Predator 2

Predator 2
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Stephen Hopkins
Produced by	Joel Silver Lawrence Gordon John Davis
Written by	Jim Thomas John Thomas
Starring	Danny Glover Gary Busey María Conchita Alonso Ruben Blades Bill Paxton Calvin Lockhart Kevin Peter Hall
Music by	Alan Silvestri
Cinematography	Peter Levy
Editing by	Mark Goldblatt Bert Lovitt
Studio	Silver Pictures Lawrence Gordon Productions Davis Entertainment
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	November 21, 1990
Running time	108 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$35,000,000
Box office	$57,120,318[1]

Predator 2 is a 1990 science fiction action film starring Danny Glover, Gary Busey, María Conchita Alonso, Rubén Blades, and Bill Paxton. Written by Jim and John Thomas and directed by Stephen Hopkins, the film is a sequel to 1987's Predator, with Kevin Peter Hall again playing the role of the Predator. The film received negative reviews and gained a moderate return at the box office.

Plot

In 1997, Los Angeles is suffering from both a heat wave and a turf war between heavily-armed Colombian and Jamaican drug cartels. A Predator watches a shootout between the police and Colombians, observing as Lieutenant Michael Harrigan (Danny Glover) charges into the firefight to rescue two wounded officers and drive the Colombians back into their hideout. Before the police can follow them in, the Predator crashes through a skylight and kills the Colombians. Harrigan and his detectives Leona Cantrell (María Conchita Alonso) and Danny Archuleta (Rubén Blades) find the Colombians have been slaughtered. Harrigan pursues the gang leader onto the roof and shoots him, catching a glimpse of the camouflaged Predator's silhouette, but dismissing it as an effect of the heat. Harrigan is rebuked by his superiors for disobeying orders. He is also introduced to Special Agent Peter Keyes (Gary Busey), leader of a federal task force purportedly investigating the cartels, and Detective Jerry Lambert (Bill Paxton), the newest member of Harrigan's team.

The Predator then kills several Jamaican cartel members who are murdering the Colombian drug lord. Despite being ordered to wait for Keyes, Harrigan and his team enter the penthouse where they find the Jamaicans' skinned corpses suspended from the rafters. Keyes kicks Harrigan's team out, but Danny later returns to continue investigating. He finds one of the Predator's speartip weapons in an air conditioning vent, but is then killed by the Predator. Harrigan vows to bring down Danny's killer, believing they are dealing with an assassin. A forensic scientist finds the speartip does not correspond to any element on the periodic table. Harrigan meets with Jamaican drug lord King Willie (Calvin Lockhart), a voodoo practitioner, who tells him that the killer is supernatural. After Harrigan leaves, the Predator kills King Willie.

Cantrell and Lambert are intervening in a mugging on the subway when the Predator attacks them. Cantrell herds the passengers to safety while Lambert faces off against the Predator and is killed. The Predator is about to kill Cantrell as well, but releases her when its thermal vision reveals that she is pregnant. Harrigan chases the Predator but is stopped by Keyes, who reveals that the killer is an extraterrestrial hunter with infrared vision that uses active camouflage and has been hunting humans for sport. Keyes and his team have set a trap in a nearby slaughterhouse, using thermally insulated suits and cryogenic weapons in an attempt to capture it for study. However, the Predator sees through the trap by using its mask to scan through various electromagnetic wavelengths and kills the team. Harrigan intervenes, shooting the Predator several times and removing its mask.

Still alive, the Predator kills Keyes using a throwing disc and escapes to the roof. Harrigan knocks it over the side and finds himself on a narrow ledge with the Predator hanging below. The Predator attempts to activate the self-destruct device on its forearm, but Harrigan uses the throwing disc to sever its forearm and destroy the device. The Predator falls through an apartment window and uses a medical kit to treat its wounds, then flees through the building. Harrigan follows it down an elevator shaft and finds its spacecraft in an underground chamber. Inside the ship, the two face off in a final duel, with Harrigan finally killing the Predator by impaling its chest with the throwing disc. A number of other Predators appear, collecting their dead comrade and presenting Harrigan with an antique flintlock pistol labeled "Raphael Adolini 1715". Harrigan escapes the ship as it takes off and reaches the surface just as the remainder of Keyes' team arrives, furious that they were unable to capture the alien. Harrigan speculates that the creatures will return.

Cast

For more details on individual characters, see List of characters in the Predator series.

• Danny Glover as Lieutenant Mike Harrigan, an LAPD officer, who is investigating rival Jamaican and Colombian drug cartels. He is very stubborn and often is criticized by superior officers for not obeying orders.
• Gary Busey as Special Agent Peter Keyes, a DEA agent leading a special task force investigating a drug conspiracy as a cover for his attempts to capture the Predator.
• María Conchita Alonso as Detective Leona Cantrell, an LAPD cop involved in the Jamaican-Colombian Gang wars.
• Ruben Blades as Detective Danny Archuleta, a member of Harrigan's team and a long time friend of his.
• Bill Paxton as Detective Jerry Lambert, an LAPD cop, transferred from another precinct into Metro Command. He is a comedic member of the team often telling bad jokes to Leona.
• Calvin Lockhart as King Willie, the boss of the Jamaica Voodoo Posse. He appears to be psychotic because of his voodoo beliefs.
• Morton Downey, Jr. as Tony Pope: Pope is a journalist, who reports the gruesome and murderous homicides left by the Predator. He is constantly criticized by the police for interfering with investigations.
• Adam Baldwin as Garber, a member of Keyes' task force.
• Kevin Peter Hall as The Predator, a member of a warrior race which hunts aggressive members of other species for sport, uses active camouflage, a plasma weapon and can see the infrared spectrum. His vocal effects are provided by Hal Rayle.

Production

"Broad concept's the same. The difference is, this is a different individual. A different individual of the same species. As is a snake is a snake, but different snakes are different. Their colorings are different, different parts of their characteristics, their facial structures, subtle differences."

— Stan Winston describing the Predator in Predator 2 and explaining the reason for the varying designs and looks of the Predators.[2]

Due to excessive violence, Predator 2 was originally given an NC-17 rating in the U.S. The film was eventually rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America after being re-cut to its final theatrical length. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who starred as "Dutch" in the 1987 film, was asked to reprise his role in the sequel. Schwarzenegger was outspoken against the sequel's concept, feeling that taking it into the city was a bad idea. Schwarzenegger declined and decided instead to sign on for a different sequel, Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

The character was rewritten as the role of Peter Keyes (Gary Busey). Returning to the role of Anna in the sequel, Elpidia Carrillo was slated to be in two scenes but was cut back to a brief appearance on a video screen in the government agents' surveillance trailer. Her character is showing damage to the Central American jungle caused by the explosion at the conclusion of the first film.

In Predator 2, the main Predator was designed to look more urban and hip than its predecessor. Design changes included tribal ornamentation on the forehead, which was made steeper and shallower, brighter skin coloration and a greater number of fangs.^[3]

Reception

Critical response

Further information: List of accolades received by the Alien, Predator, and Alien vs. Predator franchises#Predator 2

The film received mostly negative reviews, though reviewers were generally impressed by the casting of Danny Glover as an action hero. The reviewers for the Washington Post were split: Rita Kempley enjoyed the movie, noting she felt that it had "dismal irony of RoboCop and the brooding fatalism of Blade Runner", and felt Glover "brings an unusual depth to the action adventure and proves fiercely effective as the Predator's new nemesis."^[4] Meanwhile, Desson Howe felt the film was "blithely unoriginal" and numbingly violent, but also praised Glover's ability to bring warmth to the center of a cold movie.^[5] In her review for The New York Times, Janet Maslin called the film "an unbeatable contender" for the "most mindless, mean-spirited action film of the holiday season."^[6] Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert, in giving the film two out of four stars, suggested that it represents an "angry and ugly" dream; he also felt that the creatures' design had racist undertones where "subliminal clues [...] encourage us to subconsciously connect the menace with black males."^[7]

Box office

Released on November 21, 1990, Predator 2 was #4 at the US box office in its opening weekend, with a gross of over $8 million behind films such as Dances with Wolves, Three Men and a Little Lady, and Home Alone. The film grossed a total of $57 million, $30 million of which was from the USA.^[1] The worldwide box office revenue totaled $57,120,318 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.

Novelization

A novelization of the film written by Simon Hawke was released on December 1, 1990 by the publishing company Jove.^[8] The novelization provided a small amount of information regarding the fate of "Dutch" from the first film. Keyes recalls memories of speaking with the battered Major while infirmed in a hospital, suffering from radiation sickness. "Dutch" is said to have escaped from the hospital, never to be seen again. Furthermore, the novel tells a great deal of the story from the Predator's point of view, such as its humiliation of having its mask removed by Harrigan, and its reasoning for not killing Cantrell due to its discovery of her pregnancy.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Predator 2 (1990)". Box Office Mojo. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=main&id=predator2.htm. Retrieved 2010-07-08. 
2. ^ The Making of Predator 2 (Documentary). 20th Century Fox. 1990. 
3. ^ Jody Duncan & James Cameron (2007). The Winston Effect: The Art and History of Stan Winston Studio. pp. 336. ISBN 1845761502. 
4. ^ Rita Kempley, 'Predator 2', Washington Post, November 21, 1990, Accessed January 6, 2011.
5. ^ Desson Howe, 'Predator 2', Washington Post, November 23, 1990, Accessed January 6, 2011.
6. ^ Janet Maslin, Predator 2 (1990) Review/Film; The Quarry: Humans, The New York Times, November 21, 1990, Accessed January 6, 2011.
7. ^ "Roger Ebert, Film Review for Predator 2". suntimes.com. November 21, 1990. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19901121/REVIEWS/11210302/1023. Retrieved 2007-07-09. 
8. ^ Predator 2: A Novel at Amazon.com

External links

• Predator 2 at the Internet Movie Database
• Predator 2 at AllRovi
• Predator 2 at Rotten Tomatoes
• Predator 2 at Box Office Mojo