Aliens Vs Predator Requiem
Tempo grade: D+
Film review by Rick Romancito, The Taos News
The idea sounds really cool — pitting two of science fiction cinema’s greatest monsters against each other with present-day earth as their battleground. But why did the first “Alien Vs. Predator” movie, and now the second “Aliens Vs Predator – Requiem,” seem so inept? Basically, it’s because the trilogy of films that preceded them were so good. The first “Alien” picture was directed by Ridley Scott, the second by James Cameron and the third by David Fincher, each top notch directors and each providing an interesting and inventive take on the classic creature feature. Add “Predator” by “Die Hard” director John McTiernan and you have the makings of a major league smackdown.
Then, as is so often the case, a gaggle of marketing hacks probably had a meeting and hatched the idea of doing a “King Vs. Godzilla” on these bad boys, starting of course with a comic book in the late 1980s and a video game a few years later (according to the lore, in “Predator 2,” an alien xenomorph head apparently made a brief appearance as a trophy).
Certainly a great deal of talent went into creating both mechanical and digital incarnations of them for the new movies, but what about a decent story? The first match-up (2004) was set in the Antarctic within a mysterious Rubik’s Cube-like pyramid that indicated earth’s historic link to the Predator culture’s coming of age warrior ritual. Having a human female (Sanaa Latham) be the sole survivor who gained the respect of the Predators meant there might be another story featuring her. Maybe, maybe not.
In this sequel, the only thing that provides a connection is that at the end of the first movie, a Predator aboard the space craft heading back to its home planet has been impregnated by an Alien xenomorph. So, at the beginning of this one, that little guy has burst out and created havoc on the ship, forcing it to crash land back on earth. This one has taken on some of the genetic characteristics of his host, which means he now has dreadlocks and is hard to distinguish between him and his foe. In the meantime, a Predator back on the home world gets word of the crash and immediately rockets to earth. This dude is a “cleaner,” a creature who comes in with a vial of blue juice that dissolves any evidence of extraterrestrial presence.
Sounds interesting, right? Well, all that grinds to a halt when writer Shane Salerno decided that its setting, Gunnison, Colo. (actually British Columbia), had to feature a bunch of no-name stock slasher film characters caught up in a teen soap opera situation. One has to suppose this was an effort to snag an obvious demographic, but it is lame, needlessly mean spirited (targeting pregnant women and small children), and totally boring, even if it does feature a blonde hottie in her underwear. Plus, directors Greg and Colin Strause — who operate the Hydraulx digital effects house out of Santa Monica, Calif. responsible for enhancements in movies like “300,” “Poseidon” and “X-Men: The Last Stand” — cannot shoot their way out of a paper bag. Murky, badly lit, filmed with a shaky cam that wouldn’t pass muster on “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” they deserve to have their Director’s Guild cards yanked.
The irony of all this is that I might have been genuinely disappointed with this movie if I invested some degree of expectation into the AVP franchise. Guess how much? There was one bright moment, though. Before it was screened there was a trailer for “Hellboy 2,” directed by Guillermo del Toro. Now, there’s a sequel worth waiting for.
“Aliens Vs. Predator: Requiem” is rated R for violence, gore and language.
You know, I hate to agree, but AVP was a let down for me from the very first film. Before the original came out, I went back and watched the first two alien movies and both of the Predator movies. In the second film, an alien-shaped skull does INDEED appear on the Predator ship, establishing a connection between the two. After that, aliens and predators fought across every medium (comic, video games, whatever!) for all of the 90s. When I heard there would finally be a film, I felt that it was the payoff to a decade of waiting.
Fat chance.
I haven’t gotten around to seeing the second one yet, and after reading your review and drawing my own conclusions from the trailer, I might not spend the 8 bucks and wait till later. The idea of the Predator/Alien hybrid sounds interesting, but really I thought it was just a recylced idea from the Alien movie where Ripley gives birth to a half-human alien.
Enjoyed the blog!
Great site by the way! I’ll definitely check back!
I have to admit that I felt the sequel to this movie would be the one shining hope for the AVP franchise.
There was, indeed, an alien skull at the climax of Predator 2, and after that brief crossover, aliens and predators fought across the mediums for a decade.
AVP was sorely lacking and that, combined with your blog,makes me hesitant to pay 8 bucks. Also, the idea of the predator/alien hybrid sounds like a recycled idea of the alien/human hybrid with Ripley in the Alien film.
There was a Dark Horse comic series about the Aliens vs Predators, in the early 90′s that was way better than Alien 3, A V P # 1 and Im assuming AVP-R, or whatever name they gave this lame movie to.