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That's the warning that Jamaican drug lord King Willie gives Lt. Mike Harrigan (Danny Glover), as they find themselves and their people stalked by the titular alien creature. That's what it is, but to all of them that just don't know or don't understand what's after them, it could very well be the devil.
Predator 2 transplants the creature from the jungles of Latin America to the "street jungles" of Los Angeles which, on paper, is a rather clever idea for it to not be just a rehash of the first one. The city, which is embroiled in a turf war between a Colombian gang and a Jamaican gang, now has to face a new threat, which puts Harrigan and his team against the wall.
Back in the day, the original Predator was known for doing a rather clever genre shift halfway through. But with people already knowing what the deal is, I thought the setting change was a nice idea. Not only that, but the film doesn't lose time by jumping straight into the action right from the get-go.
Unfortunately, the drawback is that you end up with two-dimensional, paper-thin characters; not that the characters in the first one weren't, but there was a bit more time to develop a better attachment to them. Glover is a nice lead, and the supporting cast (which includes Bill Paxton, Ruben Blades, and Marķa Conchita Alonso) is solid, but they just don't get enough time to flourish.
I do think that the fast-paced action works pretty well for the first half, which is a pretty energetic stretch of the film. But after the half-point mark, it does feel like it overstays its welcome. The plot keeps stretching things far too long and the ending feels more like a whimper than a bang. I do like how the very final act expands a bit into the nature of the predator, but I didn't really care too much about it at that point.
Grade:
PREDATOR 2
(1990, Hopkins)
An action or adventure film
(1990, Hopkins)
An action or adventure film
"You can't see the eyes of the demon, until him come callin'."
That's the warning that Jamaican drug lord King Willie gives Lt. Mike Harrigan (Danny Glover), as they find themselves and their people stalked by the titular alien creature. That's what it is, but to all of them that just don't know or don't understand what's after them, it could very well be the devil.
Predator 2 transplants the creature from the jungles of Latin America to the "street jungles" of Los Angeles which, on paper, is a rather clever idea for it to not be just a rehash of the first one. The city, which is embroiled in a turf war between a Colombian gang and a Jamaican gang, now has to face a new threat, which puts Harrigan and his team against the wall.
Back in the day, the original Predator was known for doing a rather clever genre shift halfway through. But with people already knowing what the deal is, I thought the setting change was a nice idea. Not only that, but the film doesn't lose time by jumping straight into the action right from the get-go.
Unfortunately, the drawback is that you end up with two-dimensional, paper-thin characters; not that the characters in the first one weren't, but there was a bit more time to develop a better attachment to them. Glover is a nice lead, and the supporting cast (which includes Bill Paxton, Ruben Blades, and Marķa Conchita Alonso) is solid, but they just don't get enough time to flourish.
I do think that the fast-paced action works pretty well for the first half, which is a pretty energetic stretch of the film. But after the half-point mark, it does feel like it overstays its welcome. The plot keeps stretching things far too long and the ending feels more like a whimper than a bang. I do like how the very final act expands a bit into the nature of the predator, but I didn't really care too much about it at that point.
Grade: