Surprising Good!

Predatorwreaked havoc in the jungle and struck box-office gold, so Hollywood logic dictated thatPredator 2should raise hell in the big, bad city. Los Angeles, to be specific, and this near-future L.A. (circa 1997) is an ultra-violent playground for the invisibility-cloaked alien that hunted Arnold Schwarzenegger in the previous film. Scant explanation is given for the creature's return, and because Ah-nuld was busy makingTotal Recall, Danny Glover was awkwardly installed as the maverick cop (is there any other kind?) who defies a government goon (Gary Busey) to curtail the alien's inner-city killing spree. But why bother, when the victims are scummy Colombian drug lords? Don't look for intelligent answers; director Stephen Hopkins favors wall-to-wall action over sensible plotting, allowing Stan Winston's more prominently featured Predator to join the ranks of iconic movie monsters. And anticipatingAlien vs. Predatorin comic books andin theaters, there's a familiar-looking skull in the Predator's trophy case!--Jeff Shannon

Cast: Maria Conchita Alonso, Rubén Blades, Gary Busey, Danny Glover, Kevin Peter Hall

Director: Stephen Hopkins

Screen Writer: Jim Thomas, John Thomas

DVD Release Date: February 4, 2003

Runtime: 108 minutes

Studio: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation