Predator 2

6,5 / 10

A surprisingly good sequel in which director Stephen Hopkins swaps out the Vietnam War trauma for the war on drugs between Colombian and Jamaican gangs in Los Angeles and transfers the survival battle from the Latin American jungle to the metropolis. Although there are small remnants from the trauma recognizable in Lieutenant Mike Harrigan (Danny Glover) when a close partner falls, it doesn’t pay off well in comparison with the gravitas and fate of Schwarzenegger’s Dutch from the first film. Over the course of the story, Hopkins cleverly translates the hunt in the jungle into a crime investigation process which even includes a sensationalist press – an interesting catch after watching Jordan Peele’s Nope – as the predator’s onslaught keeps on going.

The investigative hunt leads to a great subway scene with Alien-esque flashing lights and a brutal predator wiping out several passengers. It also makes use of language imitations, but its hunting tactics reveal a moral principle. A strategic minimalism from Harrigan is not existent which made the final fight of John McTiernan’s Predator so fascinating in the first place. Instead, the protagonist adapts by reflecting the predator’s weaponry and embraces his fear of heights which makes the hunt in the buildings entertaining in a different way. In the end, the essence of hunting is there, but the metropolis weakens a key factor of Predator: The trauma doesn’t connect with the horror resulting from the war on drugs. It’s something which Dan Trachtenberg's Prey also doesn’t take into account with its emancipation arc, but if Hopkins tries to portray the Metro Command as an equivalent to Dutch’s mercenary squad, then this attempt should make some sort of impact.

Predator 2 tries to draw on the fundamentals of the first installment and succeeds with the investigative hunt and brutal action, but the presentation of the war on drugs isn’t memorable and the trauma aspect doesn't click. Nonetheless, Danny Glover gives a great performance throughout the film. In addition, the screenplay tries so hard to create one-liners and comic relief through Harrigan’s vernacular and the Vince McMahon-channeling detective Jerry Lambert (Bill Paxton), but it’s either hit or miss for the most part. The fighting sequences are satisfying, reminiscent of the mercenary squad’s rage-induced spraying of ammunition, while the final encounter makes interesting changes in terms of the location and strategy, though the natural setting and minimalism are missed. Strangely enough, the context of the ending feels weird considering the gang warfare and Harrigan’s battle for survival. We no longer ask who “the king of the territory” is, but who becomes “the sheriff in the town”.