Friends, I am not sure how it slipped past me but last Saturday marked the 30th anniversary for Predator 2. The sequel to the 1987 smash hit sci-fi/horror/action film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger – and kick starting a film franchise that is still going strong. I am a pretty huge fan of the Predator franchise, having gone beyond the films and collected action figures, books, comics, and even a bust of the Elder Yautja as first seen in 1990’s Predator 2.
I have in my personal opinion shown quite often over my last decade of writing, that when it comes to movies, toys, music and other pop culture related properties, I am generally fond of things others are not. I bring this up as I happen to be someone who feels that Predator 2 is a movie that manages to be even better than the previous film. Although it did not fail at the box office – the overall take of 57.1 million dollars against it’s budget of 20 to 30 million… was a far cry from the 98.3 million that Predator had taken in.
Perhaps the reason I like Predator 2 better is because it is set in an urban environment – or maybe it’s easier to relate to Danny Glover as Detective Lieutenant Mike Harrigan than Schwarzenegger’s character of Dutch? Or it could be the fact that I appreciate that the second film expanded on what we understood of the Predator race or as they were revealed in books and comics, the Yautja. Including an amazing Easter egg near the end of the film, when Harrigan boards the Yautja craft to find that the race hunts all manner of lifeforms… including the Xenomorph from the Alien films.
In closing out this article, I have to give thanks to Brad Miska of Bloody Disgusting, not only for the heads up that Predator 2 is 30 years old – but sharing the news that it could have starred Steven Seagal instead of Danny Glover!
If you are looking for something to watch this weekend, why not enjoy the action and thrills, as well as the memorable characters of Predator 2?
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