Everyone has a different definition of a “perfect movie”, but regardless of your specific criteria for perfection, I think we can all agree that John McTiernan’s Predator is and forever will be a timeless classic. When faced with such a massive success, it’s only natural that Hollywood would want to turn this standalone story into a profitable franchise. However, the studio’s inevitable expansion of the source material raised a critical question for future filmmakers tasked with adding their own mark to the Predator films: how does one improve on perfection?
I believe the answer is quite simple: you don’t. No matter what Fox managed to cook up behind the scenes, there’s no way that the sequel to Predator could ever have outdone the elegant simplicity of the original. But you can’t really explain that to mainstream audiences (or studio heads, for that matter), and that’s why the middling response to 1990’s Predator 2 wasn’t all that surprising. This gritty urban thriller may be among the best sci-fi horror flicks of its era, but that couldn’t keep fans and critics from comparing it to the first movie instead of evaluating the sequel on its own merits.
Thankfully, with the success of Predator: Badlands proving that modern audiences are much more receptive to brave sequels that dare to do something different with the franchise, I think this is the perfect time to look back on Predator 2 as an unfairly maligned expansion of the Yautja mythology that is still influencing the future of the Predator franchise to this very day.
The story behind Predator 2 begins immediately after the release of the original film, with 20th Century Fox once again turning to the maverick writing duo of Jim and John Thomas for ideas about the next big hunt. The Thomas brothers proceeded to turn in a number of different pitches, with the executives loving their idea for an “urban jungle” hunt featuring a badass police detective that would eventually team up with Dutch in order to bring down an even deadlier Predator.
This premise would be expanded into a complete screenplay in less than three weeks, with Stephen Hopkins being hired to direct the picture after impressing producer Joel Silver with his work on A Nightmare on Elm Street V: The Dream Child. Hopkins also contributed to the script, with the filmmaker wanting to satirize cop thrillers in much the same way that the first film satirized war movies. The team would also work together to push the story in a more dystopian direction by exaggerating the social issues of 1990s Los Angeles, with the flick’s depiction of the city feeling like it was pulled out of a Judge Dredd comic.
Unfortunately, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s demands for a bigger salary resulted in Dutch’s triumphant return being reduced to a cameo that was ultimately never filmed. The loss of the team’s most bankable star also meant that the sequel’s main character would need to have enough charisma to lead the film on his own, which is precisely why Joel Silver suggested Danny Glover after having been impressed with his versatility in Lethal Weapon.
The shooting process was also something of a challenge, as the director’s insistence on seedy alleyways and real city streets led to the cast and crew having to deal with violent residents, disease-ridden rats, and even real dead bodies hidden under piles of trash. This added urban grit was also applied to the Predator itself, with the monster being redesigned into something sleeker and more appropriate for the new setting. While effects supervisor Stan Winston justified the changes as simply being another individual of the same species, many of the new armor pieces and facial features would become staples of the franchise in years to come.
In the finished film, which was released in November 1990, we follow Lieutenant Mike Harrigan (Glover) as a rebellious LAPD officer who finds himself in the middle of an all-out war between rival drug cartels during a massive heat wave. As the city erupts into chaos, Harrigan discovers that all this action has attracted the attention of an otherworldly creature hellbent on turning the city into his own personal hunting ground.
On paper, this sounds like the perfect follow-up to the primal thrills of the original Predator. The updated setting allows for new and exciting set-pieces as well as a fresh perspective on how the Yautja conduct their interstellar hunts, and the crime thriller elements still connect to the first film’s deconstruction of over-the-top machismo and primitive conflict.
So why wasn’t Predator 2 a hit?
Well, as I mentioned before, it doesn’t really matter what direction Fox decided to take the sequel, as nothing they could have done would have been able to top the original film. That being said, Predator 2 has some legitimate issues that I think contributed to its reputation as a bad sequel. For instance, the initial teasing of the creature and Harrigan’s investigation of it will likely feel repetitive to anyone who’s already seen the first movie. However, at the same time, many of the Predator’s rules will seem arbitrary if this is your first experience with the franchise.
There are other problems as well, such as a less lovable ensemble than the iconic commandos that served as Yautja fodder in the first film. While the sequel boasts memorable character actors like Bill Pullman and even Gary Busey (an unhinged replacement for Schwarzenegger’s Dutch), their rapport simply isn’t as entertaining as the gym bro charms of the movie’s predecessor.
Yet, with the exception of the questionable portrayal of both Jamaican and Colombian immigrants, most of Predator 2’s shortcomings depend on the viewer comparing it to the original. That’s why I’d recommend rewatching this film without those expectations in mind, as that’ll make it easier to appreciate this mean little action horror flick.
For starters, Danny Glover was an inspired choice for our loose-canon protagonist, with the incredibly likable thespian playing against type here and fully embracing a Charles Bronson-like attitude rather than cashing in on his established Murtaugh persona from Lethal Weapon. And with “Copaganda” productions having become a contentious topic among modern cinephiles, it’s refreshing to see an action film that actually recognizes institutional problems like police brutality that often escalate urban violence.
The Predator itself is also more brutal than ever here, with his over-the-top executions and cold-blooded demeanor informing the popular perception of the monster as we know it today – perhaps even more so than the original. Not only does the film introduce iconic elements like the trophy room, the combi-stick, and even the species’ gnarly version of first-aid (with Stan Winston’s effects team clearly surpassing their efforts on the original), but Kevin Peter Hall also succeeds in giving the new antagonist a completely different personality than the creature from the original. One could even make an argument that this is the film that elevates the Predator to a Slasher Villain, with the film having quite a few elements in common with other urban thrillers like Maniac Cop.
Predator 2 may not be a perfect experience, but even as a huge fan of Prey and a vehement defender of Aliens Versus Predator, I find it baffling that so many people dismiss this film as one of the worst sequels in the franchise. Glover is a joy to behold here, the City Hunter is scary as hell, and the flick’s final act has yet to be topped by any other sequel in the series, and that’s why I’d like to urge readers to revisit this underrated film if you find yourself in the mood for more monstrous action after Predator: Badlands.
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