History YMMV / Predator2

* TooCoolToLive:[[spoiler: [[MagicalNegro King]] [[EvilIsCool Willie]], [[CowboyCop Jerry Lambert]] and [[TheMenInBlack Peter Keyes]]]].

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** Also, when the City Hunter left Danny's necklace at the cemetery for Harrigan to find, was the Predator mocking him, was it a sign of respect?

* FranchiseOriginalSin: Later sequels would be criticized for the MonsterThreatExpiration faced by the Predators. This got its start here: Harrigan, an average cop who's not in particularly great shape, managed to defeat a Predator in combat; while in the previous movie, Dutch, a special forces operative with a bodybuilder's physique, only managed to kill the Predator hunting him by using {{booby trap}}s. However, it was more forgivable in this movie because the City Hunter was characterized as more reckless and careless than the Jungle Hunter (with WordOfGod confirming that it was also significantly younger and less experienced), it still managed to showcase itself as a legitimate threat by slaughtering many cops and gangsters, and Harrigan won largely because he was able to use one of his opponent's own weapons against him.

** Jerry Lambert is said to have transferred over from the Rampart Division in order to see some action, and is generally regarded as a safer, less gritty assignment compared to what Mike and his fellow offers deal with when fighting gangs on the streets. A few years later, the real-life Rampart Division's C.R.A.S.H anti-gang unit became the focus of an investigation into what may easily be the most serious incident of widespread police corruption in America's history, exposing the involvement of nearly a hundred officers in various crimes ranging from robbery to drug dealing to homicide and was largely blamed on the unit's CowboyCop mentality. For double the irony, the Rampart Scandal was also exposed [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rampart_scandal in 1997]].

* BadassDecay: Dutch, a tough-as-nails career soldier built like a brick house, was outmatched in a straight fight and had to outwit the Predator to beat it, but the one in this film is soundly defeated in combat by --badass though he is-- a paunchy LA cop who's pushing fifty. Arguably justified, though, in that Dutch had to go hand-to-hand while Harrigan gets hold of the Predator's razor-sharp disc to use against it, and Harrigan's opponent had suffered multiple shotgun rounds at point blank range shortly before.

* MagnificentBastard: "[[NobleDemon The City Hunter]]" is the Predator currently terrorizing Los Angeles, brutally targeting and picking off dangerous gangs throughout the city as part of his hunt. Using brute force and stealthy attacks both to wipe out armed goons, the City Hunter takes out even cops in his pursuit, but [[EvenEvilHasStandards holds a strict code]] to never harm a woman or child, sparing even a police officer trying to stop him when the City Hunter realizes [[WouldNotHurtAChild she is pregnant]]. Even when federal agents devise a scheme to trap the rogue Predator, the City Hunter quickly adapts and kills them all. Gaining a genuine respect for Lieutenant Harrigan's skill, the City Hunter gives the man a honorable duel in the end, and [[FaceDeathWithDignity faces his death with dignity]] after suffering serious wounds.

** The heavily-armed, coked-up Columbian gang members in the opening scene who are targeted by both the cops and a Predator provide for a decently frightening introduction to the film's gritty tone.
** The Columbian drug lord's FanserviceExtra girlfriend who is left traumatized in the aftermath of her boyfriend's grisly gang murder and a Predator attack.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: The movie's novelization openly notes how [[spoiler: one Predator tossing Harrigan a 17th-century pistol]] can be seen in two ways: Is it [[spoiler: a sign of respect by sharing the trophy of a worthy foe? Or is it a message that this archaic weapon represents how far advanced the Predators are compared to Earth and humans completely out of their league?]]

* HilariousInHindsight: Creator/AdamBaldwin plays a member of a shady government agency task force, then comes ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'', where Baldwin would voice the leader of such a [[ComicBook/SuicideSquad government task force]].

* SoBadItsGood: For some, the film is quite enjoyable due to the over the top acting, ridiculous characters such as the Jamaican Voodoo gang and awful dialogue being ridiculous to the point of being entertaining, not unlike the campier action films of the 80's. The presence of Gary Busey may help this argument, given the actor's reputation for being bizarre.

* TookTheBadFilmSeriously: A lot of otherwise negative reviews praised Danny Glover's performance.
* VindicatedByHistory: Trashed by critics at release. While the film still has a good share of haters, many people warmed up to it after the divisive ''Franchise/AlienVsPredator'' films and [[ContestedSequel highly controversial]] [[Film/ThePredator fourth film]], with more and more admitting it to be a worthy sequel.

* OneSceneWonder: King Willie is one of the most memorable things about the movie. The same goes with the Predator tribe at the end and the [[Franchise/{{Alien}} Xenomorph]] skull in the trophy room.

* ContestedSequel: Probably the most out of all the ''Predator'' films. While it's accepted that the original film is better, there are a number of opinions on this entry. Detractors tend to criticize this film for its inconsistent and angry tone that lacks the claustrophobic feel of the original. On the other hand, there are plenty of fans who like it for the new city setting, expanded world-building on the Predator, the more recognizable and entertaining cast members such as Creator/GaryBusey and Creator/BillPaxton, and the [[SoBadItsGood bizarre nature]] of the film, to the point there is a vocal minority that finds it better than the first. This divide has continued to grow over the years as [[Film/{{Predators}} two]] [[Film/ThePredator more]] sequels to the series and the ''Film/AlienVsPredator'' films were released and provided more options.

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The Predator standing atop a building during a thunderstorm, holding its spear and [[spoiler:Jerry's skull]] aloft and roaring while it is hit by lightning with [[HarmlessElectrocution no adverse effects]].

** [[PluckyComicRelief Jerry Lambert]] is by far the most popular character of the movie, primarily for being genuinely funny and one of the only truly likeable characters. It doesn't hurt that the character he [[{{Expy}} ripped off]] (Hudson from ''Film/{{Aliens}}'') was an EnsembleDarkhorse there as well.

** WordOfGod confirms that the sequel's "City Hunter" is the Predator equivalent of a teenager going through their rite of passage / graduation, while the original film's "Jungle Hunter" was a seasoned adult veteran. This is why the City Hunter is shorter and leaner than the Jungle Hunter, as well.

** WordOfGod confirms that the sequel's "City Hunter" is the Predator equivalent of a teenager going through his rite of passage / graduation, while the original film's "Jungle Hunter" was a seasoned adult veteran. This is why the City Hunter is shorter and leaner than the Jungle Hunter, as well.

* BadassDecay: Dutch, a tough-as-nails career soldier built like a brick house, was outmatched in a straight fight and had to outwit the Predator to beat it, but the one in this film is soundly defeated in combat by --badass though he is-- a paunchy detective who's pushing fifty. Arguably justified, though, in that Dutch had to go hand-to-hand while Harrigan gets hold of the Predator's razor-sharp disc to use against it, and Harrigan's opponent had suffered multiple shotgun rounds at point blank range shortly before.
** WordOfGod is that the sequel "City Hunter" is the Predator equivalent of a teenager going through his rite of passage / graduation, while the original "Jungle Hunter" was a seasoned adult veteran. This is why the City Hunter is shorter and leaner than the Jungle Hunter, as well.

* BadassDecay: Dutch, a tough-as-nails career soldier built like a brick shithouse, was outmatched in a straight fight and had to outwit the Predator to beat it, but the one in this film is soundly defeated in combat by --badass though he is-- a paunchy detective who's pushing fifty. Arguably justified, though, in that Dutch had to go hand-to-hand while Harrigan gets hold of the Predator's razor-sharp disc to use against it, and Harrigan's opponent had suffered multiple shotgun rounds at point blank range shortly before.

** The Predator's new weapons (The Smart Disc, Net Gun Spear Gun and Combi-Stick) are an object specific case with the Smart Disc and Net Gun in particular standing out for the utterly awesome kills they provide. This resulted in the spear and disc becoming staples of future Predator's arsenals in the films, video games and expanded universe materials alike. It helps that most of them had origins in the early drafts of the first movie.

* CultClassic: Torn apart critically, but has a sizeable amount of fans for doing something different from the first and providing solid backstory for the Predator that inspired countless spin-off works. Even many who hate this movies's guts will praise elements such as Music/AlanSilvestri's score and the cast.

** Jerry Lambert is said to have transferred over from the Rampart Division in order to see some action, and is generally regarded as a safer, less gritty assignment compared to what Mike and his fellow offers deal with. Rampart Division later became the focus of an investigation into what may easily be the most serious incident of police corruption in America's history, exposing the involvement of nearly a hundred officers in various crimes ranging from robbery to homicide. And for double the irony, the Rampart Scandal was also exposed [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rampart_scandal in 1997]].

** Jerry Lambert is said to have transferred over from the Rampart Division in order to see some action, and is generally regarded as a safer, less gritty assignment compared to what Mike and his fellow offers deal with. Rampart Division later became the focus of an investigation into what may easily be the most serious incident of police corruption in America's history, exposing the involvement of nearly a hundred officers in various crimes ranging from robbery to homicide. And for double the irony, the Rampart Scandal was exposed [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rampart_scandal in 1997]].

* OneSceneWonder: King Willie is easily the most memorable thing about the movie. The same goes with the Predator tribe at the end and the [[Franchise/{{Alien}} Xenomorph]] skull in the trophy room.

* CultClassic: Torn apart critically, but has a sizeable amount of fans for doing something different from the first. Even many who hate this movies's guts will praise elements such as Music/AlanSilvestri's score and the cast.

** The Predator's new weapons (The Smart Disc, Net Gun and Combi-Stick) are an object specific case with the Smart Disc and Net Gun in particular standing out for the utterly awesome kills they provide. This resulted in the spear and disc becoming staples of future Predator's arsenals in the films and expanded universe materials alike. They would also become a mainstay of a Predator character arsenal in video games based on this franchise, and the Alien vs Predator franchise.

* HarsherInHindsight: The film opens with a group of criminals who are heavily armed with automatic weapons managing to pin the police down for some time. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Hollywood_shootout In the year of 1997]].

** The Predator's new weapons (The Smart Disc, Net Gun and Combi-Stick) are an object specific case with the Smart Disc and Net Gun in particular standing out for the utterly awesome kills they provide. This resulted in the spear and disc becoming staples of future Predator's arsenals in the films and expanded universe materials alike.

** In another object specific case, the Xenomorph skull, which led to increased interest in the ''Franchise/AlienVsPredator'' materials to the point two films were made.

* TheScrappy: Leona, for being an incompetent, overly aggressive bitch to ''everyone'' [[FauxActionGirl to prove how badass she is]]. [[spoiler: Getting [[EnsembleDarkhorse Jerry]] killed did not help. And her surviving made it even worse.]]