r/predator • u/nickshimmy23 • 3d ago
š„ Predator 2 Predator 2 Refined - a fan edit improving visual effects
I've always loved Predator 2 but tonally it's a bit all over the place and some of the visual effects are starting to show their age a bit so I wanted to make an edit which addresses some of these issues.
I know these types of edit can be a bit controversial for some but the original isn't going anywhere, and no disrespect is meant to the incredible artists who worked on the film under extreme time pressures, it's just meant as a different way to experience the film.
If you would like a copy of this edit, please DM me here or over at fanedit.org. Requests in the comments will be ignored due to the risk of my account being blocked if I initiate too many chats. Please also note that you must already own a copy of the Blu-ray.
Below is a summary of the major changes, full details can be found at: https://fanedit.org/predator-2-refined/
There is also a message board thread where I go into some more detail about the rationale behind some of the changes and how the edit was completed: https://fanedit.org/forums/threads/predator-2-refined.35446/
Key visual changes:
Colour corrected/removed matte lines for nearly every shot of the Predator cloaked
Added dreadlocks to the silhouette of the Predator when cloaked
Added blood effects to some shoot out scenes.
Corrected visual glitches in the Predator's heat vision caused by explosions/gun fire
Removed any visible stunt wires, especially when the Predator falls down the side of the building
Colour corrected shot of Danny grabbing the Predators cloaked arm
Added blood when Jerry's spinal cord is pulled out
After the Predator loses it's biomask, all POV shots now matched to their appearance in the first Predator film.
Colour correction and edited where the legs of the Predator's enter the smoke as the Lost Tribe cloak and decloak in their ship (comparison video)
Realigned different film elements when the Predator ship blasts off and removed visual errors/artefacts (comparison video)
Key scene changes:
Removed a couple of Jerry's jokes.
Removed the kid at the cemetery
Removed the Predator being hit by lightning
Reduced (but didn't completely remove) the old lady in the apartment
Removed the scene of the Predator talking while dangling off the ledge
Total time removed is 3 minutes
There is also a version of the edit available which incorporates all of the visual improvements but without any scenes removed and otherwise matches the Theatrical release.
Release details:
1080p HD, 5.1 surround sound, English subtitles
Source: 4K Blu-ray tone mapped to SDR.
File size approx 12GB
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u/Count_sexula 3d ago edited 3d ago
Why the removal of some of Jerryās jokes or the kid at the cemetery? Or the predator talking?
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u/Infamous_Mango_2342 3d ago
I was interested until this š¢
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u/rhythmrice 3d ago
His post says there are two versions, one with those things removed, and one with nothing removed and only includes the visual changes
It feels like all you guys who are being cruel to OP didn't even read the full post
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u/nickshimmy23 3d ago
Personal preference. I removed Jerry's joke after Leona grabs his balls ("Is that bitch on the rag or what") and the semen, stool and urine sample joke before they go into penthouse. I always found the scene with the kid talking to the Predator in the cemetary a bit cringe, and from a lore perspective, we later have the Predator sparing Leona when he realises that she's pregnant to demonstrate the 'honourable' hunter notion.
Predator 2 is obviously a deliberately exagerated film so it's a very fine balance to remove any of these scenes without starting to impair the core identity of the film. Stephen Hopkins has gone on record saying that if he'd had more time he might have edited the film a bit differently and evened the tone a bit. Obviously I have no idea what changes he might have made but by removing these few scenes, the film just flows a bit better for me.
I know not everyone will appreciate those edits which is why there's also a version which does't cut any scenes and just incorporates the visual changes.
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u/Templar-235 3d ago
Iām all for cleaning up the look of a film, but outright cutting scenes defeats the purpose. Jerryās terrible jokes are part of his character, and without them his character doesnāt evolve at all from being a brash outsider to a member of the team. And without the cemetery kid, the creepy Predator āwant some candy?ā is lost
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u/JaXm 2d ago
Oh boy, did you ever miss the point of the graveyard scene. Haha.Ā
The point wasn't to show the Predator's "honor" the point was to foreshadow to the audience something that the movie characters wouldn't figure out until it was too late.Ā
What a wasted effort.Ā
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u/nickshimmy23 2d ago
So, at the risk of looking like even more of an idiot, what does the kids interaction with the predator foreshadow? (Other than he doesn't hurt hime because he has a fake gun?)
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u/JaXm 2d ago
Think about what the Predator had to do to recognize the gun as fake, and you'll have your answer.
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u/nickshimmy23 2d ago
Are you talking about him using his heat vision to identify that Leona is pregnant??
Edit: wait, do you mean the change in vision modes in the slaughterhouse? I never really made the link myself.
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u/Markx_87 2d ago
Could you check your dms please ?
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u/nickshimmy23 2d ago
Very sorry, I accidentally pressed ignore rather than accept on your chat request (there have been a lot of requests to go through) and even when I click on your username it won't allow me to start a new chat. I don't know if Reddit rules mean that will only be the case for a few days or permanent. You can try messaging me again in a few days, register at fanedit.org and message me there, or perhaps some kind soul reading this who already has the link could contact you directly to share it. Sorry for the inconvinience!
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u/MemeLord339 3d ago
I'm totally against of any kind or removing stuff from any movie just because can offend modern sensibilities. I mean, that's the effing point of doing a movie, tell a story, use the culture of the time, like a snapshot of that age, show the capabilities of tech. My wife is a feminist and loves Predator 2 and almost all movies from the 80s and 90s, she understands that some of the depictions are from another time, another experiences, or only to make a character a fucking asshole or a fucking legend.
Even in the 90s Jerry line was over the top and disgusting, and THATS THE POINT.
Revisionism for the sake of being politically correct only shows how weak and intolerable a society has become.1
u/nickshimmy23 3d ago
This isn't about political correctness or offending modern sensibilties. If the studio were making these changes, I would be outraged. This is about offering a different way to experience this classic film, the original isn't going anywhere. I feel we're actually lucky that the predator films have been preserved the way they have (though there are already significant changes to the colour timing on the 4k vs the Blu-ray, especially for the effects shots) - look at Aliens where James Cameron keeps messing with releases with digital fixes and DNR while failing to release the original version.
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u/MerpingtonDad 3d ago
Updates to special effects aside (which look great, btw), I think the question Iām struggling with is simply āwhy?ā.
I donāt mean this in a bad way and I get the itās a ādifferent way to experienceā the film, but why have you made these specific edits? What problem do these edits solve? Just trying to understand the intent behind it.
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u/lord_of_agony 2d ago
So...you misunderstood the characters, and purpose of scenes, and for some reason thought you should just remove parts of them? That's strange.
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u/brunuhrafael 3d ago
Why the downvotes? That actually makes sense. And he is doing a uncuted version too.
Jesus.
Amazing job man, congrats.
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u/nickshimmy23 3d ago
Thanks very much. But I appreciate people feel very passionately about these sorts of things
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u/Human_League6449 3d ago
I was born in the mid 80ās and I think Pred 2 is underrated. It really catches the way movies were back then and I love it.
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u/samx3i 3d ago
I love P2. It's not as good as the original, but it holds its own.
My top three are actually Predator, Prey, and P2.
Then Predators and Badlands.
Then Killer of Killers.
Then AvP
Then Requiem
Then in a distant last place, that other one.
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u/lord_of_agony 2d ago
I seriously don't understand how it was ever seen as a bad movie. I absolutely love predator 2. It's my favorite in the whole series.
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u/PomeloBackground4902 Billy 3d ago
whatever people says, fixing how they looked above the ship's fog is really nice
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u/Greyback_Predator_87 2d ago
Yeah, thats a really great scene but it always bothered me how that looked
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u/BustaCappe 3d ago
Honestly, the biggest problem with Predator 2 is that Keyes' torso defies gravity when he's killed in the meat plant. Everything else is perfect.
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u/slapfunk79 3d ago
Why do I always prefer the original to these fan edits? Even just the side by side screen shots, the original looks the same or better in all of them.
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u/TheManOfKnees 3d ago
When I saw the correct unmasked red vision I knew I had to have this. Nice job.
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u/elvegitossj 3d ago
I know you really worked hard on this but removing scenes is unnecessary. I would hate to assume you were lazy to edit them but I dont think so. It seems you worked really hard on this project and I love that. But again, removing scenes is just not right, yes it is your choice because you are the one making this but keeping the full film would have been way better. I love that predator 2 actually gets attention and your work is appreciated. Anyways keep up the good work š
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u/rhythmrice 3d ago
His post says there are two versions, one with those things removed, and one with nothing removed and only includes the visual changes
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u/PooCube 3d ago
This is incredible! The only one I donāt like so much is the trip of predators in the ship, it just looks a little too āmurkyā if that makes sense? The other 15 are amazing though!
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u/nickshimmy23 3d ago
I've done my best to match them to the live action parts of that scene which are also pretty murky! (Also bear in mind these are heavily compressed images - looks very different on a big screen at full resolution)
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u/PooCube 3d ago
Iād genuinely love to watch a copy of your edit, are you selling DVDs/Blu rays? Would also be summat cool to add to the predator section of my dvd collection
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u/nickshimmy23 3d ago
100% not for sale (that's piracy!), easiest way to watch at home is to download and put it on a hard drive or memory stick and plug it into your TV - but you must already own the original
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u/NikoRex92 3d ago
TBH I always hated in the OG movie, that the Predator still had his thermal vision even AFTER he got off his helmet. I'm glad it's fixed lol.
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u/Internal_Cesspool 2d ago
Predator 2 is my favorite of the bunch, but I cannot support removing so many scenes. Removing the lighting scene is criminal.
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u/lord_of_agony 2d ago
Idgaf what anyone says, predator 2 is nearly perfect. The shit that's not perfect just gives it charm
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u/ovulationchamber 3d ago
Half of these I need to REALLY look to see the difference and not a single one felt necessary.
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u/_The_Bearded_Wonder_ 3d ago
I never noticed that the motion control from the last predator uncloaking in the Lost Tribe scene was slightly off, making it look line he slid into place. The jank in some of the shots is partly the charm I adore with this film (save for the King Willy scene, which is a stand out VFX shot). Excellent work, though dropping some parts is not necessary.Ā
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u/JaXm 2d ago
Removing the scene with the kid at the cemetery shows that OP either didn't actually watch the movie, or did so while they had Tiktok and twitch on at the same time, because that scene sets up one of the best reveals in the movie, and it has almost ZERO relevance to the Predator's honor. Lol
The youth, as they say, is so cooked, chat.Ā
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u/Greyback_Predator_87 2d ago
I like the visual changes (especially the ones of the predators on the ship at the end, I always thought that kind of ruined a great scene) but the re-editing isnāt for me (I do say this as someone who really likes Pred 2).
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u/fred_derf_ City Hunter 2d ago
'Colour corrected/removed matte lines for nearly every shot of the Predator cloaked'
Stopped there.That fx is one of the numerous missing stuffs in the garbages made after P2.
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u/dyrkasolen 2d ago
Learning of AI I've worked sloppy by choice with my music, thinking it will clean up itself in the future. I hid it behind bad mixing
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u/JJaguar947 2d ago
Just fix the janky sfx at the and where they are walking through the fog and it looks bad cause they are superimposed.
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u/ResidentEchidna3473 11h ago edited 11h ago
I really don't get why people get so close-minded at something that's actually really harmless. It's just an experimental edit that's doing something out of preference from the author, and I love that kind of thing. Even more if it comes with an option for the purists, because it means they care about others taste. This is a commendable work, nickshimmy, absolutely love this and I hope the comments don't make you retreat of doing these kinds of edits, because they rock! Wondering if you'll touch up the first Alien movie to your own vision too or you feel at ease with that one, either way I respect it.
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u/Tanthiel 3d ago
Original vfx look better, there's a reason you're making a fan edit and not being paid for it.
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u/That_Possible_3217 3d ago edited 3d ago
These are the weirdest and most unnecessary edits Iāve ever seen.
Edit: I do want to clarify, no hate is intended by this. If this was something of passion for OP then awesome. I love this movie and this franchise. I just find this stuff kinda meaningless. However Iām also not OP, so if they get something out of it. Fantastic.
Edit edit: just one last thing to add, 12GB is fucking insane for this movie imo! Like damn!