Stephen Hopkins has directed some notable, if not outstanding, films. There was his breakthrough, A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child, Blown Away, The Ghost and the Darkness, Lost in Space, Under Suspicion, and The Reaping. Most are fun to a degree, but not high art, and the very same could be said for his Predator 2.
The original Predator is a bombastic, violent action film, but it also places a lot of interest in the gradual buildup. Predator 2 hits the ground running with action and seldom lets up. This leads to its narrative being occasionally clunky and filled with holes, even if the film is fun all the same.
Putting Reporters Right In The Middle Of A Gang War
Predator 2 opens on a turf war between the Colombian and Jamaican drug cartels. The battle has spilled into the streets, and the police are ridiculously outmatched. They pull out riot shields and the Colombians pull out a grenade launcher.
The cops being there makes complete sense, as does having reporters there, but only from a distance. In Predator 2, not one but two reporters are shown directly in the line of fire. If anything, the surrounding law enforcement presence would want them fully out of firing range, especially once assault rifles and explosives come out to play. However, the reporter's screaming of "Get me the f*** out of here!" is one of Predator 2's most relatably funny lines.
Hey, A**holes!
The Predator watches as Danny Glover's Lieutenant Michael Harrigan barrels towards the Colombian cartel in his police cruiser. Bullets ricochet off the body, glass flies into the vehicle, and Lt. Harrigan keeps going.
He then saves two fellow officers, nearly catching a flurry of bullets and flying debris. Still, the Predator watches. This means the Predator also gets to see Lt. Harrigan sneak behind four gang members then inexplicably yell "Hey, a**holes!" After giving away his position, losing every ounce of leverage he has, Lt. Harrigan still manages to take down all four heavily armed men. Predator 2 is probably the definitive Predator sequel, but some of its moments seriously strain credibility.
Maskless Infrared Vision
Predator 2 gets the creature's infrared sight right for the most part. However, towards the end, once it's been knocked out by Lt. Harrigan, there's a gaffe.
The Predator gets his consciousness back, but he's maskless. Even though he's bare-faced, the Predator can inexplicably see in infrared. This is incorrect, as without the mask the Predator can see only in flat red. The third act's chase scene through apartments and alleys shows a maskless Predator several times, so this was certainly something that could have been fixed or explained away via something like Predator contact lenses.
King Willy's Teeth
King Willie wasn't in Predator 2 much, but his presence loomed large until his death, one of the best kills in the Predator franchise.
However, in his final, headless shot, the audience gets a clear look at his teeth, and the mouth of the dummy head suddenly has sterling white chiclets. Up until that final shot, King Willie's teeth were shown to be small and yellow in close-up shots. With that being said, the juxtaposition of his scream over the Predator carrying his head is inventive and frightening.
Leaving A Police Badge On A Grave
Once officer Danny Archuleta has been killed by the Predator, Lt. Harrigan does some digging into King Willie's operation to see if there's a connection. However, there surprisingly isn't one, and Harrigan meets a dead end, as does King Willie.
Lt. Harrigan goes to the cemetery where Archuleta is buried and pays his respect, but he also does something very cinematic, and very illogical. He leaves Archuleta's badge on the man's grave, which is more or less an open invitation to commit a litany of felonies.
The Infrared Insulating Suit
One of the bigger tropes in the Predator movies is the importance of stealth and the creatures' infrared vision. Special Agent Peter Keyes and his doomed DEA posse enter a massive meat locker with the intention of freezing the monster. They plan to avoid being seen via the usage of infrared insulating suits.
This type of suit doesn't exist in the real world, because it's completely impossible. Humans need to radiate heat, otherwise, there'd be incubation to the point of death. These suits would negate that natural process, which would have just as serious a consequence as going up against a Predator.
Invisible Paxton
Bill Paxton's Detective Jerry Lambert has a fair amount to do throughout Predator 2, even if the character does ultimately feel underutilized. However, he gets a pretty great action set piece in the film's famous train scene, where the alien hunter mows down pickpockets and gun-toting civilians alike.
Amongst the casualties is, unfortunately, Det. Lambert, who somehow manages to go from one side of the train to the other before he's killed. Essentially, the officer walked right through the Predator, which seems unlikely, to say the least.