| There are purists out there who would have you believe that the first Predator movie is the better one. Not so. Predator 2 is by far and away the superior example. Relentlessly bleak and gloriously violent, it is a far, far darker story than its 1987 forebear. Furthermore, it adds a whole new layer to the Predator mythos that wasn't fully covered in the original. Thanks to this film, we got some understanding of the Hunter's culture. They were revealed to be members of an honour bound society with their own castes and structures, rather than blood-letting monsters with no restraint to <more> speak of. Alongside this is Danny Glover's powerful lead role, a vision of Los Angeles as the epicentre of violent culture clashes foreshadowing the racial tensions that led to the 1992 riots and some brutally relentless action sequences. And yet despite all this, it's still looked on as the lesser of two movies, when the only argument to suggest this is "cos, you know, Arnie isn't in it is he?"Set in the then-future 1997, Predator 2 negates the rain-forest location by pitting the Hunter into the concrete jungle of LA. The city is on the brink of collapse, torn apart by street wars between rival drug gangs. Fittingly, the film begins with an out-gunned police force struggling to deal with a trigger happy band of Mexican coke pushers. Arriving at almost the same time are the veteran police man Mike Harrigan Glover and the Hunter, who watches and waits, selecting targets to add to the trophy cabinet. One horrific burst of mechanised violence later and Harrigan has a mystery on his hands, involving mutilated corpses and an invisible killer who vanished into thin air. Setting out to solve the case, Harrigan and his fellow officers pursue the Predator while trying to deal with the drug lords and a Government team that knows more than they are telling. Then things get personal when one of Harrigan's friends is killed...Danny Glover is nothing short of brilliant in this film. Older and wiser but more out of shape than Arnie, he is a far more realistic opponent for the Predator to face than the Governator ever was and shows what happens when your average cop fights the alien, rather than a pumped up superman. No disrespect to Arnie, but Glover is also a better actor and inhabits his character completely, going about his job with the same reckless professionalism but also a sense of embittered frustration. Harrigan is no hero, he's just a man who's spent more time in the trenches than most.The Hunter meanwhile is still just as formidable in the second round. This one is a bit more headstrong than the first, not afraid to waltz into the middle of firefights and rip Jamaican gangsters to pieces, but also a bit more vulnerable. The city after all is unfamiliar terrain and Harrigan has mastered their environment, giving him an edge that he perhaps wouldn't have held in the wild. In true sequel fashion meanwhile, the Predator gets a wealth of cool new weapons to play with, including a net made of razor wire, a spear tip launcher and best of all, a shiny metal disc perfect for slicing FBI guys in half.Shame then that the supporting cast isn't quite so colourful as Dillon, Mac, Blaine et al. The eighties action heroine of choice, Maria Conchita Alonso makes a decent appearance as a ball busting cop and she is joined with her Aliens co-star Bill Paxton as the smooth newbie, but neither are as memorable as the commandos were. Thank God then for Gary Busey, chewing up the scenery as the head of the investigation team.Aside from that though, Predator 2 is definitely the better film. It's a lot grittier for one thing, the cartoon gore of the first replaced with some gruelling ordeals. It's also much darker, thanks to the air of urban paranoia and allusions to drug smuggling and prostitution. The only thing that really lets it down is the fact that it relies a bit too heavily on racial stereotyping, but that's easy to forgive when you've got a finale as terrific as this. Lasting over three quarters of an hour, the final bout begins on a packed train, moves to a slaughterhouse where an elite team of specialists take on the Hunter in a frozen abattoir, before Harrigan gives chase to the alien, pursuing him over rooftops, down the the side of buildings and into the dark underbelly of the city. It hasn't got Arnie in it? It doesn't need him. <less> |
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