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Predator 2 (Special Edition)

Predator 2 (Special Edition)

List Price: $19.98
Your Price: $14.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Underrated and fun sequel on a better DVD!
Review:
Set in 1997 in Los Angeles, it is a hot and sunny day over there as Columbian and Jamaican drug dealers are at war with each other. The infamous dreadlocked fish-faced fanged creature from another world is in the urban jungle of L.A. hunting for some prey as it begins to butcher innocient people and Police officer Lt. Harrigan ( Danny Glover) is the next target for the Predator's thirst for blood.

An exciting and extremely violent sequel to the 1987 Arnold Schwartzenger classic is definitely just as good as the original. There is some gore in this movie to please gore lovers everywhere, a solid cast ( Gary Busey, Maria Cochita Alonso, Bill Paxton, Reuben Blades, Adam Baldwin and Morton Downey Jr.), the original writers of the first movie, decent acting, non-stop thrills, and look for a recongizable alien skull on Predator's trophy collection.

The new 2-Disc special edition DVD is even superior to the old DVD release that was released in 2003 with great extras like killer featurettes, two cool audio commentaries by the filmmakers, publicity materials, Behind-the-scenes still gallery, a look at Predator's weapons, and two hilarious mock news footage from the movie.

A worthy and fun sequel to an instant classic with a better DVD edition makes it worth having in your collection if you loved the original.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good sequel? Yes. Good as the original? Tough call.
Review: "Predator" is one of those classic '80's sci-fi action films that trancends time. Like it's bretheren Aliens, Total Recall, Robocop and all the rest, they were bloodier, grungier, more foul-mouthed and more realistic movies (in a sense) than today's aciton flicks. Aliens and Predators were scary as hell because they were actually there, coming to kill you.

So how do you follow up a classic action film like Predator? You don't.

Predator 2 is the comic book to Predator's novel. The first one is a brooding, thrilling story that ratchets up the tension like only a novel can, fully depicting the desperate situation the characters are in. Predator 2 is the flashy, action-oriented comic book that splashes vivid images on the screen and goes for the throat with a ton of action. That doesn't make the sequel a crappier version of the original, simply a different slant on it.

Police are battling it out with rival gangs engaged in a turf war and that sounds like an average day in L.A. The L.A. of this movie was taking place, at the time, in the near future so it made sense that the police were less able to contain the violence of the city, and it also made sense that the news media had simply increased its blood-lust. This notion has been shown is several comic books over the years. Judge Dredd comes to mind, and this movie is certainly better than its adaptation.

Predator 2 is also a case of "more of the same" to a degree. Alot of what you see and how the story progresses is really a modification of the original (especially the thrilling climactic battle) BUT... more of the same in this case is not a bad thing, since the material it's repeating was so darn good.

Anyways, long story short... if you're bored one night and no one's around, make some popcorn, grab some Dr. Pepper, dim the lights and enjoy a purely visceral experience. Sometimes it's a lot of fun to watch something without getting heavily invested in it.

P.S. Now that AVP has been released and the two movie series are officially connected, there's one big inconsistancy between them which is the casting of Bill Paxton both in Aliens and in Predator 2. Apparently Pvt. Hudson lived several hundred years earlier, had the same wise-ass personality and got killed... before he got killed again. No matter, he's what will keep you coming back to this movie again, and again.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Drawn to Areas of Conflict...
Review: 'Predator 2' is the sequel to the Arnold Schwarzenegger blockbuster, aptly titled 'Predator.' In 'Predator,' Arnold lead a group of Marines into central America to take out a drug cartel. Along the way, they discovered an alien being that hunted humans for sport. In the sequel, Arnold makes way for Danny Glover, who plays Mike Harrigan, an L.A. police officer. After witnessing how much trouble Arnold and his team of muscle bound marines had trouble with the original predator, Danny Glover in the leading role for the sequel seemed like a dubious choice--yet after watching the movie, Glover seemed like the perfect choice.

In the sequel, another Predator has found his way to Earth to hunt humans for sport. Much like the Predator in the first movie, he has selected an environment ravaged by conflict. In this movie Central American Drug Cartels, Jamaican Drug cartels, the FBI, and the L.A. police are engaged in a drug war the likes of which this country has never seen. Much like the jungle of the original movie, the urban jungle that is Los Angeles gives the Predator countless opportunities to use his special abilities, which if you haven't seen the movies, I won't reveal here.

What makes this movie such a great sequel is that it succeeds where other sequels starring new leads usually fail. Granted, this is a science fiction movie, so some disbelief has to be suspended, but this movie doesn't implausibly force the lead character from the previous movie into a situation where he faces the same challenges in a second movie. Rumor has it that a deal could not be reached with Schwarzenegger to star in this movie. The producers of this movie wisely chose not to simply recast his character, but made up a whole new character in Glover's Harrigan.

Danny Glover's character is reminiscent of his character from the 'Lethal Weapon' series, Roger Murtaugh, only without the 'too old for this...." jokes. Also in the cast are Gary Busey, another veteran from 'Lethal Weapon,' who plays an obsessed Federal Agent that is a little too mysterious for Harrigan's crew. Bill Paxton, a veteran from the 'Alien' series, plays the most recent addition to Harrigan's crew, and is a rather stereotypical young hotshot detective.

I found this movie highly enjoyable. Its one flaw might be the over-the-top violence and gor that marks the opening action scene (and that was so prevalent in movies of the late 1980's and early 1990's). After that, the movie settles into an intriguing story. Because of the violence and gore, I would not recommend this movie for young children, and older children might need adult supervision. Science fiction fans, particularly those that like the 'Alien' and 'Terminator' series, should like this movie. Best of all, you don't need to know a single thing about the original movie in order to understand this one. The DVD contains a few extras, but the true fan might want to wait for the 'Special Edition' that will be released in the next week. Overall: 4 stars.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: 2nd Predator Worth a 2nd Look...
Review: At first viewing, "Predator 2" seemed lame. After viewing AVP I decided to give it another chance. Actually this one could have been a cross-over sequel if Mel Gibson was in it and they used their "Lethal Weapon" characters. Danny Glover was an interesting choice for an action lead. Not as suspensful as numeral uno, but loaded with tons of action. It's virtually nonstop!

What is missing is the governator for one, or at least an action star. The special effects are fine, but the story is loaded with colorful stereotypes of ethnic groups which some might be offended. Also, therre is loads of blood and freakin' profanity.

Question is, could they have gotten Stallone, Van Damme, Pauly Shore? Why not. This movie has a great deal of humor, some unitentional. Casting the late Morton Downey as an obnoxious TV reporter is dead on.

Pack to the DVD. This one is special because it is loaded with several behind the scenes documentaries, audio commentaries, trailers. Also, the new transfer is great and the soundtrack has been greatly improved.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A decent sequel to the classic Predator
Review: I really enjoyed watching the original Predator (I have seen it more than 5 times) so I was hoping that Predator 2 would offer some of the same action and suspense as the first movie. Overall, I was not disappointed, although Predator 2 is not as good as its precursor.

This time the Predator is in the city and hunting down drug lords and gang members all over the place. Danny Glover, playing a local police officer, becomes suspicious about the numerous deaths and skinned corpses. He is further intrigued by the presence of a secret government task force that is always hanging around at the crime scenes (led by Gary Busey). As you can probably guess, the Predator has been wreaking havoc around the city and is prepared to face off against anybody -- and that's exactly what happens.

The movie includes many of the elements that made the original Predator so successful. The haunting music, the eerie suspense that comes when viewing the crime scenes through the eyes of the Predator, and more. The story, in my opinion, is a little more far-fetched than the original (especially the ending). Setting the movie in the city instead of the jungle also tends to lessen the suspense and drama.

Although it may not be a great movie, Predator 2 is one of the best sequels I have seen for any movie and is worthwhile viewing. It may not be of the same calibre as the original classic, but it comes close.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Predator 2
Review: I saw this in the Cinema, and loved it. Then again, I was 15, and loved anything that didn't look human.

Now I build up my DVD's, and have added Both Movies to my collection. Fine with P:1, but the second was much cheesier than I remembered, which pissed me off. And The close ups of the Predator's face looks like it was done in Jim Hensons'workshop.
A few worthy scenes, but overall the could have really beefed this one up with mad characters and bloodier action sequences.
Gary Busey is surpisingly aloof and sarcastic and the latin cop chick has some truely awful lines and cant act well enough to carry em off. Shame.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: This Predator Didn't Hit Its Mark
Review: I was a huge fan of the original PREDATOR and recommend it to any sci-fi/action movie fan. But when I first saw PREDATOR 2 I was surprised at how big a dissapointment it was to the first movie. Danny Glover was pretty good as Mike Harrigan but he nowhere compares to Arnold, and the rest of the characters were just there to add a few more lines to the script. The one character I did find amusing was Bill Paxton, who, once again, dies acting obnoxious and herioc.
The actual Predator was very impressive and had a lot more weapons than the one in the original, which I thought was cool. My favorite was the Smart Disk, which cut Gary Busey's character Keys in half. Stan Winston did another excellent job with the Predator, as he does in all his movies. The only thing I didn't like was how long it took for Steven Hopkins, the director, to reveal the actual creature. We've already seen it before, what's the point of holding it off until twenty minutes into the movie?
The movie has quite a few good action scenes in the movie which do not disappoint, filled with blazing guns and buckets of blood on the floor. The thing that doesn't make sense is why they had a full minute of pure uneccesary nudity involving a prostitute and a gang member. A second later five Jamacians come in and the Predator just ends up killing them all.
The light and sound in the film are very good for a cruddy movie and Fox did a good job. The extras include two featuretts including talks with the actors and the making of the Predator. There is also a theatrical trailer.
Overall PREDATOR 2 is a fun movie to watch and should be part of any die hard fan's collection.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Predator goes street smart.
Review: Just another excuse to make a another downtown shoot 'em up film. We don't know how the Predator made it into Los Angeles, but he is on the chase for Danny Glover, Ruben Blades, maria Conchita Alonso, Bill Paxton and Gary Busey.
Also in the cast: Robert Davi, Adam Baldwin, Calvin Lockhart and Kent McCord (original ADAM-12 tv series).
Elpidia Carrillo who was in Predator (1987) makes an appearance as "Anna".
Followed by Alien vs. Predator (2004).

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Good sequel !! Liked it alot !!
Review: people shouldn't be making such a big deal about the governator not appearing in the sequel.Danny glover was still a good hero,I am still liking the Alien series right now and it will probably always be like that.(...)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Sci-Fi Sequel Surprise
Review: Predator 2 can now stand proud alongside the previous classic entry, not because pitting Glover's team of investigative cops against the Alien is somehow on the same par with Arnie and his commandos, but because it is non-stop action from start to finish, in an urban landscape, with lots of very memorable scenes to boot. It was a good call to have Stephen Hopkins direct this piece because of his art design background making the set pieces all look uniquely convincing and highly original. We also have great generation actors all coming together for this vehicle - Glover, Paxton, Busey, Baldwin and Davi.

Memorable stuff includes a great urban drug shoot out at the start, Jamaican voodoo (King Willie is a classic character), alien artefact evidence, DEA hunting aliens with high tech weaponry, the subway massacre, slaughterhouse slicing and the final battle with a twist. Hopkins may sacrifice a little plot development, character depth and the suspension of disbelief, including actors who suddenly hit their target spot on when missing all the time before (yeah that sort of forgivable stuff) but you can not deny that this has twice as much action than the first, a way more Predator and much details about this creature. And for that it lives up to it title in aces where others did not (Predator 1 was really more about Arnie and the latest one is for kids).

The fact that Predator 2 does not pause for breath is the reason why it gets the five start treatment. This is great science-fiction through and through, even though it is a sequel. You will remember this one more I think.

Also I find it interesting that at the end an old gun reads "1715 - Raphael Adolini". Although the name means nothing I believe this was to set up Predator 3 in the 17th century. That never emerged but would certainly be more interesting than the vs. Alien instalment.

Predator 2 is a well worthy entry in anyone's action/horror/sci-fi collection.


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