Predator 2 (1990)

Director: Stephen Hopkins
Starring: Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Kevin Peter Hall

Synopsis:
In the middle of a heat wave, LA is racked by a brutal gang war, but something else starts hunting both sides.

Impressions:
Until AvP rolled around, a lot of fans of the first film took a dim view of the sequel. Its reputation has improved in recent years, but it's still seen as a bit of a black sheep. I've never minded it and while I consider it inferior to the original, it's still a good action movie and does a good job of expanding the Predator mythos. I like the idea of using the concrete jungle as the hunting ground this time around. The Colombians and the Jamaicans are ridiculously over the top, but that's part of the charm. (Credit to Calvin Lockhart as King Willie.) While not quite as cool as Dutch's crew, I liked Harrigan's team. Jerry in particular is a stand-out (basically Bill Paxton reprising his role of Hudson from Aliens). Gary Busey is also entertaining as Agent Keyes and he gets some memorable moments. As I've said before, it's pretty over the top, but that's not necessarily a bad thing if you've got the right attitude. At very least, Predator fans are going to want to give this one a watch (and LA residents can be happy that this doesn't represent their reality).

Rating:
Watch It