Review of Predator 2 (1990) by Kai82 — 27 May 2021

I think it is better than its reputation and should be appreciated for what it is. It was not enough like the first movie for a lot of people which harmed the ratings. They tried something different than just a safe sequel while also trying to keep what made the prequel one of the best action movies of all time.

It was a great action movie and also a deconstruction of action movies as the fitting description is that Predator hijacked the movie and made a team of action heroes look weak and pathetic. It was intense, unique and had a great cast.

The sequel transfers the setting to the urban jungle of Los Angeles. It is nearly an all out war there as gangs are fighting against each other and the police tries to stop them. After an even for gang warfare unusual brutal murdering of gang members LAPD officer Mike Harrigan investigates the circumstances.

He will find himself up against a foe who is far more menacing, challenging and dangerous that he can imagine. I stop here and say they transferred the set up well. It is a fresh take but different and did not please everyone back then.

The story is engaging and delivers the feeling of dread by being forced against a seemingly unstoppable enemy. It is intense, menacing and hits all the right buttons of an action movie in this franchise.

However it could not reach the same levels as the prequel but I think it is competent enough to be really enjoyable. It also helps that it had a good cast. Lets start with Danny Glover as Mike Harrigan who does an awesome performance and carries the movie.

Kevin Peter Hall as menacing antagonist delivers the dread into the hearts of his enemies. Gary Busey as special agent Peter Keyes role was supposed to be Arnold Schwarzenegger aka (Alan) Dutch Schaefer.

He is good but cant fit the shoes entirely. The rest of the cast delivers a good performance for its genre. Again it lacks in comparison to the prequel but also again this means not that it is garbage as the prequel had so much iconic characters.

Visually the movie looks awesome. They nailed the ascetics and visuals you expect from the setting of LA, gangwarfare and culture of the gangs from Colombia and Jamaica (Would this be viewed as racist stereotype today?).

I must warn here as some scenes are quite brutal (O.K. for me but a warning should be fair for other people). Special effects were nice for its time and worked well. It got the Predator feeling right.

Overall I say it is underappreciated. Over the years many have changed their opinions about it. It was back then not as good as the original which lead to lower ratings than it actually deserved. I think it is a good action movie and worth watching.

For the franchise I think this is the second best movie and can be considered as success.