Review of Predator 2 (1990) by Allen G — 21 Oct 2013

"I'm too old for this shit".

Well, we all wanted him to say it didn't we!?

Compared to its predecessor, it's certainly not a strong film but sadly, it also just isn't great in general. it keeps some of the less-great elements of the first film- a bad script, terribly-dated special effects, and an obsession with being as manly as possible but it also adds some new issues and completely looses the charm that the series had.

The setting this time is the streets of LA and it just doesn't add anything interesting to the film in the way that the isolated jungle setting of the first did. The casting is fine but the characters are dull and cliché and talk far too much- it's not all dependent on brooding stares and some guy with a razor this time.

The real failure here is the plot though- it's equally farcical and mundane and almost seems out to take the same formula of the original, but this time make you hate it. It's not dramatic or exciting or anything that an action film needs to function- it's a prime example of the bad-sequel syndrome and, let's be honest, who is surprised?

It's not all bad though- it's still engaging in some way, maybe the idea of the Predator just works for me, I dunno, but even as the story becomes more and more ridiculous, I still felt okay about following It. The action scenes are also acceptable and there's enough gore and weirdness for the film to stand out just a little from other, equally unsuccessful, films of the time.

I really can't recommend it but if you are curious and don't get your hopes up, you may at least have a laugh with this and feel like your time wasn't totally wasted. Danny Glover is there too, so that's a plus...