Line #18 Film/Predator2


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/predator_two_6039.jpg]]
2
3	->''"He's in town with a few days to kill."''
4	-->-- '''tagline'''
5
6	''Predator 2'' is the sequel to ''Film/{{Predator}}'', released in 1990.
7
8	[[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture Ten years after the events of the first movie]], Los Angeles is suffering under a HeatWave, and a war between Jamaican and Colombian drug cartels is running wild. LAPD Lt. Mike Harrigan (Creator/DannyGlover) and his team find that something is killing members of both factions -- and after meeting a [[TheMenInBlack fake DEA task force]] led by Special Agent Peter Keyes (Creator/GaryBusey), Harrigan discovers that said something is an [[AlienTropes alien]], and the "task force" have been waiting for one to reappear since previous events in Central America ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljEC7HKbP0g and apparently]] they know how to dance).
9
10	----
11	!!This film provides examples of:
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13	[[foldercontrol]]
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15	[[folder:#-L]]
16	* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: The film was released in 1990, and set in 1997. It does correctly predict the Los Angeles subway system would be in operation by that time, which was not the case at the initial release date.
17	* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Despite blowing him off otherwise, Leona ends up laughing at one of Jerry's jokes.
18	* ActionPrologue: The film starts off with a 'Predator-eye' view of a very heated (figuratively and [[HeatWave literally]]) gun battle between the LAPD and a Colombian street gang. This battle is interrupted when the Predator kills and 'cleans' the surviving gangsters.
19	* ActorAllusion: Morton Downey, Jr. is essentially playing himself as Tony Pope.
20	* AdmiringTheAbomination: Keyes.
21	-->'''Harrigan:''' You admire the son of a bitch.\
22	'''Keyes:''' Not for what he ''does'', Harrigan. For what he ''is''. For what he can give us. [[JustThinkOfThePotential A new era of scientific technology!]]
23	* AlasPoorScrappy: An InUniverse version, as Harrigan's crew are sad that the new, abrasive member Jerry got offed.
24	* AliensSpeakingEnglish: The City Hunter [[spoiler:and the Elder Predator]]. Justified, as the Predators have been monitoring Earth [[spoiler:for centuries]] as well as [[AliensStealCable tapping into local transmissions and radio broadcasts]]. However, they seem to struggle a bit with enunciation due to the alien structure of their mouths.
25	* AliensStealCable: The movie opens with the Predator using its sensors (thermal imaging, radio frequency scanning, and directional microphones) to scan the city for potential targets. It soon zeroes in on a massive shootout between the police and a Colombian gang that's being covered live by media camera crews.
26	* AliensStealCattle: The government team sets up an ambush in a meatpacking plant, where they know the alien will be going because it needs to eat. Justified, since the Predator is undoubtedly carving beef from cattle carcasses, and almost certainly is not paying for what he takes.
27	* AmbiguousSituation; The circumstances surrounding [[spoiler:Danny's]] death. Did the City Hunter see him as prey, and stopped his fall because it would be an unsportsmanlike victory? Did he try ''saving'' him, and only killed him when [[spoiler:Danny]] panicked and started shooting? Did the Hunter leave the necklace for Harrigan as a threat, or as a gesture of respect from one warrior to another, or even as an apology?
28	* AmmunitionBackpack: Peter Keyes' team is armed with "nitrogen guns" (liquid nitrogen backpacks attached to sprayers), which they plan to use to freeze (and thereby capture) the City Predator.
29	* AntiHero: Mike Harrigan. He's violence-prone, short-tempered, and possesses a rich history of employing excessive physical force. However, he is fiercely loyal to his fellow officers, has the best felony arrest record on the force, numerous bravery awards and [[spoiler:vows to avenge his best friend's death. He succeeds.]]
30	* AntiTrueSight: [[TheMenInBlack DEA]] uses actual heat-blocking suits, [[spoiler:though in the end, the predator's TrueSight is revealed to be a little bit "too true" for the good of the agents, since it has a whole lot of vision modes to choose from ''besides infrared'']].
31	* AntiVillain: Compared to the Jungle Hunter from the first film, the City Hunter comes across as far more honourable. It even spares an armed police officer when it discovers that [[spoiler: she is pregnant. It does employ the same self destruct device as the Jungle Hunter when about to be captured but it could be argued this is a case of "Death before dishonour" or simply to avoid humans such as Keyes recovering and exploiting its' advanced alien technology, interfering with humanity's development]].
32	* AppliedPhlebotinum: Glowing blue jello made with a primary ingredient of drywall (since this is Earth) can apparently heal the most dire of wounds. The Predator has weapons beyond our understanding, so why not medicine too? This is also a case of ClarkesThirdLaw.
33	* ArbitraryMaximumRange: [[spoiler:Jerry positions himself at one end of the train, shooting at the Predator to prevent him from going after the passengers. Somehow none of his shots strike neither the retreating passengers nor Leona despite firing in their direction.]]
34	* ArmorIsUseless: Averted. Harrigan's bulletproof vest/metal plate combination saves his life when the Predator lands a shot from its wrist-mounted flechette launcher directly on his chest.
35	* ArtisticLicenseMedicine: The Colombians patching their gun wounds with cocaine powder.
36	* ArtisticLicenseReligion: The "Voodoo" gang appear to be Rastafari stereotypes in all but name. In fact, they were originally written specifically to be Rastafari, but the studio forced them to change the gang to nominal voodoo stereotypes because it feared people wouldn't know what Rastafarianism was.
37	* ArtisticLicenseLaw: It fits him being an AntiHero, but in RealLife the moment Harrigan assaulted Keyes -- a DEA agent, the DEA having ''FEDERAL'' jurisdiction -- twice and threatened him in plain view of several onlookers, his career as a cop would have been over.
38	* AssholeVictim: Most of the gang members the Predator kills. Pope's speechifying about [[UrbanHellscape how bad L.A. has become]] thanks to the gangs even has him saying that it's good that they are getting slaughtered.
39	* AstonishinglyAppropriateInterruption: Harrigan removes the unconscious Predator's helmet to reveal its alien features, and starts to repeat Dutch's line from the first movie, "You are one ugly--." Just before he delivers the final word, the Predator wakes up and grabs Harrigan by the throat, snarling ''"Motherfucker!"''
40	* AudienceSurrogate: Harrigan, for anyone who hasn't seen the first movie. He has no idea what's really going on at first, and eventually receives a full, spoken explanation of everything known by viewers who ''did'' see the first one.
41	* BaitAndSwitch: The opening begins with a shot of a forest, suggesting that the setting will be similar to that of the [[Film/{{Predator}} first movie]], but as the camera keeps moving, the forest is revealed to be an urban forest close to the city of Los Angeles.
42	* BattleDiscretionShot: King Willy, voodoo drug lord of L.A., squares off against the titular Predator. He draws his CaneSword as the cloaked Predator approaches, becoming more and more visible with every step... [[spoiler:and then it cuts to the Predator [[OffWithHisHead carrying his severed head]]]].
43	* BeatThemAtTheirOwnGame: Harrigan lops the Predator's arm off, chases/hunts it down, and then proceeds to kill it with its own "smart disc" weapon.
44	* BlatantLies:
45	-->'''Harrigan:''' Co-operation is my middle name.
46	* BigWhat: Leona screams this in frustration as Jerry hounds her with one of his many long jokes.
47	* BlackHelicopter: A notable aversion, considering that the first film played it straight. TheMenInBlack use an all-silver Alouette helicopter, perhaps a visual reference to the silver thermal suits they wear to hunt the alien Predator.
48	* BoogieKnights: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljEC7HKbP0g This]] behind-the-scenes clip from the set of the film is dripping with this trope.
49	* {{Bowdlerise}}: Naturally, more family-friendly channels will tone down the swearing, violence, and partial nudity, but there's at least one version where this crosses over with BleepDammit. When the City Hunter is taking out the Voodoo Posse -- who are in the middle of eliminating the leadership of the Scorpions -- and are brought down to the last man, the last survivor clearly and timidly says "Shit happens..." due to an oversight; the captions are what's actually censored, however.
50	* BoyfriendBluff: Played with. Jerry Lambert (Bill Paxton) is at a bar. He goes over to a man talking to a woman.
51	-->'''Jerry:''' Hey, do you mind? It's [[MySisterIsOffLimits my sister]]. ''[man leaves]'' Oh, you're not my sister.
52	* BulletproofVest: In the beginning of the movie, Harrigan armors his car by hanging Kevlar vests over the side windows.
53	* BringIt: Danny Glover's character, after killing a Predator inside its own ship, asks "Alright, who's next?" when he realizes he's surrounded by the Predator's buddies. It's a subversion in that he clearly knows he stands no chance if they decide to off him. Fortunately for him, they recognize him as a WorthyOpponent and leave peaceably.
54	* BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu: At the end of the movie, [[spoiler:Harrigan kills the Predator, only to immediately face several more Predators that appear in front of him. However, the trope is averted in that the others don't want revenge; on the contrary, they give Harrigan a gift and send him on his way]].
55	* BulletproofVest: In the beginning of the movie, Danny Glover armors his car by hanging kevlar vests over the side windows. During a later LockAndLoadMontage, he puts a metal plate insert into his vest that saves his life when the Predator shoots his plasma caster at it -- in this case the "tearing off the vest afterwards" is justified as the explosive impact sets the vest on fire.
56	* TheCameo: A [[Film/{{Alien}} Xenomorph]] skull can be seen in the Predator ship.
57	* CatchphraseInterruptus: More of a PhraseCatcher Interruptus: the title alien gets downed by Harrigan, who takes a moment to remove his mask and see who he was fighting. He has the same reaction as [[Film/{{Predator}} Dutch from the first film,]] but doesn't get the chance to finish the line.
58	-->'''Harrigan:''' You are one... ''ugly''... [[CurseCutShort mother]]--\
59	''[the Predator [[EyeAwaken jerks awake with a roar]] and [[NeckLift grabs Harrigan by the throat]]]''\
60	'''Predator:''' ''[[FunetikAksent Muh-tha-fuh-kha!]]''
61	* CatScare: "[[DisturbedDoves Birds. Damn birds.]]"
62	* TheCavalry: Just when it appears Keyes is on his own against the Predator (and his heat-dampening tech isn't working), Harrigan blows the slaughterhouse door open and runs in, daring the Predator to face him.
63	* CharacterCatchphrase:
64	** [[MadLibsCatchPhrase "______ is my specialty!"]]
65	** "Shit happens!"
66	* ChekhovsArmoury: The trunk of Harrigan's car is a literal one, containing all the guns and equipment he'll use in trying to take down the Predator in the climax.
67	* ChekhovsGun: In particular, Harrigan uses a Benelli 12-gauge shotgun with pistol grip and shortened barrel in the opening shootout, wielding it as a literal HandCannon to take out the Scorpio gang members. Towards the end of the film, he puts it to good use against the Predator.
68	* ClifftopCaterwauling: The Predator does this while standing on top of a building, with lightning striking its metal spear to no apparent effect on the alien.
69	* CollateralDamage: The gang member who gets trapped by the NetGun gets shot by his trigger-happy comrades as they spray bullets in all directions.
70	* ColorWash: The cemetery is filmed in rich but soft green to contrast with the intense sunbaked cityscape. It says a lot about this world when the last peaceful place is a graveyard.
71	* CombatBreakdown: As Harrigan and the Predator square off in their final battle, they start as {{Walking Arsenal}}s and gradually lose their weapons to each other. Harrigan loads up with guns and a bulletproof vest with metal insert from the trunk of his car, the Predator has all its formidable hunting tools and weapons. Harrigan damages the Predator's plasma cannon with his assault rifle, the Predator wrecks Harrigan's armor vest and assault rifle with a projectile fired from its gauntlet. Harrigan blasts the Predator with his shotgun, stunning it and taking off its mask, the Predator smashes the shotgun. The Predator throws its spear at Harrigan, Harrigan takes it and tries to impale the Predator, and they both fall off the edge of a building, losing the spear. The Predator loses its grip on the razor disc, which Harrigan uses to cut its left gauntlet (and arm) off, disabling the self-destruct and cloaking device. Harrigan drops his last gun, his pistol, climbing after the Predator again. By the time they have their final showdown, they're down to one weapon apiece: the Predator's wrist blades and Harrigan using its Smart Disc.
72	* ConcealmentEqualsCover: Mike Harrigan gets it. Knowing perfectly well his car door doesn't provide cover, he hangs ballistic vests over it before [[ItMakesSenseInContext driving his car into the mass of bad guys shooting at him while leaning out of the driver's seat to avail himself of the vests' cover.]]
73	* ContinuityNod:
74	** The classic line:
75	--->'''Harrigan:''' ''[unmasks the fallen Predator]'' You are one ugly...\
76	'''Predator:''' ''[[[NotQuiteDead grabs his neck]]]'' Motherfucker!
77	** A character drawing a knife and making a LastStand with it, shrieking and all. Twice. The first happens as soon as the hero leaves, albeit not to make a HeroicSacrifice.
78	** There is also an OutrunTheFireball moment that mirrors the end of the first film.
79	** The music that played as Mac mourned Blain in the previous film plays as Mike visits Danny's grave, before he finds Danny's necklace.
80	** Similarly, the music when [[spoiler:Jerry takes on the Predator]] is almost identical to the one heard when Billy did the same in the first film.
81	* ContrastingSequelSetting: Lampshaded by the opening which transitions from a view of an urban forest to a shot of downtown Los Angeles. This movie essentially swaps out the Central American jungle of [[Film/{{Predator}} the first film]] for the [[WretchedHive crime-ridden streets]] of 1990s Los Angeles. Not only does this change the setting's aesthetics, but it also changes the role of the protagonist (from an elite commando with a bodybuilder physique to a fairly average cop), the secondary human antagonists (from ''guerrilla'' fighters to drug gangs embroiled in a turf war), as well as raising the stakes for the final showdown: [[spoiler:now, when the Predator threatens to use its SelfDestructMechanism, it's in the middle of a densely-populated city]].
82	* CopKiller: Aside from the gang members at the beginning who openly fight the police, the Predator itself has no compunctions towards killing police officers, and kills Danny and Jerry to goad Harrigan into fighting him. However, these kills were not in violation of the City Hunter's code of honor, given both of them were armed and tried to shoot him. It's not like the City Hunter particularly knows or cares what a cop is, though. They have weapons, and they're fighting back, so they're fair game.
83	* CowboyCop:
84	** Lieutenant Harrigan, who ignores orders whenever he feels like it to get the job done. It's gotten him in a fair bit of trouble, which probably would have got him canned anywhere else.
85	** Jerry Lambert too -- at his old precinct he was even nicknamed "The Lone Ranger", apparently for his reputation for getting partners killed (if Leona is to be believed).
86	* CrapsackWorld: Much like ''Film/DemolitionMan'' released a few years later, the then future 90's Los Angeles is presented as a polluted, lawless and crowded UrbanHellscape (Much like the real deal but dialed up a notch or two). Gangs are armed to the teeth with military grade weapons and wage brutal war for control of the streets, the LAPD are undermanned and overextended and apparently things have gotten so bad that the local PompousPoliticalPundit is calling for the mayor to declare martial law. And this is all ''before'' the Predator shows up...
87	* CreepySouvenir: The Predator collects skulls from its prey, including intelligent ones. We get to see a very impressive display at the end of the movie, including the elongated skull of a [[Franchise/{{Alien}} Xenomorph]], laying down the foundation for the ''Franchise/AlienVsPredator'' franchise, and the surviving Predators give Harrigan a flintlock pistol [[GracefulLoser to congratulate him for killing one of their number]].
88	* CrooksAreBetterArmed: The ActionPrologue sets up the situation regarding the drug gangs on the city. They are so much better-armed (with machine guns and, in the opening shootout, ''even grenade launchers'') that nothing the L.A.P.D. can field, not even S.W.A.T., can take them head-on. When the Predator starts doing its business and slaughtering gang members in droves, the press (but not the cops) is quick to call them a bunch of {{Asshole Victim}}s getting their due. Additionally, a cop on the scene mentions that S.W.A.T. is having ''its''' ass kicked in a similar shootout on the other side of town where the Jamaicans have shot down one of the LAPD's helicopters. During the opening firefight, the cops are wearing body armour and some are armed with [=MP5s=] and G3s. At first glance, this could mean they are S.W.A.T. operatives but then Danny mentions that the actual S.W.A.T. team is engaged elsewhere. Things have gotten so bad on the streets that body armour and automatic weapons have become standard issue for LAPD patrol officers, and it's ''still'' not enough to keep up.
89	* CurbstompBattle: While practically everyone except Harrigan ends up on the receiving end of this by the Predator, special mention goes to Keyes' team, who specifically prepared for a confrontation with the Predator and get destroyed anyways.
90	* CurseCutShort: Amusingly played with, where the titular alien cuts Harrigan's assessment of its looks short by choking him, then [[AstonishinglyAppropriateInterruption finishes it off anyway]].
91	* DeadlineNews: A female reporter is covering live a shoot-out between the police and Colombian drug dealers. She barely avoids getting caught by the line of fire.
92	-->'''Reporter:''' While Los Angeles swelters in agonizing heat, drug lords wage bloody warfare in the streets. Yet another open conflict-- ''[bullets ricochet near her]'' Oh, [[PrecisionFStrike fuck]] this, [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere get me out of here]]!
93	* DeadlyDisc: The Predator is shown to use a disc which can slice clean through multiple targets and return to the wielder. The respective eponymous antagonists of later ''Predator'' films follow suit.
94	* DefiantToTheEnd: King Willie does not run when the Predator comes for him; he draws his SwordCane to fight. It doesn't do him any good, but it's still admirable.
95	* DestructionEqualsOffSwitch: The Predator's wrist-nuke is disarmed by slicing it in half, taking the Predator's hand with it.
96	* TheDeterminator:
97	** Harrigan makes this trope his bitch and then some. The man gets thrown around like a ragdoll, falls down an elevator shaft, gets slashed up by pointy things about a hundred times, and still has the guts to get back up for more.
98	** The Predator. Even after it gets pumped full of shotgun shells and loses its left arm, it is still fierce enough to confront Harrigan again (although it does flee to the Predator ship first to try and level the playing field). It does lose points, though, because earlier, when things turned against it, it went straight for the [[TakingYouWithMe self-destruct button]] instead of even trying to fight.
99	* DidntSeeThatComing: The feds' plan to capture the Predator is fairly well-thought-out. The dust in the slaughterhouse nullifies its cloak, and the lighting and suits make it impossible for the Predator to see them. They didn't anticipate that it would be able to see in other spectrums, however.
100	* DidntThinkThisThrough: The other part of the plan Keyes forgot to consider is that even though it couldn't see them, it could still ''hear'' them. Not only that, it's pretty damn suspicious that cloak-nullifying dust would just show up in a place it's been before.
101	* DreadlockRasta: Subverted. King Willie and his group are ''voodoo'', not Rastafarian. They do fit the trope in every other way than their nominal religious beliefs, though.
102	* DyingSmirk: [[spoiler:The Predator's successor]] attempts a TakingYouWithMe while laughing, until it is... cut off.
103	* {{Dystopia}}: Gangs running amok in the streets. Crime is so rampant civilians have to carry guns. The L.A.P.D. is frequently outmanned and outgunned. Then the Predator shows up...
104	* EurekaMoment: Harrigan looks at a trophy display, and suddenly has a realization.
105	* EvenEvilHasStandards:
106	** While the Predator is still HuntingTheMostDangerousGame, it targets drug dealers and goes after other types of criminals during its hunt. It also [[WouldntHurtAChild doesn't harm a kid]] when it sees that the kid only has a toy gun. And even though Cantrell both has a gun and tries to fire it at him, it leaves her alone upon realizing that she's pregnant. However, it does leave [[spoiler:Archuleta's necklace]] [[KickTheDog for Harrigan]], suggesting it is taunting a WorthyOpponent. However, this also shows the creature holds some respect for Harrigan.
107	** After Harrigan [[spoiler: defeats the Predator in its space ship, the other Predators decloak themselves and respectfully take the body away, while the lead Predator rewards Harrigan with a trophy (since they're keeping the body), suggesting that they were watching the whole time, but did not want to interfere in a battle between two warriors, and that the leader felt Harrigan deserved ''some'' kind of reward for his victory.]]
108	* EveryoneIsArmed: Several people in a subway car draw guns in response to an attempted robbery, including the two cops who happen to be there at the time. Unfortunately, since this happens at the same time the Predator is stalking the subway car, all this achieves is adding ''[[NiceJobBreakingItHero more]]'' potential targets for him to hunt. Still, at least [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking no-one was robbed]].
109	* ExploitationFilm: Wall-to-wall violence, gratuitous nudity, cheesy over the top acting, Creator/GaryBusey? The evidence is all there.
110	%%* {{Expy}}: King Willie's name sounds like Billy from the original film. They both believe in the supernatural and both die the same way when they face the Predator.
111	* FaceDeathWithDignity: When King Willie realizes the creature "not of this earth" has found him, does he flee for his life? No, he draws his CaneSword and prepares for a LastStand against the alien butcher. He presumably dies pretty easily, but his skull certainly earned its place on the Predator's trophy rack.
112	* FacingTheBulletsOneLiner: Having finally defeated the Predator after a grueling battle, [[spoiler:Harrigan finds himself surrounded by ''nine'' more.]] His reaction is a resigned "Okay, who's next?" [[spoiler:Subverted when the Predators instead acknowledge him as a WorthyOpponent and let him leave.]]
113	* FakeoutOpening: The movie opens on what appears to be a jungle like in the first movie, before the viewpoint climbs over a ridge to reveal an entirely different kind of jungle: the skyline of Los Angeles.
114	* FailedFutureForecast: The movie predicted that [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture by 1997]], Los Angeles would decay into a dystopian CrapsackWorld with drug gangs in open war with the police and themselves, using military-grade hardware and body counts seemingly in the thousands. The police themselves show elements of being an occupying force in their own city, and Harrigan himself refers to his beat as "the war." Based on the high crime rates of L.A. in the late 1980s and early 1990s, this didn't seem too far-fetched circa 1990, but fast forward to the second decade of the 21st century and we see that Los Angeles, while still not a utopia, has far lower crime rates than it did at the time the film was made.
115	* FalseDichotomy: Keyes knows the Predator has infrared vision, but apparently forgot the alien has ''ears''. When it gets suspicious, it starts cycling through ''other vision modes'' (before settling on ultraviolet and seeing the team and their lights clear as day).
116	* FanserviceExtra: Teri Weigel (who went on to be a prominent porn star) spends 90% of her small screen time completely naked. Her role in the film consists of being seen having sex with her Colombian drug lord boyfriend, being heavily implied to be gang-raped by the Jamaicans who attack him in his penthouse, running around screaming in terror as the Predator kills the Jamaicans, then being discovered by Harrigan's team, having Leona wrap her in a coat, and telling Leona in Spanish that "the devil came for them."
117	* FearsomeFoot: The shot of the monster approaching a doomed gang leader is taken from behind its ([[BadassBlink invisible]]) feet.
118	* FiveSecondForeshadowing: After Harrigan removes its mask, the Predator's mouth can be seen twitching, indicating it's NotQuiteDead right before it grabs him for a JumpScare.
119	* FreezeFrameBonus:
120	** The flayed corpse that Jerry bumps into has cubed-shaped scarring on his head, indicating he was the gang member who was caught in the NetGun.
121	** If you look closely after Harrigan takes the Predator's mask off, you can see part of its mouth twitching, [[FiveSecondForeshadowing leading up to the reveal that it isn't dead yet]].
122	* FreezeRay: Keyes has his team load up with liquid nitrogen sprayers in an attempt to freeze the Predator for later study. It mostly just pisses the Predator off, since Keyes and his team can never pin the thing down long enough to actually do some damage.
123	* FromBadToWorse: Los Angeles is already plagued by out-of-control gang violence, pollution, and a heat wave... then the Predator shows up.
124	* GenericEthnicCrimeGang: The movie features Jamaican gangsters who use voodoo rituals in their dealings and are in the middle of a war with [[TheCartel Colombians]]. Voodoo is traditionally a Haitian religion and the gangsters were originally planned to be Rastafarians, but [[ViewersAreMorons executives were worried audiences wouldn't know what Rastafarians are]].
125	* GoodGunsBadGuns:
126	** The LAPD unit under Lt. Harrigan primarily uses a selection of a advanced semi-auto handguns with modifications like laser sights and underbarrel flashlights that would normally come across as "bad" weapons, especially Harrigan's [[BlingBlingBang brushed chrome]] Desert Eagle. Justified, however, as the movie (released in 1990) is set in a [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture 1997]] where LA has devolved into an UrbanHellscape dominated by warring gangs, and the police need the extra firepower to keep up. Late in the movie, when Harrigan goes after the titular alien, he upgrades to two classically "good" guns -- a CAR-15 (a shorter barreled AR-15) fitted with an M203 grenade launcher and a shotgun.
127	** The various gangs shown throughout the movie use just about every kind of "bad" gun there is at one point or another. Machine pistols and submachine guns are the most common, but "advanced" guns like the Steyr AUG and [[MoreDakka heavy machine guns]] like the M60 are also used. Colombian gang leader El Scorpio uses a [[GunsAkimbo pair]] of Micro Uzis and then a GrenadeLauncher. Jamaican gang leader "Gold Tooth" has a [[HandCannon high-caliber revolver]] with [[BlingBlingBang gold plating and ivory grips]].
128	** The [[TheMenInBlack government agents under Keyes]], [[spoiler:perhaps as a clue that they aren't exactly "good", as they're trying to ''capture'' the Predator alive despite knowing about its explosive self-destruct mechanism]], are seen carrying "advanced" Muzzlelite bullpup-style guns and a modified M60.
129	* GoryDiscretionShot:
130	** When Danny is killed off-screen by the Predator, blood drips down to the floor beneath him.
131	** King Willie senses the Predator coming, draws his CaneSword, and prepares for his end. Cut to the Predator walking off [[OffWithHisHead with his severed head]].
132	** Shadows hide the worst of Jerry Lambert's head and spine being taken as trophies, but it's obvious what's happening.
133	** When [[spoiler:Keyes gets sliced in half by the City Hunter's razor disc]], the shot is obscured by the hanging slabs of meat.
134	* GracefulLoser: When the Predator is slain, its fellows emerge, carry away their fallen comrade... and give Harrigan an antique pistol as a reward for his victory before leaving. A gift from one master hunter to another.
135	* GroinAttack: A female cop seemingly knees a criminal in the crotch when he won't cooperate, Leona grabs the crotch of fellow cop Jerry Lambert when he won't leave her alone, and Harrigan does it to one of Keyes' men.
136	* GunPorn: The Columbian gangsters retreat from the police into their headquarters, in which there are enough weapons to arm an infantry company.
137	* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: [[spoiler: Keyes' death.]]
138	* HarmlessElectrocution: The Hunter climbs a building, his prey's skull and spine in hand, and he bellows into the air while hoisting his spear and his trophy. Lightning strikes him ''directly'' through his spear, sparks flowing all over his body, and [[MadeOfIron he doesn't even react to it]].
139	* HarmlessFreezing: Keyes' plan to capture the Predator with liquid nitrogen doesn't seem to affect it at all. If anything, it just pisses the Predator off. Then again, it's never stated one way or the other if they expected the Predator to survive the freezing; they just wanted to make sure it didn't blow itself up.
140	* HazmatSuit: The special forces team hunting the Predator wear thermal suits so they won't show up on infra-red, also to shield them from the radioactive dust they intend to use to SeeTheInvisible alien, and the liquid nitrogen sprays to freeze it. When the Predator becomes [[SoMuchForStealth aware of their presence]], the suits inhibit the soldiers from seeing it and fighting properly.
141	* HeatWave: The Predator stalks the streets of Los Angeles during a heat wave. Possibly justified in that yautja usually wear a bodysuit made of thermal netting, meaning they might be ectothermic and would feel more comfortable in hot environments.
142	* HellishLA: Los Angeles has become such an UrbanHellscape that a Predator decided that it would make a great hunting ground.
143	* HeroicBystander: When a man on the subway is getting mugged, several people on the subway pull out their own weapons in the man's defense.
144	* HeroicSacrifice:
145	** [[spoiler:Jerry Lambert]] blocks the Predator from following the fleeing subway passengers, and pays for it with his life.
146	** During the fight with the Predator in the slaughterhouse, Harrigan is about to be attacked by the Predator. [[spoiler: Keyes]] intervenes and attacks the Predator, saving Harrigan's life. Shortly thereafter, the Predator kills [[spoiler: Keyes]] with its flying energy disc.
147	* HiddenArmyReveal: Just after Harrigan kills the City Hunter, a entire squad of other Yautja de-cloak around him.
148	* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Harrigan kills the Predator with its own disc weapon.
149	* HollywoodVoodoo: King Willie is a voodoo practicing Jamaican drug lord. Downplayed, in that while he believes the Predator is a supernatural demon, he's not shown or implied to have any magic powers himself.
150	* HumanHeadOnTheWall: The Predator returns to its spaceship after decapitating King Willie, cleans and polishes his skull, and mounts it on a spike in his trophy rack.
151	* HungryJungle: The movie describes the city setting as a "concrete jungle" portraying the dangerous city in much the same manner of the harsh jungle.
152	* IComeInPeace: The Predator nearly shoots a child before recognizing the boy's plastic gun is only a toy. The boy's response? "Want some candy?"
153	* IfICanOnlyMove: Lieutenant Harrigan is on a ledge on the side of a building with the Predator hanging onto him. The Predator has activated his SelfDestructMechanism, which will destroy a large area and kill thousands of people. The Predator's cutting disk is embedded in the wall ''just'' out of Harrigan's reach.
154	* ImperiledInPregnancy: Cantrell is spared by the Predator when his scanner reveals a fetus in her womb (the novelization states that killing pregnant prey is against the rules of the hunt). It's left unstated whether Cantrell herself knew she was pregnant beforehand.
155	* ImplacableMan: Nothing can stop the Predator when it wants you really, really dead. Late in the film, Harrigan himself becomes this to the Predator, who is hell-bent on fleeing when it realizes that it cannot stop or defeat its human adversary.
156	* ImpliedRape: In the novelization, it's implied that Vega's mistress was gangraped by the group King Willie sent to kill Vega before they did their job.
157	* ImprobableInfantSurvival: The eponymous alien bounty hunter spares a pregnant cop, and later lowers his sights on a child with a plastic gun after realising the harmless nature of the kid's "weapon". This is [[JustifiedTrope justified]] by the creature's personality as an honour-bound warrior; there's no challenge or sport in killing unarmed children.
158	* ImprovisedLightningRod: After the titular Predator concludes its rampage at the Columbian drug lord's penthouse, it climbs atop a tall building and holds its metal spear in the air, causing lightning to strike it with no ill-effects to the alien. Somewhat downplayed in that it does not appear to serve any purpose other than [[RuleOfCool looking cool]].
159	* InfraredXRayCamera: The Predator is able to see a fetus inside a pregnant woman's womb, making him spare her life.
160	* IronicEcho:
161	** "Shit happens!"
162	** Harrigan grabs a soldier by the throat and orders him to open a door, only to get a reply of "Go fuck yourself!" After persuading him otherwise, Harrigan is warned not to intervene, only to reply likewise.
163	** Harrigan is warned YouHaveNoIdeaWhoYoureDealingWith by Keyes, who later repeats the line during the InternalReveal that Harrigan really does have no idea [[OutsideContextProblem who he's dealing with]].
164	* {{Irony}}: Leona explains that Jerry Lambert is a lone wolf with a reputation for recklessness that gets his partners killed. [[spoiler: His actions get himself killed, and Leona survives.]]
165	* ItsPersonal: Invoked by Harrigan, as he was starting to joke about letting the City Hunter wipe out crime until the Predator began targeting and eliminating his close friends/fellow officers. Keyes later does the same in a NotSoDifferentRemark with Harrigan.
166	* IWarnedYou:
167	-->'''Keyes:''' I've told you, you ''don't'' know what you're dealing with.
168	* IWorkAlone: Defied by Harrigan when he warns Jerry that the latter's "lone wolf" days are over with his team. Everyone works together.
169	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Jerry Lambert is a womanizing, hot-headed, occasionally obnoxious rookie cop, but he takes his job seriously, shows Harrigan the proper respect, and [[spoiler: gives his life distracting the Predator so the other passengers on the metro can escape.]]
170	* JerkassHasAPoint:
171	** Keyes is a dick, but he is correct when he points out to Harrigan that he's in ''way'' over his head. Funnily enough, despite his preparations and arrogance, [[{{Irony}} so was he.]] Keyes and his team are ultimately amongst the good guys and want to stop the Predator as much as Harrigan does but to capture rather than just kill it and in order to exploit its' technology. In fact [[spoiler: Keyes and his team actually save Harrigan's life on several occasions, intervening in the slaughterhouse battle, warning him of the self destruct mechanism etc]].
172	** Tony Pope is a total slimeball, but he makes a pretty solid point about the mayor of LA being on vacation in Lake Tahoe while his city is basically turning into an all-out warzone, with cops getting wasted left and right. This is shown at the beginning of the film when SWAT can't help out the rest of the police in the opening scene's firefight because they're too busy fighting another battle in a different part of the city ''at the same time.''
173	** Deputy Chief Heiniemman twice warns Harrigan to not interfere with Keyes' investigation and Harrigan ignores him, getting one of his men badly wounded in the armoury shootout and getting Danny killed. To his credit Heiniemman keeps Harrigan in the investigation despite all this.
174	* JumpScare: Pigeons just love playing around with Harrigan and the audience, don't they?
175	** It's hardly unreasonable for Garber in the final scene to want to know from Harrigan what exactly went on? The arrival of responding LAPD units to the scene means he doesn't get an answer, withdrawing rather than risking open public confrontation.
176	* JurisdictionFriction: During the first half of the movie, Lieutenant Harrigan of the LAPD has an ongoing feud with Peter Keyes of the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) over the investigation of a war between Los Angeles drug gangs. [[MinorCrimeRevealsMajorPlot It turns out to be worse than that]]: Keyes is actually a federal agent of an enigmatic unnamed agency hunting for an extraterrestrial killer.
177	* JustThinkOfThePotential: Keyes wants to capture the titular alien alive to put its advanced alien technology to use improving humans' weaponry.
178	* JustTrainWrong: The movie is set in Los Angeles, except the subway train fight clearly takes place on a BART train, which is from ''San Francisco'', and the distinctive "Ba" logo can be seen on the front of the train in one shot.[[note]]no local sub cars were available, as LA's subway wouldn't open until 1993, after the movie was made but before it is set[[/note]]
179	* LargeHam:
180	** Keyes. What did you expect from a character played by Gary Busey?
181	** Glover also has some majestically hammy moments as well, matching if not trumping Busey's performance in that category.
182	** King Willie is a noteworthy [[ColdHam cold ham]], and his subordinate Gold Tooth is magnificently hammy for the short time that he's around.
183	-->'''Gold Tooth:''' King Willie says, not only do I have to kill you, but I have to take your soul. Voodoo magic. ''Fucking voodoo magic, man! [laughs]'' But you know what? I tell you what I believe –- ''shit happens''.
184	* LateToTheTragedy: Harrigan gets to the site of the subway massacre several minutes after it actually occurs, only finding the wounded Leona on his way. However, he's ''not'' too late to see the Predator skinning and tearing Jerry's spine out, in a slight subversion of this trope.
185	* LetsDance: When police officer Jerry Lambert confronts the title creature in the subway car, his last words are "Let's dance!"
186	* LockAndLoadMontage: Harrigan suits up and arms himself to the teeth in order to rescue Keyes and confront the Predator.
187	[[/folder]]
188
189	[[folder:M-Z]]
190	* MadeOfIron: It's to be expected from the Predator, but Harrigan takes a fair amount of punishment himself, including getting shot with the beast's plasma weapon (a bulletproof vest/steel plate combo keeps him alive, but it still knocks the wind out of him) and a long drop down an elevator shaft, but he's relentless in chasing the Predator.
191	* MatchCut: A rather spectacular one, in which King Willie confronts the Predator for the first time. The next shot has his [[ScreamingWarrior battle scream]] as it focuses on his face, but a slow pull back reveals his severed head being carried by the Predator. And his "battle scream" may have been a scream of agony as the Predator killed him.
192	* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: King Willie. He certainly believes in magic, and his divination says that what's after him is [[ExactWords not of this Earth]], but he [[WrongGenreSavvy thinks it's a demon]], and his spells don't even slow it down.
193	* TheMenInBlack: Keyes and his team, sent by some enigmatic unspecified government agency to track down the Predator and capture its' technology under the guise of being from a ''different'' government agency, namely the DEA. They are at least partially successful recovering the Predator's spear, mask, energy weapon, spear tip and half of its' self destruct device.
194	* MinorCrimeRevealsMajorPlot: The movie starts with an investigation into a gang war between rival drug gangs, complete with JurisdictionFriction between the LAPD cops and the DEA. It eventually becomes a hunt for an extraterrestrial killer who's slaughtering both cops and gang members alike.
195	* MobWar: The movie is set in Los Angeles during a HeatWave ''and'' a gang war between Colombian and Jamaican drug cartels. Which makes it the perfect safari destination for an alien HuntingTheMostDangerousGame.
196	* MoneyIsNotPower: The second Predator slaughter we see on-screen is prefaced with a Jamaican hit squad entering a Colombian gang leader's apartment (while he's having sex with his girlfriend) and getting ready to cut his heart out as a Voodoo ritual ([[RuthlessForeignGangsters and to intimidate his fellow gang members]]). The Colombian tries to buy his way out of being killed by offering two million dollars he has stashed, but...
197	--->'''Jamaican thug:''' This is not about money, this is about '''power'''! There's a new king in the streets. This is a message he has for your people: "You are ''history!''" ''[starts cutting the Colombian's chest open)]''
198	* MonsterDelay: Like in the first movie, only the view of the soldiers from the Yautja's eye-view is visible at first, then a shot of its own hand through its visor revealing that it has claws, then a view of the cloaked Yautja with his glowing yellow eyes, then close-ups of him patching up his wound, then a full-body view, and finally the infamous unmasking moment that reveals just what his "real face" looks like. Unlike in the first movie, however, the corresponding moments each happen significantly earlier within the runtime than in the first film, and on top of that, we also even get to see nine other Yautjas near the end of the film just following the main one's death.
199	* MoreDakka: At the start of the movie, Harrigan goes through his trunkful of weapons, rejects a [[HandCannon .45 automatic]] as "Too small...", then grabs a shotgun strapped to the lid instead. Meanwhile, the Colombians are tooling up from a room full of firearms that turns out to be not enough to handle the Predator. Later, when fighting the Predator himself, Harrigan goes to his trunk again and reveals he's got an M16/M203 in there.
200	* MySecretPregnancy: [[spoiler: Good thing for Leona, since the Predator doesn't kill pregnant women, even if they have guns.]]
201	* NeckLift: The Predator does this to Leona when confronting her in the subway, lifting her to just the right height for it to realize [[spoiler: she is pregnant. It lets her live.]]
202	* NoodleIncident: According to the automated voice detailing his career, Harrigan is responsible for the destruction of not only eleven police patrol cars, but also a city bus and a street-sweeper. How he managed the latter two are left to the viewer's imagination.
203	* NotOfThisEarth: Harrigan and Jerry get the projectile from the sleargun analysed and are told it doesn't match anything on the periodic table.
204	* {{Novelization}}: The film was novelised by Simon Hawke. [[https://avp.fandom.com/wiki/Predator_2_(novel) More details here]].
205	* OffhandBackhand: After the Predator has killed all of the initial government squad but Keyes and is called out by Harrigan, it shoots at Keyes with its plasma caster without looking. This actually saves Keyes' life, as it evidently didn't score a direct hit.
206	* OfficeGolf: A variation. In the middle of a chaotic police station, [[EstablishingCharacterMoment Detective Jerry Lambert is introduced]] demonstrating to a female officer the correct way to swing a golf club, without actually having a club at the time.
207	* OhCrap:
208	** From the face King Willie makes when the Predator jumps down into the alley and begins walking towards him, he definitely knows he's completely screwed.
209	** Harrigan when it turns out [[spoiler: there are ''more''.]] He's completely exhausted and can't muster much of a reaction, but the way he flinches when the targeting laser appears and his resigned sarcasm over the situation say it all. In this case, of course, it turns out it's not a necessary reaction, because he's in no danger after all.
210	** [[spoiler:The Predator itself]] has a fantastic one right before [[spoiler:Harrigan uses its disc to slice its arm off, destroying the self-destruct bomb.]][[spoiler:It has another minor one just before that when hearing noise in the meat storage plant, and after cycling through several vision modes, suddenly seeing an entire team of government agents hunting it.]]
211	* OutrunTheFireball: Harrigan somehow isn't burnt to a crisp while running away from the fiery exhaust of the departing Predator ship.
212	* OutsideContextProblem: As in the previous film, a gang-ridden warzone becomes the safari grounds of an interstellar race of hunters. This is minimized by audience familiarity with the premise and the arrival of [[TheMenInBlack interested parties]].
213	* OutsideGenreFoe: The movie opens like a late-'80s ''Film/DirtyHarry''-style crime-action film, with rival gangs shooting up the streets of Los Angeles and the LAPD struggling to handle them. Then an alien hunter shows up and becomes a bigger problem. [[spoiler:Even the alien-hunter ''hunters'' aren't fully prepared for what they're up against.]]
214	* PayEvilUntoEvil: The City Hunters kill the group sent to kill Ramon Vega after the completed their task and captured his girlfriend. In the novel, it's implied ''because'' of the fact that Vega was defenseless at the time and before they killed him, they raped his mistress.
215	* PetTheDog: The Predator prepares to attack a child who points a toy gun at it, then relents when it realizes the weapon is fake. [[spoiler:It later spares Leona when it sees she's pregnant, despite having massacred the rest of her squad and her being armed.]]
216	** Keyes [[spoiler: saves Harrigan from the Predator. He's still a prick about it, but keep in mind Keyes doesn't even ''like'' Harrigan (and actually even threatened to kill him himself earlier).]]
217	** Tony Pope is an abrasive asshole who harasses and mocks the ineffectiveness of the police, but on reporting [[spoiler: Danny's]] death, he goes out of his way to call him a "good cop, one of the best on our force!"
218	* PocketProtector: Before going in to fight the Predator, Harrigan puts on a BulletproofVest.
219	* PrecisionGuidedBoomerang: The eponymous alien's disk and shuriken weapons are a high-tech version, though occasionally they won't come back due to being lodged in a wall. Or somebody's chest.
220	* PregnantBadass: [[spoiler: Leona Cantrell. It's ambiguous whether or not she herself is aware of this.]]
221	* ProportionalAging: The Predator is an adolescent by yautja standards, little more than an excitable, glory-hungry teenager.
222	* ProudWarriorRace: This movie introduced the concept of Predators belonging to such a culture.
223	* RazorFloss: One of the Predator's weapons, the net, is made of thin wire and it tightens, cubing the person it captures.
224	* RememberThatYouTrustMe: Lambert hits Harrigan with the "door swings both ways" part of the speech Harrigan gives early on when Harrigan tries to leave him and Cantrell behind in his hunt for the Predator, presumably for their own safety [[spoiler: after Archuleta's death]]. Harrigan comes around and decides they'll do it together. Not long after, while the Predator is following Lambert around, it turns out he actually took Harrigan's attempt to lie to them fairly hard.
225	* RetractableWeapon: In addition to having retractable wrist blades like its fellow from the first film, the Predator also adds a retractable staff/spear to the species' arsenal.
226	* TheReveal: Played with. Like in the first movie, we get only fleeting glimpses of the Predator early on, it sometimes gives an ImminentDangerClue with its targeting laser or cloak, and it's not until the climax begins that it stays on screen for any length of time. However, here, these glimpses start ''much'' earlier and are more numerous, confirming what a viewer who has seen the original already knows, but still preserving the reveal of what exactly is going on until later for a viewer who hasn't.
227	* RockBeatsLaser: The Predator trophy room contains, among other things ([[spoiler:like the skull of an alien from the Alien franchise]]), a ''flintlock pistol''... implying that not only did a human attempt to challenge a Predator with this weapon, but this individual put up enough of a fight to be considered a {{worthy opponent}}!
228	* RooftopConfrontation: Lieutenant Harrigan fights the Predator on the roof of a building as part of a running battle with it.
229	* RuthlessForeignGangsters: Both the Colombians and the Jamaicans are showcased as two gangs completely willing and able to turn (''and are in the middle of turning'') the whole of Los Angeles into a Beirut-style warzone for the sake of seeing which will rule the local underground. The Predator ends up trumping the both of them, however.
230	* ScareChord: A very loud one plays on the cut to King Willie's decapitated head.
231	* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: One of the reporters in the beginning.
232	-->'''Reporter:''' As drought-ridden Los Angeles swelters in agonizing heat, drug lords wage bloody warfare in the streets. Yet another open conflict-- ''[bullet ricochets]'' Oh, ''[[PrecisionFStrike fuck]]'' this, get me out of here!
233	* SelectiveSlaughter: The eponymous creature attacks a subway train full of people and kills only those who were armed [[spoiler: except for the policewoman, whom was spared because [[InfraredXrayCamera he could see]] that she was pregnant.]]
234	* SelfDestructiveCharge: The last thing [[spoiler:Jerry]] is seen doing alive is leaping at the Predator with a machete in hand.
235	* SensorSuspense: While the capture team is in the warehouse, the support team outside keeps track of the team and the Predator inside the warehouse using symbols on a screen. The suspense increases when the creature's movements indicate it can see the capture team and is about to attack them.
236	* SequelHook: After the Predator ship leaves, Harrigan tells Garber "Don't worry, asshole. You'll get another chance". Doubles as a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech, because Predators are attracted to heat and ''violent conflict''.
237	* SexSignalsDeath: The Colombian drug lord shown having sex with his girlfriend has his penthouse broken into by the rival Jamaican gang, ending with him being killed with a knife.
238	* ShooOutTheClowns: [[spoiler: Jerry Lambert, the movie's primary provider of comic relief, is killed by the Predator just before the climax starts.]]
239	* ShootHimHeHasAWallet: Subverted. Rather than immediately open fire when it sees a child holding a gun, the Predator takes a moment to ''scan'' both boy and weapon, determines the gun is a fake (a plastic toy) and leaves the child alone.
240	* ShoutOut:
241	** Before the ''Aliens vs. Predator'' films, this film showed a rack of trophy skulls in the Predator ship, including one from a Xenomorph.
242	** Keeping with the ''Alien'' mythos, Lambert has the same surname as Joan Lambert from the first ''Alien'' movie, suggesting Jerry might have been an ancestor.
243	** A rather obvious one from Keyes:
244	--->'''Keyes:''' He's on safari. [[Film/TheWizardOfOz The lions, the tigers, the bears... oh, my!]]
245	** The scene where Keyes and his team confront the Predator in the slaughterhouse is practically an {{Homage}} to the scene in ''Film/{{Aliens}}'' where the Marines first encounter the Xenomorphs.
246	* SinisterSubway: You do not want to be alone in the dark LA subway tunnels at night. Of course, knowing that a vicious alien manhunter is lurking down there too doesn't improve the situation one bit.
247	* SlaughterhouseFight: Keyes and his DEA team plan to capture the Predator in a slaughterhouse, filling the air with dust to foil its InvisibilityCloak, while the low temperatures and some special suits will render his team invisible to thermal vision. [[DidNotThinkThisThrough Unfortunately for the feds]], the Predator still has ''ears'', and its CoolMask comes with [[DidntSeeThatComing additional vision modes]].
248	* SleekHighRiseApartment: The titular Predator murders a bunch of folks inside of one, following a raid by Jamaican gangsters on a Colombian drug lord [[OutWithABang mid-coitus]]. Said high rise also overlooks downtown UsefulNotes/LosAngeles.
249	* SnowyScreenOfDeath: The Predator massacres the special forces team sent to capture him, but when this trope is shown in MissionControl (where they naturally conclude that everyone is dead) it turns out the last member of the team had merely pulled off his HazmatSuit helmet (with attached camera) so he could see better.
250	* SoMuchForStealth: The plan to capture the Predator goes pear-shaped thanks to a creaky staircase, tipping off the Predator that someone else is in the warehouse with it.
251	* SpaceWhaleAesop: The subway massacre scene was actually conceived as a TakeThat to [[VigilanteMan vigilantism]], which explains why the man the gang members are accosting resembles real-life subway vigilante Bernard Goetz. So the moral of the story is, don't plan to take the law into your own hands, otherwise intergalactic hunters will slaughter you. Wait, what? To be fair, the Aesop is that said gang members may ''also'' be armed, likely moreso than you. Also, don't worry about being disarmed, because you'll be no sport to a Predator and thus live to tell the tale.
252	-->'''Gang member 1:''' Mine's bigger than yours! ''[points a larger gun at the commuter and laughs maniacally]''\
253	'''Gang member 2:''' I'll take that! ''[snatches commuter's gun while pointing a second gun at him]''
254	* StaringDownCthulhu: Harrigan begins a StaringContest with Keyes, and is a little taken aback when Keyes gives the stare right back. Harrigan then realizes Keyes is more dangerous than he looks, and eventually lets him go.[[note]]a piece of advice: never do a StaringContest with wild-eyed Gary Busey -- you'll ''always'' lose[[/note]]
255	* SubwaysSuck: The Los Angeles subway is so bad, almost everyone on board is armed. Unfortunately, a train with armed passengers draws the attention of the City Hunter tracking our heroes on board.
256	* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: This trope factors into battle with The City Hunter and works as a blessing and curse.
257	** Lt. Harrigan finds surprising success fighting The City Hunter as the villain is an adolescent going through a rite of passage and isn't as experienced as the Jungle Hunter that Dutch fought. Still, Harrigan finds his battles far from easy.
258	** Keyes eventually settles on potentially recruiting Harrigan into his secret department as making him "go missing" would be a RevealingCoverUp and he'd be much more valuable as a battle-worn ally having shown his sheer will and determination to track down The City Hunter and doing so with much more limited resources. We don't see this development due to [[spoiler:Keyes and most of his team getting wiped out]], but Garber does let Harrigan go free at the end of the film.
259	** Keyes thinks he has everything planned out, but like many missions, you still have to plan on something going wrong like your target figuring out your trap and doing something you didn't predict. Something like this sends the operation into disarray.
260	** The City Hunter may be too resilient for most people to handle, but multiple shotgun blasts to the torso still leaves him incapacitated temporarily and puts him on the defensive. Add in further injury on top of that, and things get even easier for Harrigan. Additionally, as with many organisms, dealing with an amputation and treating the gaping wound is still extremely painful.
261	* SwordCane: During his confrontation with the Predator, the Jamaican drug lord King Willie draws a sword out of his cane and prepares to fight. It does him no good at all.
262	* TechnologicallyAdvancedFoe: The LA police think they're dealing with gang war between rival drug gangs. However, the federal task force sent in turns out to know they're dealing with an alien, they just refuse to tell anyone about it.
263	* TemptingFate:
264	** Just before the Predator's first appearance, one of the Colombians -- tooled up and high on coke -- brags that he's ready for anything. [[OutsideContextProblem He's not.]]
265	** Keyes -- boasting about saving Harrigan's ass -- [[spoiler: is [[CurbStompBattle effortlessly killed]] by the City Hunter's Smart Disc when it [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe bisects him.]]]]
266	* ThatCameOutWrong: Harrigan, crawling on a ledge high above the ground, mutters, "You can do it. Like falling off a log." He quickly realizes those weren't the words he was looking for.
267	* TitleDrop: Keyes says, "Well, we've prepared a trap for this predator."
268	* TooDumbToLive: On a subway train, a small gang of punks try to rob a man who looks like a weak and easy mark. They should really know better as everyone on the train is armed, and aim their hand guns at the punks to make them lower their weapons, rendering the idea of public robbery pointless if not suicidal. However, this is the least of their worries when The City Hunter breaks into the train and starts hunting the armed passengers.
269	* TrashyTrueCrime: Tony Pope (played by RealLife trash-talk show host Morton Downey Jr.) is a "journalist" for the blood-and-guts crime show ''Hard Core''. He slithers around the edges of the story, sensationalizing the brutal deaths in a drug war tearing Los Angeles apart, criticizing the police, and even trespassing into active crime scenes for footage of dead gang members. He gets on Lt. Harrigan's bad side one too many times at the climax, and ends up getting his lights punched out by Harrigan for his troubles.
270	* TrophyRoom: The Predator has one on his ship, where it cleans and mounts King Willie's skull.
271	* TruthInTelevision: Real human hunters avoid hunting pregnant animals, regardless of their offensive capability.
272	* TurnOffTheCamera: When Keyes catches shock journalist Pope filming the Predator's latest crime scene, he has one of his mooks confiscate his camera. As Pope is lead off amid loud protests, you can see him secretly brace a smaller handheld camera against the back of the man holding him, getting some shots that he later uses in a report.
273	* UrbanHellscape: The film portrays [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture 1997 Los Angeles]] as a war zone between two rival gangs which are portrayed as foreign (particularly Jamaican) stereotypes, including constant drug use, barbaric forms of violence, and voodoo. The protagonist Mike Harrigan is, naturally, [[CowboyCop a renegade cop]] who gets results but is constantly chewed out by his superior officer.
274	* VaginaDentata: The Predator's mouth. Harrigan even insults it by calling it "pussyface".
275	* ViceCity: This movie really puts the 'LA is a hellhole' theme to the forefront, making really dystopian predictions in a ''[=RoboCop=]''-type commentary on society.
276	* VillainOfAnotherStory: The Colombian and Jamaican mobs were the police's initial primary enemies before the City Hunter came into town.
277	* VillainRespect: After Harrigan has killed the City Hunter, its fellow Predators arrive to collect its body. Instead of killing Harrigan, the leader instead acknowledges his skill and courage, giving him an antiquated pistol acquired [[Film/Prey2022 in the early 1700s]] before departing.
278	* VocalDissonance: The Predator says "Want some candy?" in the voice of the child it encountered at the graveyard when it confronts Jerry on the subway.
279	* WaterloggedWarzone: When Lt. Harrigan uses a grenade to blow open the door to the slaughterhouse, the resulting fire sets off the ceiling sprinklers, causing the floor to become covered in water. The Predator's invisibility shield is shorted out by water, making it visible and much more vulnerable to Harrigan's gunfire during their battle.
280	* WeaksauceWeakness:
281	** Water has been shown to short out Predator cloaking tech, but apparently even walking in a puddle of water starts to disrupt the electrical signals. Also, the Predator's reflection being wholly visible while it's still partially cloaked is ascribable to the RuleOfCool.
282	** The unstoppable Harrigan is nearly reduced to the mental state of a frightened child when confronted with heights, but he does manage to overcome it by the end of the film.
283	* WellIntentionedExtremist: Keyes wants the Predator for its technology in order to bring on a new age.
284	* WithinArmsReach: During their battle at the top of a building, the Predator has a death-grip on Harrigan's arm. When the Predator activates its SelfDestructMechanism, Harrigan reaches out and grabs the Predator's flying energy disc, then uses it to cut through the mechanism and the Predator's forearm.
285	* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Harrigan has a fear of heights; the Predator jumps around a lot of rooftops. He even lampshades this by wondering aloud to himself why the Predator never simply stays on the ground.
286	* WithinArmsReach: During their battle at the top of a building, the Predator has a death-grip on Harrigan's arm. When the Predator activates its SelfDestructMechanism, Harrigan reaches out and grabs the Predator's flying energy disc, then uses it to cut through the mechanism and the Predator's forearm. Watch the scene [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhEUi-W6pSY#t=30s here]].
287	* WorldOfHam: Nothing is subtle in this movie, and that goes double for the acting; the cast are clearly having a ball going completely over the top.
288	* TheWorldsExpertOnGettingKilled: The movie has an excusable case, as the expert does manage to survive one meeting with the Predator, and though he knew about its behavior and senses, he did not have reason to doubt his trap wouldn't keep it subdued.
289	* WorthyOpponent:
290	** The Predator quickly clocks Harrigan as a fellow warrior, which is cemented when Harrigan senses it on a rooftop ''while the Predator is cloaked''. [[UnknownRival Meanwhile, it doesn't seem to know (or care) who the hell Keyes even is]].
291	** After killing King Willie, it goes to the extra effort to take his head back and mount it on its trophy rack, presumably because he stood and fought to the death hand-to-hand, despite being badly outmatched. It takes Jerry Lambert's head as well for standing up to it on the subway.
292	* WouldNotShootACivilian: A Predator refrains from killing an armed female police officer when he sees that she is pregnant, nor a child when he realizes that the gun the kid is pointing at him is just a toy.
293	* WouldntHurtAChild: The Predator spares a child upon realizing that the latter is only aiming with a toy gun.
294	* WoundedGazelleGambit: How Harrigan defeats the City Hunter, by pretending [[spoiler:a wound inflicted on him with its wristblades was far more damaging then it actually was, leaving itself exposed for Harrigan to shove the Smart Disc into its chest and kill it.]]
295	* WretchedHive: Los Angeles in this film's grim portrait of 1997.
296	* TheYardies: King Willie and his Jamaican Voodoo Posse.
297	* YouHaveNoIdeaWhoYoureDealingWith: This speech is given by Harrigan, but it's not meant as a BadassBoast but a statement that the hero ''really'' [[OutsideContextProblem doesn't know what he's dealing with]], because aliens are involved.
298	* YouShallNotPass: While police officer Leona ushers the passengers on a subway car to safety, her partner Jerry Lambert tries to hold off the title alien monster by shooting at it. He is killed by the Predator, but his HeroicSacrifice saves many of the passengers from being killed.
299	* YouWillBeSpared: The Predators have Harrigan dead-to-rights aboard their space ship, but they clearly think it would be dishonorable to harm him after he won his duel fair and square. They still leave him to find his own way out as they take off, though.
300	* {{Zeerust}}:
301	** Much like the Ford Taurus in ''Film/RoboCop1987'', this film attempts to show off its futuristic cred by showing police using the then-new Chevy Luminas for patrol vehicles.
302	** In 1997, police still use low-resolution MCGA monitors.
303	[[/folder]]
304	----
305	-->''"You can't see the eyes of the demon, until him come callin'."''

Context Film / Predator2