Let's start with one that gets alot of attention between my friends.
First thing first. A greater than sign ( > ) DOES NOT mean I do not like the less than movie. It simply means I like the greater than better. Now, if you see >>>>>>>>, then it's a different story.
But for this topic, Predator 2 > Predator 1
The original Predator is an amazing movie, easily a top-tier action film. The Predator itself is one of the greatest creatures of all time. We will NEVER see a design like that ever again, and we really have to give it up to the late Stan Winston for such a unique and terrifying creation. After Terminator, this is the quintessential Arnold movie. With that in mind. this is one of the most quotable movies ever. The other actors were all pretty memorable too, with Jesse Ventura, Carl Weathers, and my personal favorite Sonny Landham.
Did you know Sonny also ran for Governor (of Kentucky)? And Senate too. Everybody in this movie has to be in some political office. Unfortunately, his political hopes were shot down (by an invisible shoulder laser) when he called for genocide against Arabs. Not too bright of a move.
Anyway, Predator 1 is a really good movie, but Predator 2 is even better.The biggest difference being the change of settings. The entire original movie is in a jungle. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but man is there alot of green and not much else. The setting just gets a bit stale. Predator 2 takes place in the concrete jungle, and there's just so much more going on. Now, we have fights in buildings, fights on buildings, fights through buildings, fights on subways, fights in back alleys, and of course the finale inside a spaceship. This was also able to provide some new side-stories with druglords and cop corruption, none of which interferes with the main story. The movie even gains some social studies points, since the entire thing is symbolic of the shape of gang culture taking over inner cities and what not.
So the sequel is a nice breath of fresh (well, polluted) air with the setting, but there's more stuff that got upgraded. The Predator himself got a brand new set of gear, namely that blade-disc thing he throws. Most if not all of the modern designs of Predator is based on the P2 version of the alien. The humans were also able to use their own technology, and actually put up more of a fight that just Jesse Ventura shooting a mini-gun blindly into trees (a scene which almost killed him btw). This time around, the movie even managed to be more violence somehow, and added enough sex for it to be the first NC-17 movie (toned down to a R just before release), so it has enough for everyone.
While I love big bulging muscle men as much as the next guy, the cast of P2 really put the film over the top. Stan Winston could never design a creature as terrifying as Gary Busey. Bill Paxton -- the only person to be attacked by an Alien, and Predator, and a Terminator -- makes everything better. I really wish Maria Alonso's character was in it more with most of her sidestory cut, but that may be for the better. That one old lady gets me to laugh every time. And while Arnold left some huge boots to fill, Danny Glover does an excellent job of being an action star. Seriously, he takes on the Predator toe-to-toe, and uses its own arrogance to beat him. And there is no badass-er scene in anything than when Danny throws down his gun and yells to the other Predators "Ok, who's next!"
Finally, that last scene was just perfect. Alien and T-Rex heads!?!?!
Again, Predator 1 is a great movie, but Predator 2 is better in every category besides quotability. So have a Man-Night some day, and watch Predator 1 and 2 back to back. And whatever you do, do not watch past the second one. More on that later.
funny picture :)
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