Alien vs. Predator: Requiem (imdb | get the dvd
Alas, the combination of two wonderful sci-fi franchises yields movies that stink like piles of alien poo. The first Alien vs. Predator I didn’t even make through entirely. Its PG13 rating struck me like a glaring Scarlet Letter (not to mention director Paul W.S. Anderson), and I shunned the flick to non-viewing hell. Of course, AVP’s crappy reviews didn’t help my opinion of it, and the few scenes that I did have a chance to see were only in passing - to this day I try to forget that movie exists.
With Alien vs. Predator: Requiem, we get a slightly beefier R rating which includes greater alien gore and human dismemberment. AVP 2 is by no means a great movie, but for what its worth, you get what you paid for. I had few filmic expectations other than seeing two iconic alien lifeforms fight one another whilst destroying humans. On that front, AVP 2 delivers the goods. Yes, all the characters are forgettable and none of the acting is notable, but the violence is there in measurable amounts of alien goo and blood splatter. Beware that Requiem does not hold back at all - children and women are definitely targets of alien attacks.
So AVP 2 is more of a fanboy fantasy rather than a carefully constructed movie, and that’s ok. For me, problems arise when the direction is uncreative and completely dependent on allusion to previous films. Requiem goes overboard with references to the previous Alien and Predator movies. With a male protagonist named “Dallas” and a Ripley look/act-alike female protagonist, the movie seems a bit uninspired. Finally, the ending that “explains all” seems almost sacrilegious to the Alien franchise as its implications affect our understanding of the Weyland-Yutani company. Negligent use of allusion throughout the film seriously hindered my own fan appreciation of AVP2.
AVP2 isn’t a good movie, and I’m kind of mad that I paid admission to see it. Alas, gone are the days of Arnold and Sigourney triumphing over extraterrestrial monsters. That said, the film wasn’t all bad for the fan within and it was good to see some hardcore sci-fi action/horror. Requiem’s major shortcoming came in the form of sloppy direction and uncreative allusions. I can’t say I recommend this flick unless you’re a big fan of the old franchises or of the first AVP. If you fall into one or both of those categories, AVP2 may be worth a ganders - or at least a rainy day rental.
2.5 shoulder cannon shots out of 5
December 27th, 2007 at 9:32 am
It was definitely smart of them to increase the rating, so that the main attraction of the film could be amped up. But this is always the problem when “sequels” are made decades later - they always fail to capture the magic of the originals. To quote Crow on MST3K, can we pass a law that requires films to be made by filmMAKERS?