Why Predator 2 Is A Misunderstood Masterpiece - Explained In Detail

John McTiernan directed the first Predator film and was asked to direct the second one, but after Die Hard 2, his fee went up to $2 million, and the producers weren’t happy. They gave a chance to director Stephen Hopkins, who had just directed A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child. Hopkins brought a whole new style to the film, filling the project with vigor. While Predator has its own charms, credit must be given where its due to a solid sequel. Predator 2 pays attention to the little details whenever required, a small example being when the Yautja’s camouflage goes faulty, and he struggles with it. Kevin Peter Hall came back as the Predator, but other creature actors supported him. However, the mere absence of Arnold Schwarzenegger led many fans to discard this follow-up. We are of the opinion that while Arnold’s presence was definitely missed, the film had other aspects that make it a classic. Almost every field, including the acting, direction, casting, effects, and cinematography was on point, but somehow, all of it seemed to be overshadowed by an Arnie-shaped hole. If you were wondering why he didn’t feature in the film, he had to make a tough choice between Predator 2 and Terminator 2 at that time. Nevertheless, Stephen Hopkins’ directorial expertise and brilliance turned this sequel into a masterpiece, albeit an underrated and misunderstood one. In this video, we will deep dive into the various aspects of the movie that make it such a brilliant work, and will try to help you understand the hardships faced, and the tremendous effort that went into its making. One thing you must keep in mind is that this video is not a comparison between Predator and Predator 2, as we think that both the films are brilliant for their own reasons.

0:00 Intro
2:07 Efficient Cast of Predator 2 overpowers the musclemen of Predator
4:35 Arnold Schwarzenegger vs. Danny Glover
6:43 The realism of Setting and Story
8:57 Creative simplicity
10:41 Superior effects due to Winston’s magic
12:42 The one-armed stuntman
14:10 The spaceship of wonders: Raphael Adolini and Xenomorph
16:01 Predator 2 has got no chills!
17:23 Subway Scene and Consequent Climax
19:07 Relatability and sympathy towards the Predator