Predator 2 (1990) Review

Predator 2 is one
of the most underrated sequels I can think of. As yet another hybrid of sci-fi,
horror, and action, it succeeds, and delivers much of the same as the first,
but more of it. It’s not as good as
the first Predator overall, but it
does manage to deliver decent human characters while also satisfying the
craving of wanting to see more of the creature and more violence.

But let’s talk about the creature. In ways, it’s even better
than in the first movie. It was a bit of a mystery what exactly this hunter was
the first time we saw it, but when Predator
2 starts, we already know what’s hunting the humans, so the mystery is
gone. This time, it’s a different predator, with a sleeker design and new
weapons, including a spear, net gun, and disc blade. Toward the end of the
movie when Harrigan injures the city hunter, we see him repair his wounds, just
like what the jungle hunter did in the first movie, but this time it’s shown
more, and that’s how it is throughout most of the movie: we see a lot more of
the creature, but it still has a fearsome presence nonetheless.
The first act establishes the characters and situation
pretty well, with a bombastic action sequence literally being the first thing
that happens. The second act is a little slow; the parts with the predator
killing cartel members and cops are exciting, but Harrigan’s investigation
isn’t that compelling. We as an audience know what’s killing everyone, so
watching him piece it together feels a little tedious. But, once it hits the
one hour mark and Harrigan finds out Keyes knows about the existence of the
predator and is planning to capture him, the third act kicks off and delivers
what we’ve been waiting for: gory predator action, a suspenseful pursuit, and
an epic final duel.
This sequel was written by the same brother writing team of
Jim & John Thomas that wrote the first movie, but was directed by Stephen
Hopkins, who never directed another high-profile movie like this. He does a
good job, though, with some inventive shots and effective coverage of action,
though the sequence on the subway with the strobing lights always bothered me,
seeming like an obvious and cheap method to dually hide the creature and make
the whole thing seem scarier, or maybe it was a visual reference to the first Alien. There are also some really dumb
moments, like the little kid offering the predator some candy, or Bill Paxton
throwing a golf ball at the predator in vain.
To follow up Predator
was certainly no easy task, but I think Predator
2 did a commendable job. It’s not able to be as original or as suspenseful,
and repeats a number of beats, but deepens the lore of the creature and
delivers another satisfying helping of extraterrestrial action and horror.
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