Predator 2 (1990)

When a vicious Columbian gang is butchered inside their hideout the police are confused by the apparent random gunshots and lack of suspects. However, times are hard for the LAPD as they are in the middle of a gang war and any reduction in the number of bad guys is a blessing. When a rival Jamaican gang is also butchered in a similar manner the police suspect a crazed vigilante is on the loose.

When Lieutenant Mike Harrigan looses a partner during his investigations, he becomes determined to find and take down the vigilante. However, this is no vigilante and he's not local to the neighbourhood. The predator has returned and rather than the jungle, he's got plenty of gun tooting people to hunt on the violent city streets of LA. But this time the authorities are expecting him and, desperate to capture his weapons, they are finally starting to close the net. The last thing they need is a LAPD cop sniffing around.

For an aging film the picture quality is surprisingly good. Whereas many films suffer from grain problems during night time scenes this disc manages to produce some excellent results, even when stream is present in the picture. Although the majority of the action takes place at night and in dark locations, there is still plenty of colour and picture detail and the bit-rate remains above average throughout the film.

The sound matches the quality of the picture with a good all round performance. There's plenty of activity in the rear channels and this used to its full effect during the scenes where the predator is hunting his prey and it is also used well by the musical score. It really heightened the tension in the film. The dialogue is crisp and clear in the centre channel, although Leona could sound muffed at time, but I'll put that down to her Spanish accent.

Although the menu is scored it remains a static and silent affair. The extras, to say the least, are very poor with only the Theatrical Trailer provided. With Fox's other newer titles coming laden with interesting material, I can only assume that they don't particularly care about their back catalogue material. Unlike some other companies, at least they are not charging full price for their older material.

Danny Clover is perfect for the hard man role and, at the time, was fresh from his Lethal Weapon films. His character more or less carries on from where Roger Murtaugh left off and together will the, yet again, expendable Bill Baxton makes for some great action and one liners. If you loved the first film then you're going to love this one too, even if there is no sign of our Arnie.

I'm not sure why this disc is not available to buy separately from the Predator Box-set. Although it didn't receive a particularly warm reception in its initial release, and indeed the many DVD magazines still don't get excited about it, I still think it is a cracking film with an interesting ending.