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"He's in town with a few days to kill."
Predator 2 tagline

Predator 2 is a 1990 science fiction action film directed by Stephen Hopkins and starring Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Rubén Blades, María Conchita Alonso, Bill Paxton, Kevin Peter Hall, Robert Davi, Adam Baldwin, Kent McCord, Morton Downey, Jr. and Calvin Lockhart. It is a sequel to the 1987 film Predator. Written by Jim and John Thomas, the story features a new alien hunter, this time on a killing spree in Los Angeles. The Predator's slaughter of the city's warring gangs brings it into conflict with a hardened police officer and his colleagues, and also attracts the attention of a covert government taskforce attempting to capture the creature.

The cast is entirely new apart from Kevin Peter Hall, who returns to play the new Predator, Elpidia Carrillo, who makes a cameo appearance as Anna from Predator, and stuntman Henry Kingi, who briefly appeared as an unnamed guerrilla the first movie and plays the role of El Scorpio in the sequel. The film received negative reviews and gained a moderate return at the box office. However, like its predecessor, it gained a strong cult following after its initial release. It was followed by a further sequel, titled Predators (2010).

Plot[]

In 1997, Los Angeles is suffering from both a sweltering heatwave and a vicious street war between Colombian and Jamaican drug gangs, with the LAPD struggling to maintain order. At one shootout, Detectives Leona Cantrell and Danny Archuleta await the assistance of their boss, veteran Lieutenant Mike Harrigan. Harrigan's aggressive tactics force the Colombian gangmembers to withdraw into a nearby building, which is then rocked by a series of explosions. Harrigan and his fellow detectives proceed inside, only to find the Colombians have been mysteriously slaughtered. Harrigan follows the only survivor to the roof of the structure, but is forced to shoot the man in self-defence before he can question him. As reinforcements arrive, Harrigan catches sight of what appears to be the hazy silhouette of a large transparent man, but dismisses it as an effect of the heat.

Back at his precinct, Harrigan is introduced to Special Agent Peter Keyes, leader of a federal task force investigating the cartels, and is warned to stay out of his way. Harrigan is also introduced to a young, cocky officer who has been assigned to his team, Jerry "The Lone Ranger" Lambert. That night, Jamaican gang members attack and murder Colombian drug lord Ramon Vega in his apartment, but are in turn slain by the Predator, which leaves only Vega's unarmed girlfriend alive. Arriving at the scene first, Harrigan and his team disobey orders and enter the building, observing one of the Predator's weapons stuck in an air-conditioner. They are interrupted by Keyes and his men, who threatens to have Harrigan eliminated if he continues to interfere in his investigation. Nevertheless, Harrigan arranges with Danny to return to the scene later for further investigation. Danny arrives first and retrieves the weapon they spotted earlier, but is killed by the Predator.

A devastated Harrigan vows to destroy Danny's killer at any cost. Secretly continuing his investigation, he learns from the city's chief pathologist that the weapon recovered from Vega's apartment is made from a completely unknown element. Harrigan sets up a meeting with Jamaican drug lord King Willie, hoping he may know who is behind the attacks. Willie states that whoever is involved in the recent killings, they are not of this world. More confused than ever, Harrigan leaves — moments before the Predator attacks and beheads King Willie.

Leona suspects that the killer is toying with Harrigan. She and Jerry uncover information pointing to the city's slaughterhouse district, but on the way to meet Harrigan there have to defuse an armed stand-off between gang members and armed commuters. Jerry makes a quip about not wanting any rush-hour Rambos, the Predator attacks the subway car they are in. Jerry is killed, while Leona is caught but spared by the creature. Harrigan arrives at the scene to discover Leona is still alive, apparently spared because she was pregnant. He sets off in pursuit of the Predator, following it to the surface and then across town in his squad car, only to be captured by Keyes' special team. Keyes finally reveals to Harrigan the true nature of the killer, and that he and his team have been trying to capture a Predator ever since an incident in Central America ten years previously. They now have a plan to capture the creature in Los Angeles for study, equipping themselves with insulated clothing to mask them from the Predator's thermal vision and nitrogen sprayers to freeze it.

The operation begins in the slaughterhouse where the creature feeds. However, the Predator uses its helmet's alternative vision modes to spot the team's ultraviolet flashlights. As it begins to massacre Keyes' men, Harrigan escapes custody and arms himself to confront the Predator personally. During the battle, Keyes briefly comes to Harrigan's aid before the creature rallies itself and kills him. Harrigan flees to the rooftop where the battle continues, before moving through an apartment building and finally into the tunnels beneath the city, where Harrigan discovers the Predator's ship. The two engage in a final duel on board, which ends when Harrigan kills the Predator by slicing it open with its own weapon.

An exhausted Harrigan suddenly finds himself surrounded by several more Predators and resigns himself to his fate. Instead of attacking, however, the creatures carry away their dead clan-mate, while an Elder Predator gives Harrigan an antique flintlock pistol as a sign of respect. Harrigan escapes the ship just as it blasts off into space. Back on the surface, Harrigan is confronted by the remaining members of Keyes' team, who blame him for their failure to capture the Predator. However, they are forced to retreat when police backup arrives, while Harrigan, holding the flintlock in his hand, comments that they will get another chance.

Cast[]


Production[]

The film was developed under the working title Predator II: Body Count.[2] original script had the film take place in New York City, but the setting was changed to Los Angeles for budgetary reasons, as well as to make filming simpler.[3] Elements of the plot were apparently taken from the original Predator: Concrete Jungle comic book series from Dark Horse Comics, published the previous year, which begins with a Predator preying on warring gangs in an urban setting and charts the attempts of the city's police force to stop the creature; notably, the comic is set in New York, just as the original script. Editor and artist Chris Warner, who illustrated Concrete Jungle, has since stated he is of the opinion elements in the film were directly inspired by the Dark Horse series, noting that this was "probably the first time that a comics series actually had an effect on the film franchise that inspired it".[4]

Arnold Schwarzenegger, who starred as Dutch in the first film, was originally intended to reprise his role in the sequel. However, Schwarzenegger declined the part following a pay dispute.[5] The Dutch character was subsequently rewritten as Peter Keyes (Gary Busey). Returning to the role of Anna in the sequel, Elpidia Carrillo was originally intended to be in two scenes, but the part was cut back to a brief cameo appearance on a video screen in the government agents' surveillance trailer. Her character is seen amidst footage of the damage to the Central American jungle caused by the explosion at the conclusion of the first film. Actor Henry Kingi, who had an uncredited role as a guerrilla killed by Dutch in Predator, also appeared in Predator 2, albeit as a different character. Filming took place at Fox Studios in Los Angeles and on location around the city. As Los Angeles did not actually have a subway network at the time of filming, the BART system in San Francisco was used instead for these sequences.

P2-the alien skull-1-

The Xenomorph skull in the trophy room.

Predator 2 heralded the first cinematic crossover between the Alien and Predator franchises when a Xenomorph Drone's skull appeared in the trophy cabinet aboard the Mother Ship near the end of the film. The skull was included at the suggestion of effects artists John Rosengrant and Shane Mahan, both of whom had worked on Aliens as well as Predator 2. They proposed the idea as something of a joke, and also as a nod to the original Aliens vs. Predator comic book story, which had been published earlier in the year.[6] The skull prop was sculpted by Kevin Hudson.[6] As with many props from Predator 2, the Alien skull was later reported stolen to the Los Angeles Police Department.[7]

Due to excessive violence, Predator 2 was originally given an NC-17 rating in the U.S. The film was cut numerous times before being granted the desired R rating.[3] More graphic and gory shots of mutilated bodies and decapitations by the Predator were cut throughout the film, including from the death of Bill Paxton. Other cuts were made for time purposes, including a subplot revolving around María Conchita Alonso's pregnancy and the chase sequence where Danny Glover tracks the Predator to the slaughterhouse district, which was originally significantly longer. The uncut version of the film has yet to be released.

Music[]

See: Predator 2 (soundtrack)

Deleted Scenes[]

See: Predator 2 deleted scenes

Release and Reception[]

The film received negative reviews, with Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert suggesting it represents an "angry and ugly" dream.[8] Since its initial release, the film has, like its predecessor, gained a cult following.[9] The worldwide box office revenue totaled $57,169,413 in ticket sales. Although this surpassed the cost of the film's budget, it was considered an overall disappointment in comparison to its predecessor's performance.

The film currently holds a 25% on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 4.6/10.

Re-release[]

In 2010 the film was re-released in the NuArt Theatre in Los Angeles on 23 April 2010, at an event hosted by Bloody Disgusting.[10] Despite hopes to the contrary, the new release did not contain any additional footage or scenes reinstated.

Merchandising[]

A novelization of the film was written by author Simon Hawke, and Alan Silvestri's score was released on a soundtrack album. Dark Horse Comics produced a two-issue comic book adaptation of the film, despite the fact no such adaptation had been created for the original 1987 movie. Three video games based on the film were also developed — the first, an on-rails shooter, was released in 1991 for various home computer platforms, while a second, a side-scrolling shooter, was published in 1992 for the SEGA Master System. A third game, a more ambitious third-person shooter, was released for the SEGA Genesis, also in 1992.

Trivia[]

  • Predator 2 has the largest credited cast of any of the films in the Alien, Predator and Alien vs. Predator franchises, with 55 members.
  • Moreover, the end credits give the "monster" top billing, above even the actors playing the lead human roles, the only time this happens in the entire combined franchise.
  • The film introduced several new facts about the Predators that have since become key aspects of the character, including their strict honor code (hinted at in the first movie when the Jungle Hunter spared Anna because she was unarmed) and many of their most iconic weapons.
  • Los Angeles did not actually have a subway network at the time the film was made, but did by the year the film was set — the first underground metro line in the city, the Red Line, opened in January 1993.

Goofs[]

See: Predator 2 goofs

Gallery[]

Posters[]

See Also[]

References[]


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