Predator 2
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| Predator 2 | |
|---|---|
| Image:Predator two.jpg | |
| Directed by | Stephen Hopkins |
| Produced by | Joel Silver Lawrence Gordon John Davis |
| Written by | Jim Thomas John Thomas |
| Starring | Kevin Peter Hall Danny Glover Gary Busey Maria Conchita Alonso Ruben Blades Bill Paxton |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date(s) | November 21, 1990 |
| Running time | 108 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $35,000,000 |
| Gross revenue | $57,169,413 (worldwide) [1] |
| Preceded by | Predator |
| Followed by | Alien vs. Predator |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Predator 2 (1990) is a science fiction horror film starring Danny Glover and Gary Busey. It is a sequel to the successful 1987 film Predator starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Apart from actor Kevin Peter Hall in the role of the Predator and a very brief cameo appearance by Elpidia Carrillo, the film has an entirely new cast. The movie received mixed reviews, with Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert suggesting it represents an "angry and ugly" dream.[2][3]
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[edit] Plot
Predator 2 takes place during the year 1997, with Los Angeles suffering from a vicious street war between rival Jamaican and Colombian drug cartels. Police officers Leona Cantrell (Maria Conchita Alonso) and Danny Archuleta (Ruben Blades) await the aid of veteran Lieutenant Michael Harrigan (Danny Glover). After an intense firefight with the officers, criminals withdraw into a nearby building. A series of explosions rock the structure, followed by mysterious gunfire. Harrigan and his team investigates, only to find all but one of the criminals dead. He runs away onto the roof but is shot dead when he sees the alien and fires at it, then Harrigan shoots him.(Harrigan mistakes him shooting at the alien for shooting at him) Harrigan determines that a new "player" has entered the drug war.
At the police station, Harrigan is introduced to Special Agent Peter Keyes (Gary Busey), leader of a federal task force investigating drug conspiracy rumors. Harrigan is also introduced to new officer Jerry Lambert (Bill Paxton).
Jamaican criminals attack a Colombian drug lord at his home. The Predator takes advantage of the situation and kills the criminals, leaving only a terrified woman murmuring Spanish. Keyes threatens Harrigan during the investigation, saying the crime is more serious than he realizes. Harrigan and Archuleta plan to return to the crime scene for further investigation into the murders. Archuleta arrives before Harrigan and is killed by the Predator.
Harrigan is devastated, vowing to destroy the perpetrator responsible for his friend's death. Now working with Cantrell and Lambert as a team, they visit a pathologist. She discusses the origins of a weapon found at the crime scene, noting the weapon's molecular structure does not correspond with the elemental table. Harrigan sets up a meeting with a Jamaican drug lord, who says the creature involved in the killings of his men is not of this world. Harrigan leaves and the Predator immediately attacks and kills the drug lord.
Cantrell and Lambert, planning to meet Harrigan, are traveling by subway when a group of thugs threaten a man. They pull guns on each other, causing Jerry and Leona to pull their own weapons. As the tense standoff ensues, the Predator suddenly attacks. During the confusion, Cantrell fights her way to safety within another subway car. She soon doubles back to find Lambert has been killed. She encounters the predator, who scans her body with thermal scan technology. Viewing a fetus within her, the Predator refrains from attacking.
Harrigan arrives at the new crime scene and discovers Leona is still alive. Following a blood trail down the subway tunnel, he witnesses the Predator mutilating Lambert's body. Harrigan pursues the creature, only to be captured by Keyes' special team.
Keyes reveals his agenda. His team of Black Ops have been following encounter sites with the Predator. Keyes and his men hope to capture the creature for study. Armed with weaponry intended to immobilize the creature, they set a trap in a vacant slaughterhouse. Their aim is to make it impossible for the Predator to see in the infra-red spectrum, without which it will be blind; however the Predator simply switches its helmet's scanners to another wavelength and can see them. The Predator attacks the government team, killing everyone except Keyes. Harrigan is able to escape custody and immediately arms himself.
A short battle follows, resulting in the death of Keyes. Harrigan and the Predator exchange attacks, as the battle moves to the rooftop. The Predator gets knocked off and hanging from a ledge, attempts to activate the micro-nuke self-destruct bomb contained in its wrist-mounted computer. However, Harrigan steals the Predator's "razor-discus" weapon and uses it to cut the Predator's forearm off, destroying the bomb in the process. The Predator retreats to an underground spaceship followed closely by Harrigan. The two have a final duel, ending with Harrigan killing the creature. Harrigan realizes that additional Predator creatures are onboard. They take their comrade's body away, and the elder predator gives Harrigan an antique pistol inscribed "Raphael Adolini 1715," as a trophy for his victory, implying that the creatures have been visiting Earth for hundreds of years.
Once the ship lifts off, Harrigan emerges from underground and is questioned by Keyes' assistant. Harrigan ignores his questions. "Damn it all! We were so close!" The assistant declares in frustration before leaving. "Don't worry asshole. You'll get another chance...." Harrigan says to himself, knowing that the Predators will continue to hunt on Earth as they have for centuries.
[edit] Production
Due to excessive violence, Predator 2 was the first film to be given the newly instituted 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 had signed on for another sequel, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and had to decline. 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 South American jungle caused by the explosion at the conclusion of the first film.
[edit] New facts about Predators
Predator 2 established several new facts about the predator creatures, painting them less harshly than in the original film. The predators are portrayed as noble hunters, following a code in which they refuse to kill unarmed, ill or pregnant prey. This was hinted at in the 1987 film when an unarmed Anna (Elpidia Carrillo) was never attacked, and when the Predator removed his armor to face Dutch in a fair fight. At the end of Predator 2, after Harrigan (Glover) kills the creature, he is suddenly surrounded by additional predators. Presumably because their comrade was defeated in a fair match, they let Harrigan leave and even give him a trophy (flintlock gun) in honor of his victory.
Near the end of the film, a Xenomorph skull can be seen in the predator's trophy collection. The first time the Alien and Predator franchises were combined was in November of 1989 when Dark Horse Comics released Aliens vs. Predator. This combination would also later be explored in various video games, and the films Alien vs. Predator (2004) and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007).
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100403/business
- ^ Roger Ebert, Film Review for Predator 2. suntimes.com (November 21, 1990). Retrieved on 2007-07-09.
- ^ Rotten Tomatoes, Film Reviews for Predator 2. rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-09.
[edit] External links
- Predator 2 at the Internet Movie Database
- Predator: The Hunted - fan site; contains all Predator info
Image:United States film.png American films of the 1990s |
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