Predator 2 (Special Edition) (DVD)

With the pending release of Alien vs. Predator on DVD and the recent release of a Collector's Edition of Predator it is only fitting that we also get a re-release of Predator 2 in a 2-Disc Collector's Edition.

As a franchise Predator sort of fizzled due to the lackluster success of Predator 2. It neither had the action star draw of an Arnold Schwarzenegger, nor did it have the look that the first film had as it moved from the literal jungle to the concrete one.

Fortunately for the Predator franchise, one good film seemed to be enough as the Alien vs. Predator comic books kept the creature alive until late 2004 when it made its third big-screen appearance in AVP.

Now Predator 2 is here on DVD, making another attempt at your wallet and quite frankly, the movie may not be as good as the first, but the special features on this one are improved over the Special Edition of Predator. Where the first Predator boasted a large number of special features, primarily out-of-date documentaries, the second one offers up quality.

Along with the feature presentation, available with a Dolby 5.1 soundtrack as well as the ever popular DTS soundtrack, you also get two audio commentaries. The first features director Stephen Hopkins, who was actually the director of the Academy Award winning film The Ghost and the Darkness, but not necessarily for his duties as a director. The second commentary features the writers Jim Thomas and John Thomas, and while neither of these commentaries jump out of your speakers and grab you, fans of the franchise are sure to find some enjoyment in what they hear.

As for disc two, once you skip over all the gushing and heavy praise found in the making-of documentary you find some good bits inside the weapons featurette and the special effects featurettes, which give you a step-by-step look at how they made four separate scenes and the effects involved.

Capping off the features is a large gallery of trailers as well as a behind-the-scenes still gallery. The one feature I could have done without, but fans of the film are going to love, is the addition of extended "Hard Core" mock news reports as seen in the film, pointless and unnecessary in my estimation, but enjoyable for the die hards, which is who these features are for anyway.

Overall, watching the Predator take over a war torn LA is fun once, and then maybe again in another year, but if I want the Predator I am going to pop in the original, or if I am really desperate... AVP.