predator 2 (1990) Review
The underappreciated and oft-overlooked Predator 2 establishes definitively that Predators are not villainous in the traditional sense. Their behavior toward prey is akin to that of humans towards the Caspian Tiger or Muskox, both of which are hunted nearly to extinction. Right or wrong, Predators hunt for sport and to eat - just as we do. They differ from us in how they attack only prey that can reasonably defend themselves or return fire and will engage defenseless prey hand-to-hand. I don’t know that a Homo sapiens hunter ever fought and captured a deer or grizzly bear with their bare hands. Predator 2 deepens interestingly and arguably softens the Predator mythology. At the films captivating conclusion an elder Predator tosses Danny Glover’s Detective Harrigan a vintage flintlock handgun as a show of respect. This act can only be described as human and it establishes the Predator species as thinking and feeling creatures with the ability to speak, interest in culture and the capacity for compassion. We had a basic sense of their honorable hunting policies but no inkling that they possessed an alien anthropology with customs overlapping with our own. This revelation alone, especially when viewed through the prism of 2018’s The Predator, makes Predator 2 downright Shakespearean. The ending to Predator 2 is also just as good if not superior to that of the original. Were the other Predators just watching the fight the whole time? They watched their friend get killed. What a bunch of jerks.
Predator 2 receives a score of 6.5/10 for general audiences and 9/10 for fans of the Predator universe or the late 80’s/early 90’s type of frenetic no-frills action.