Predator 2

"He's back, with a few days to kill".

Following up on the success of the original, Predator 2 brings another of this exceptional species to the buildings of Los Angeles. As the tagline above states, there's a few days of killing to be had.

It's 1997, a somewhat 80's dresscode still exists here, and various drug gangs are trying to obtain control of the streets. Unbeknownst to him, our Predator is taking it upon himself to make light work of these groups, leaving detectives on the cases baffled at the crime scenes that are left behind.

Lieutenant Mike Harrigan (Danny Glover) and his team of detectives featuring a cocky Bill Paxton, Maria Conchita Alonso (Running Man) and long-time partner Ruben Blades are on the case and soon get a little too close to the truth.

The FBI, led by Agent Peter Keyes (Gary Busey), are sent in to take over these 'incidents' but there is more to it than our heroes realise. Keyes is on a mission to capture one of these Predators but soon "Shit Happens" that throws the entire mission out the window.

This disc is a very clean print for a 10 year old movie. Out of the three DVDs just reviewed, this one fits in to what we are used to from this format and is a welcome relief to what was becoming a worrying trend for a moment. The opening scenes are all based during the day but from then on we are mainly focused on the evenings events that enable this print to show-off its shadow detail.

Color saturation, detail, sharpness, black levels and the overal look are typical of a high standard DVD compression. Of note are the Predator POV shots that are much more detailed this time around. I guess the technology had advanced a fair bit in the 5 years between the original and the sequel.

The soundtrack is a true 5.1 soundtrack as opposed to the orignials faux 5.1 and it expands on the detail in all aspects. It is as entertaining as the movie itself and provides an excellent use of all 5 channels throughout the entire movie. The budget seems to be much improved over the original which is a bit unfair in a way.

One noticable improvement is the use of the accompanying musical score. Alan Silvestri agains scores the sequel bringing the suspense back to the movie with the Predator pursuit theme being ever present and chilling.

A free DVD to the person who can guess what extras are on this disc. Forget it, it's too easy, you all would have guessed just a Theatrical Trailer. Do you see a pattern forming?

It surprises me that this sequel is not as loved as the original. Personally, it is an excellent sequel to a movie about a 'Predator', not a movie about Arnold. The argument is probably one that dictates what Fox do about their Alien franchise as they refuse to continue and produce another movie without having Ripley in the plot. Last time I checked, the title of the movies all had 'Alien' in them.

At this rate, we won't be seeing further sequels of this franchise and certainly not an Alien vs Predator spinoff that could potentially be a blockbuster if done right. Ripley and Dutch teaming up, even for a cameo role? I'd like to see that.