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Predator 2 (1990)

108 min · Action, Aliens, Sci-Fi, action film, adventure film, horror film, monster film, science fiction action film, science fiction film, science fiction horror film, speculative fiction film, suspense film, thriller film

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A disgruntled police detective must battle a technologically advanced extraterrestrial in the streets of Los Angeles during a heat wave.

The story

Set ten years after the first film, the story follows a disgruntled police detective battling a malevolent and technologically advanced extraterrestrial in the streets of Los Angeles. During a severe heat wave, the city is plagued by a turf war between heavily armed drug cartels. When a Predator begins hunting the gang members, Lieutenant Mike Harrigan and his team must navigate the dangerous urban landscape to confront the extraterrestrial threat. The investigation leads them into a deadly game of cat and mouse where the line between human criminals and a lethal alien hunter becomes increasingly blurred.

Full plot (contains spoilers)

In 1997, during a heat wave in Los Angeles, a turf war between Colombian and Jamaican drug cartels is interrupted by a Predator. Lieutenant Mike Harrigan and his team, including detectives Leona Cantrell and Danny Archuleta, discover the carnage and begin investigating. After Archuleta is killed by the creature, Harrigan teams up with Special Agent Peter Keyes and Detective Jerry Lambert. Keyes's team attempts to trap the creature in a slaughterhouse using high-tech equipment, but the Predator outmaneuvres them, killing most of the agents. Harrigan eventually faces the Predator in a final confrontation at its underground spacecraft. He manages to defeat the creature, and a group of other Predators arrives to collect the body, rewarding him with a flintlock pistol. The film concludes with Harrigan acknowledging that the Predators will return.

First release year
1990
Runtime (minutes)
108
Production countries
United States
Original languages
English
Directors
Stephen Hopkins
Writers
Jim Thomas · writer; John Thomas · writer
Cast and characters
Danny Glover · Harrigan; Gary Busey; Rubén Blades; María Conchita Alonso; Bill Paxton; Robert Davi; Kevin Peter Hall · the Predator
Genres
science fiction; horror
Tone and mood
action; tense
Setting
Los Angeles, 1997
Premise and plot tags
urban jungle; police procedural; sci-fi horror
Content notes
violence
Reception
The film initially received generally negative reviews but has since gained a cult following.
Reported review scores
Rotten Tomatoes · score: 36% · review count: 119; Metacritic · score: 46 · scale: 100 · review count: 19
Production trivia
The film was originally intended to feature Arnold Schwarzenegger.; The Predator's design was updated to look more 'urban and hip'.; The film was initially given an NC-17 rating by the MPAA.
Catalogue themes and tags

1997, Bare Breasts, Bloodbath, Camouflage Suit, Cut-Off Arm, Drugs, Elevator Shaft, Extraterrestrial Technology, Female Nudity, Gang War, Gangsterboss, Heatwave, Hunting Human Beings, Kokain, LAPD, Los Angeles, Male Nudity, Marsmenschen, Metro, Militär, Night Vision, Police, Polizeibeamter, Skull, Slaughterhouse, Starship, Street War, Unsichtbar, Zweikampf, schwanger, severed head, war on drugs, Thriller, Science Fiction, Horror, Creature Film, Alien Film, Action

Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.

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