
Bloodshed and swearies become the order of the day as Predders - who, incidentally, hasn't gotten any prettier - hunts down various ganglords and street thugs from a-top the LA sky-scrapers. As Harrigan, the cop on this inter-galactic ogre's tail, Danny Glover has to play one of Hollywood's most worn-out clichés. He's a loose cannon, prefers to work alone, disobeys the orders of his superiors (particularly when the FBI stick their hooters in), and has probably even been known to break the speed limit on a couple of occasions. Neither originality nor character development are among this movie's strong points.
Unlike McTiernan's original, the suspense is limited and the expensive special effects wasted on a director with no clear tactic for how best to use them. If you're able to stick it out until the end, you do get to see the inside of the Pred's spacecraft and also his 'trophy' collection - which includes the skull of an alien species normally associated with Sigourney Weaver. Much like all of this movie's better points, it's difficult to spot.
DVD Extras: This disc is currently only available in the UK as part of the 'Ultimate Predator Collection' boxset. And, for this movie, there's only a trailer.
It's Got: Danny.
It Needs: Arnie.
Alternatives: Predator, Aliens, The Terminator
Summary: Like the Predator itself, this is an ugly and unwelcome movie. A sequel to the original could have been a good idea, but unfortunately it's a bit of a failure.
Review by Gary Panton
Review Date: 9th August 2003
Image Gallery
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External Links
Predator 2 at the IMDB
Comments9 Comments |
| the best predator it has violence nudity everything its awsome a must see |
| Comment by:- | | 15 August 2004 | ip: logged |
| i dont really think that the review is fair on the film. it is an awesome film. a little like marmite, you either love it or hate it |
| Comment by:- | | 05 September 2004 | ip: logged |
| By far the worst of the predators aperience's if you want the predator to stay kool, then dont watch this insult of a film. |
| Comment by:- | | 12 October 2004 | ip: logged |
| you pricks dont know a good movie when you see one. it was way better than predator 1, and who gives a **** if arnies in it or not. the movie is about the alien, not the dim-witted austrian moron who cant act. you people are an insult to critiques. |
| Comment by:- | | 24 October 2004 | ip: logged |
| Does anyone no where i can get a copy of the film in the UK on DVD, i cant seem to find one anywhere. i Saw it once on C4 and it was really good. Way better than Pred 1 (I agree about the statement about arnie) |
| Comment by:- | | 27 October 2004 | ip: logged |
| obviously not as good as the first but danny glover puts in a solid performance non-the-less. needs billy and a minigun. putting an aliens skull in at the end was interesting but lets hope that some moron producer doesnt get the idea of forming an aliens vs predator film...... oh wait....someone already as |
| Comment by:- | | 27 October 2004 | ip: logged |
| brilliantly realised sequel from a director with great vision and loving respect for the original. Banal action story so well crafted it doesnt matter, with attention to detail including awesome thermal imaging pov and collossal audio fx.Actually one of the better sequels made. Hopkins went on to do eps of 24 and has just done the Peter Sellers movie |
| Comment by:- | | 25 November 2004 | ip: logged |
| Not as good as the original. I enjoyed the first one solely because it was set in the jungles, not a stupid city. Every movie is set in a city, which is why I liked the first one so much... Because it was filmed in the jungles, something different compared to the f*cking cities, you understand?! |
| Comment by:- | | 11 December 2004 | ip: logged |
| Nos seriously though this is a bad movie, and would have been with Arnie or not. It's not scary, the action sequences are....what action sequences? The nudity would have been fine if justified but it aint and the acting isn't up to much. It's a poor film. I was pretty disgusted when I saw it. |
| Comment by:- | | 18 March 2006 | ip: logged |
