Amidst a territorial gang war in 1997, a sophisticated alien hunter stalks the citizens of Los Angeles and the only man between him and his prey is veteran L.A.P.D. officer, Lieutenant Mike Harrigan.
During an archaeological expedition on Bouvetøya Island in Antarctica, a team of archaeologists and other scientists find themselves caught up in a battle between the two legends. Soon, the team realize that only one species can win.
After her last encounter, Ellen Ripley crash-lands on Fiorina 161, a maximum security prison. When a series of strange and deadly events occur shortly after her arrival, Ripley realizes that she has brought along an unwelcome visitor.
Director:
David Fincher
Stars:
Sigourney Weaver,
Charles S. Dutton,
Charles Dance
200 years after her death, Ellen Ripley is revived as a powerful human/alien hybrid clone. Along with a crew of space pirates, she must again battle the deadly aliens and stop them from reaching Earth.
After a space merchant vessel perceives an unknown transmission as a distress call, its landing on the source moon finds one of the crew attacked by a mysterious lifeform, and they soon realize that its life cycle has merely begun.
Ellen Ripley is rescued by a deep salvage team after being in hypersleep for 57 years. The moon that the Nostromo visited has been colonized, but contact is lost. This time, colonial marines have impressive firepower, but will that be enough?
Director:
James Cameron
Stars:
Sigourney Weaver,
Michael Biehn,
Carrie Henn
When a young boy accidentally triggers the universe's most lethal hunters' return to Earth, only a ragtag crew of ex-soldiers and a disgruntled scientist can prevent the end of the human race.
Director:
Shane Black
Stars:
Boyd Holbrook,
Trevante Rhodes,
Jacob Tremblay
The crew of a colony ship, bound for a remote planet, discover an uncharted paradise with a threat beyond their imagination, and must attempt a harrowing escape.
Director:
Ridley Scott
Stars:
Michael Fassbender,
Katherine Waterston,
Billy Crudup
LAPD lieutenant Mike Harrigan (Danny Glover) and his cocky detective partner Jerry Lambert (Bill Paxton) soon realize that what seemed a bloody feud between voodoo high priest King Willie's (Calvin Lockhart) Jamaican gangs and Ramon Vega's (Corey Rand) Colombian drug gang is actually the work of a scary third party. Peter Keyes's (Gary Busey) federal team shields the crime scene even for the LAPD, but after forensics proves it must be an alien, who keeps making victims, the chase brings them all together.Written by
KGF Vissers
Several years after the film's release, Gary Busey's son Jake starred as Ace Levy in Starship Troopers (1997), the film which was based on the book by Robert Heinlein is about space marines battling deadly bug like alien creatures. A critic described the film as "Aliens of the 90s". In the final confrontation between Harrigan and the Predator, Harrigan discovers a skull of a Xenomorph in the Predator spacecraft. The crossover film AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004) was released in 2004. See more »
Goofs
When Lt Harrigan is engaging the Predator in the meat locker, and the Predator's mask is removed, the view from the Predator is still as if the mask is on and using an infrared view when in fact, as seen in the original Predator, should be a poor level of vision, in a blurry red and grayscale view by the Predator. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Reporter:
As drought-ridden Los Angeles swelters in agonizing heat, drug lords wage bloody warfare in the streets. Yet another open conflict... Oh, fuck this, get me out of here!
See more »
Crazy Credits
When the Elder Predator throws Harrigan the flintlock pistol he says "Take it". Harrigan reads the inscription "1715" ... the subtitles on the DVD regard the Predator as 'mumbles incoherently' but the Predator, being from a society based on trophies and the hunt, just witnessed Harrigan make a kill and not take a trophy. He is calling Harrigan a "heathen" See more »
LETTIN' OFF STEAM
Written by Papa Dee and Karl "Utopia" McFaul
Produced by Bankrash and Papa Dee
Performed by Papa Dee
Courtesy of Telegram Records AB & BMG Music International See more »
Series Note: Although this is a sequel, it's not strictly necessary to watch this film after the first. I almost always to prefer to watch film series in order, but as the Predator films are not constructed as chapters in a novel, there may be some advantage to watching Predator 2 first--namely that the Predator itself is explained much better in this film, so it might help viewers fill out unstated backstory for the first film.
Set in a "future" 1997 (the film was released in 1990), we're shown a Los Angeles suffering from both a mounting heat wave and mounting anarchy. Lieutenant Mike Harrigan (Danny Glover) is a rule-breaking, short-tempered downtown cop. He works closely with Danny Archuleta (Ruben Blades), Leona (Maria Conchita Alonso) and recent transfer Jerry Lambert (Bill Paxton), all eccentrics in their own way, and all but Danny equally rule-breaking. The film begins with a Colombian drug gang engaging in a shoot-out with the cops. The police finally manage to defensively drive them into a building, but when they at last converge on the gang, it seems that somebody, or something, else has finished the job for the police. More drug gangs are attacked, and it seems as if there may be some kind of vigilante on the loose. But when a secretive government task squad, headed by Peter Keyes (Gary Busey), enters the picture and takes increasingly odd actions, it seems that something even more bizarre may be responsible (a fact also given away by the film's title, it's relationship to the Predator series, and obvious shots involving the titular character early in the film).
For my tastes, Predator 2 is an example that breaks the supposed trend that "sequels are never as good as their predecessors". I think Predator 2 is a brilliant film, better than the first film by two points. This one is a 10 out of 10 for me.
Let's get the more obvious comments out of the way first. As a horror and sci-fi leaning crime actioner, director Stephen Hopkins and writers Jim and John Thomas have created a fast-paced, exciting, visceral film. This is a story set against burgeoning anarchy and chaos is a gang-filled urban environment, and Hopkins appropriately never decreases the intensity of the film--we barely pause to take a breath. While that may be exhausting to some viewers, and the rapid pacing might lead some to confusion, anyone with a taste for action films should love it, plus the genre-melding is accomplished without a hitch.
The cast is quirky and excellent. Keep in mind that I have a taste for surrealism, camp, absurdism, and so on, so that makes me appreciate the acting in the film even more. I'm a big Bill Paxton fan. His performance in Predator 2 is a good example why. I also like Danny Glover a lot, and he turns in a great performance. Additionally, we have Gary Busey, one of the odder actors in Hollywood (just watch his comments on the DVD extras)--a fact that to me always pleasantly comes through in his characters, and the incomparable Morton Downey, Jr., basically playing his "real life" television talk show personality, is even present as a "guerilla" journalist.
The music, special effects and every other technical aspect are also excellent.
But what makes this film even better is the brilliance beneath the obvious aspects. The Predator, because of his goals, is usually unseen, hidden or camouflaged in his unique way, and most of the time he's watching others. Thus, Hopkins permeates the film with images of voyeurism, hidden views, reflections, veiled appearances, and so on. There are tens of brilliant shots through windows and/or showing our primary visuals through reflections. The heat, which not only amps up the chaotic atmosphere of the film, also enables Hopkins to make everyone sweaty throughout most of the film. The sweat creates reflections. There is the regular presence of the media covering the story, being voyeurs on the film's action. Sometimes we see things through their cameras. There are a lot of televisions and computer screens throughout the film. There is a subtle theme of voyeurism via public display of personal snapshots. We become literal voyeurs, in the sexual sense, by watching the film for one brief scene. The L.A. police become voyeurs of the task force's actions. During the subway scene, much of the action becomes hidden because of a marvelous strobe light effect. I wouldn't doubt that if we watched the film with only this aspect in mind, we would probably find it present in some way in every scene, in nearly every shot.
I know this film is sometimes panned, but it would be undeserved. It may be a case of the film being too hip for the room. In any event, you shouldn't miss Predator 2.
181 of 254 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
Series Note: Although this is a sequel, it's not strictly necessary to watch this film after the first. I almost always to prefer to watch film series in order, but as the Predator films are not constructed as chapters in a novel, there may be some advantage to watching Predator 2 first--namely that the Predator itself is explained much better in this film, so it might help viewers fill out unstated backstory for the first film.
Set in a "future" 1997 (the film was released in 1990), we're shown a Los Angeles suffering from both a mounting heat wave and mounting anarchy. Lieutenant Mike Harrigan (Danny Glover) is a rule-breaking, short-tempered downtown cop. He works closely with Danny Archuleta (Ruben Blades), Leona (Maria Conchita Alonso) and recent transfer Jerry Lambert (Bill Paxton), all eccentrics in their own way, and all but Danny equally rule-breaking. The film begins with a Colombian drug gang engaging in a shoot-out with the cops. The police finally manage to defensively drive them into a building, but when they at last converge on the gang, it seems that somebody, or something, else has finished the job for the police. More drug gangs are attacked, and it seems as if there may be some kind of vigilante on the loose. But when a secretive government task squad, headed by Peter Keyes (Gary Busey), enters the picture and takes increasingly odd actions, it seems that something even more bizarre may be responsible (a fact also given away by the film's title, it's relationship to the Predator series, and obvious shots involving the titular character early in the film).
For my tastes, Predator 2 is an example that breaks the supposed trend that "sequels are never as good as their predecessors". I think Predator 2 is a brilliant film, better than the first film by two points. This one is a 10 out of 10 for me.
Let's get the more obvious comments out of the way first. As a horror and sci-fi leaning crime actioner, director Stephen Hopkins and writers Jim and John Thomas have created a fast-paced, exciting, visceral film. This is a story set against burgeoning anarchy and chaos is a gang-filled urban environment, and Hopkins appropriately never decreases the intensity of the film--we barely pause to take a breath. While that may be exhausting to some viewers, and the rapid pacing might lead some to confusion, anyone with a taste for action films should love it, plus the genre-melding is accomplished without a hitch.
The cast is quirky and excellent. Keep in mind that I have a taste for surrealism, camp, absurdism, and so on, so that makes me appreciate the acting in the film even more. I'm a big Bill Paxton fan. His performance in Predator 2 is a good example why. I also like Danny Glover a lot, and he turns in a great performance. Additionally, we have Gary Busey, one of the odder actors in Hollywood (just watch his comments on the DVD extras)--a fact that to me always pleasantly comes through in his characters, and the incomparable Morton Downey, Jr., basically playing his "real life" television talk show personality, is even present as a "guerilla" journalist.
The music, special effects and every other technical aspect are also excellent.
But what makes this film even better is the brilliance beneath the obvious aspects. The Predator, because of his goals, is usually unseen, hidden or camouflaged in his unique way, and most of the time he's watching others. Thus, Hopkins permeates the film with images of voyeurism, hidden views, reflections, veiled appearances, and so on. There are tens of brilliant shots through windows and/or showing our primary visuals through reflections. The heat, which not only amps up the chaotic atmosphere of the film, also enables Hopkins to make everyone sweaty throughout most of the film. The sweat creates reflections. There is the regular presence of the media covering the story, being voyeurs on the film's action. Sometimes we see things through their cameras. There are a lot of televisions and computer screens throughout the film. There is a subtle theme of voyeurism via public display of personal snapshots. We become literal voyeurs, in the sexual sense, by watching the film for one brief scene. The L.A. police become voyeurs of the task force's actions. During the subway scene, much of the action becomes hidden because of a marvelous strobe light effect. I wouldn't doubt that if we watched the film with only this aspect in mind, we would probably find it present in some way in every scene, in nearly every shot.
I know this film is sometimes panned, but it would be undeserved. It may be a case of the film being too hip for the room. In any event, you shouldn't miss Predator 2.