Aliens vs. Predator - Requiem (Unrated Edition) Reviews

• Apology Accepted...Thank You, Brothers Strause!

  
  By A2JU4FUSW1PBEC on 2007-12-26
  I absolutely hated the first AvP. That's quite a shock, considering that anyone who knows me personally knows that I have simply adored the Alien and Predator franchises for the majority of my 25 years. But what happens when you take two of the most violent, most terrifying and most successful film franchises and slam them together? Well, the first time around we got one hour and twenty minutes of sewage on a film reel. Where Paul W.S. Andersen clearly did not care to do any research on either franchise, the Brothers Strause manage to pull a few punches and deliver us a winner!
  
  Don't be fooled...this is not a great movie by any means. The whole point of the film is that, if you are a fan of either of these monstrous creatures, you will not be disappointed in the action. Taking up precisely where the previous movie left off, we find our young hybrid achieving adulthood rather quickly (a faux pas that Andersen also pulled on us), and causing an incident which results in the ship crashing down to earth, in a rural colorado town. Within one day, all Hell breaks loose as the small, unassuming town is quickly beset on all side by an infestation that no exterminator would ever want to tackle...except for one. Receiving the ship's distress call, a lone Predator is dispatched to earth to take care of the infestation, and clean up the mess that was caused by their mistake.
  
  If you're expecting a groundbreaking plot and Oscar-worthy performances, be warned...you will not find them in this film. What you WILL find is the movie that should have been made in the first place, albeit in a slightly different setting. Almost seeming like an apology for the previous train wreck delivered by Paul Andersen, the Brothers Strause take the franchise in a new direction with a few shocking (and horrifying) surprises. Most if not all fans will be very happy with the movie's hard "R" rating, a component severely lacking from the first film.
  
  With an R rating, expect buckets of gore and tons of violence. Both franchises are brought right back to their roots with all the gore you would expect, with some horrifying twists thrown in for good measure. AvP:R borrows much from the previous movies in both franchises, as well borrowing some elements from movies such as Species. Based on that, I would highly recommend that you do not take your pregnant wife or friend to see this movie.
  
  There are some key differences between Requiem and the first film that are apparent right from the start. The lone Predator in this film is quite possibly the most fearsome Predator yet seen in any film. Though the pure favoritism for the Aliens displayed in the first movie is gone, we do not get favoritism for the Predators in this movie either...both sides deal significant damage to one another, with plenty of death to go around. With humans caught in the middle, it isn't pretty for anyone involved. The design of both species is much better as well...instead of the rubber muppet-faced Predators from the first film, we get an impressive, monstrous visage that has seen its share of battles. The Aliens are also quite impressive, looking very similar to their Aliens roots. The Hybrid is a unique, ferocious monstrosity with a shocking new twist in the Alien lifecycle mutation.
  
  None of the actors in this film are of any particular renown, and seem to be the type you'd find in a Sci-Fi original film or a(*shudder*) Lifetime movie. Many people hace complained of the "Dawson's Creek" style drama that manages to leak into the film at several points. Personally I didn't find it all that bad, but the sappy drama is laid on a bit thick. Being that these actors aren't quite mainstream, you definitely won't be getting memorable performances. Just take solace in the fact that you won't have to deal with it anymore when the Aliens get their hands on them.
  
  With that said, the movie itself is a fast-paced, action-packed hour and a half. The carnage begins in less than 20 minutes, and it just never seems to stop. Contrary to what some have said, the action is easy to follow. The battles are far less gimmicky than the first film, where we had Predators built like clumsy linebackers trying to pull off Kung Fu and Tae Kwan Do manuevers. The Predator is once again a lean, muscular killing machine much akin to his previous Predator film counterparts. His skill with weaponry and hand-to-hand combat is intense, and the battles with the Aliens never cease to be entertaining.
  
  Overall, the movie was a drastic improvement over the original. It is by no means a great movie, and it is definitely not what I envisioned what Aliens vs Predator would be when it finally hit the big screen when the comic was first released nearly 20 years ago. However, it is definitely a tremendous leap forward for the franchise, and it more than makes up for the sour taste left in the mouths of Alien and Predator fans everywhere. While Paul Andersen and Fox politics managed to dump both franchises into the deepest, darkest sewer, the Brothers Strause have managed to pull it back into the light of day. It can't quite wash the stench of the first film out of it, but it was by no means a let down.
  
  I absolutely hated the first film and will never forgive Andersen and Fox for almost ruining both franchises, but with this highly entertaining sequel, we have an absolute adrenalin blast with some element of horror and suspense thrown in to action romp akin to Aliens. The film ends with yet another ambiguous opening for a sequel that ties both franchises together.
  
  Lets take some time to sum it all up:
  
  Pros:
  - It's rated "R"...and it's definitely hard "R"
  - Non-stop action from start to finish
  - The entire movie is essentially an appreciative nod to previous films in both franchises
  - No Predator and human hand-holding romps through fields of flowers
  - Enough blood to quell the thirsts of even the most parched of the bloodthirsty
  - Excellent creature design
  - No Paul Andersen
  - Excellent special effects
  
  Cons:
  - Like Andersen, the Brothers Strause clearly haven't researched the Alien life-cycle (chestburster to adult in less than 10 minutes?)
  - The entire cast seems to have been dredged from the bottom of Hollywood's B-list
  - Pacing can be a bit too fast at times
  
  If you hated the first film but you're still holding out hope, then don't waste any time...see it now!
  
  
  

• Thanks goodness I'm not the only one who thinks they need to watch this with night vision

  
  By A3C6CZC2JP67VK on 2008-05-21
  This is one of the worst films I have ever seen (try to see) and a shameful abuse of one of the greatest movie monsters of all time. The Alien is no longer scary. Gone is the elegance. Gone is the menace and chilling patience. Made by people who know how to make FX but have no real idea about how to make a movie. I sometimes wondered if they were making fun of what had gone before, like a Zucker/Abrams flick as it seemed to veer into what could be construed as parody. Sadly, no.
  
  I knew going in it would be bad, and that it would probably be yet another nail in the coffin of my favorite sci-fi sequels ("Alien" in my case, though I do enjoy the "Predator" films). I had seen the "redband" trailer, and stared in horror at its frenetic menagerie of 80s teen slasher clichés; I even watched the "exclusive" online clip of the film's first five minutes, and hoped that they had been edited down from a better-paced original (as it turned out, they had not). But even so, I gave the movie a shot. Why? I'm not sure. Perhaps because if a beloved artifice that one has admired for years is to be systematically dismantled and thrown on the trash heap, one should be there to watch it burn. At least, I thought, with my expectations this low, this movie's directors would have to try very hard to undercut them.
  
  They did. I mean really, they must have tried hard. It takes some kind of effort to take two of the most durable mythologies in modern scifi and make them a backdrop to a pizza guy's coming of age. Seriously. That is the only discernible story-arc in this entire film. Truth be told I could forgive even that if the characters hadn't came pre-assembled right out of the teen movie stock barrel. Instead this film spends 40 minutes trying to make us care whether Smarmy Teen gets it off with Hot Blonde before Blond Bully Ex-Boyfriend finds out. Thank God he has Troubled Ex-Con Brother (who trumps in along with his buddy, Nice Cop) to help him out once the aliens (who arrive courtesy of "disturbing" evisceration of Happy Hunting Dad and his son, Curious Preteen) start to take out the population (such as Mumbling Bum Who No One Will Ever Believe and Dense Cop Who Keeps Looking In The Dark After Everyone Else Has Left). They soon meet up with Screaming Bereft Mother and Military Chick, who saves her daughter Cute Little Girl after her husband Wussy New Man is vivisected in line with tradition.
  
  Honestly, with this zoo of automated plot-bots to manage, how do the aliens and the predators (actually a Predator) get a look in? Well in truth, they don't. Very little time is spent developing either character (and let's face it, since neither character actually talks, that isn't surprising) and any tension built up between them is quickly dissipated as the film returns to the interminable "I Know What You Did Last Summer" slasher plot. I'm not sure what sort of budget this had but you can see that money spent on each subsequent Alien or Predator film is getting less & less, with average special effects, no name actors, bland locations & surprisingly cheap looking production values. Please stop embarrassing yourselves even further.
  
  
  

• [3.5] Not as bad as you've been lead to believe, but . . .

  
  By AZCDCO6KK2T81 on 2008-01-17
  not nearly as good as it could have been either as this entry into both franchises returns a bit more to its roots in look and feel and to a strong R rating for violence.
  
  This sequel to the previous AVP film picks up right where the last one left off and that is with a mutant alien/predator bursting out of the chest of the dead predator on his ship from the previous film. As I've been doing lately, I will dispense with the plot summary as this is no epic or great quality film that requires any real in-depth analysis even though it is fun entertainment. It's simply a satisfying sci-fi/horror flick with non-stop action as these two different aliens battle for supremacy in and underneath a small hick town south of nowhere.
  
  As you may have read from many of the mixed reviews on here, this film has its hits and misses which resulted in so-so reviews and a rather lukewarm reception from fans of these two aliens.
  
  The Hits:
  
  (1) Great action sequences.
  (2) Very good special effects and make-up.
  (3) A cast of B actors that are both believable and rather likable.
  (4) The return to R violence (kind of a necessity with this genre).
  (5) The mutant alien is a great idea and played out nicely here.
  (6) Numerous memorable and effective moments (you'll never forget the maternity ward scene!).
  (7) The dark cinematography and rainy sequences is something of a return to the earlier Alien flicks (although a bit overdone here - see #1 below). It does create tension and it's a nice salute to the prior Alien films, but it also has its limitations.
  
  The Misses:
  
  (1) Okay, there is dark and then there "I can't see a darn thing" dark. While it's nice to see some homage paid to the earlier Alien films which were all dark and a bit wet (which can create an incredibly tense atmosphere), this film does go a bit too far (in an effort to save money?). I don't think it's as bad as some on here have claimed, but it is definitely a bit too dark.
  (2) Those involved with this film have claimed to "research" both franchises so that this film could be more accurate than the previous AVP film; however, there are numerous errors within this one too (i.e. the chestbursting sequences happen too soon after infection in contrast to ALL the previous Alien films --mutant alien notwithstanding).
  (3) A predictable and somewhat flat ending.
  
  For some the negatives overwhelm the positives and for others vice versa. I'm one of the "others." Heck, it's mindless entertainment for those who enjoyed the previous flicks, but are not obsessed with them. I had a generally good time with this film as I didn't expect much from it and, therefore, I got more than I expected.
  
  To each his own. :o)
  
  

• Mother of Zeus, this film is terrible

  
  By A2ICW5OUWX2A2V on 2008-01-23
  I spent a good ten minutes trying to come up with a witty and creative way to start this review, but failed. Therefore, because there's no real easy way to say it, I'm just going to get this one fact out in the open.
  
  Alien vs Predator: Requiem is a terrible, terrible, TERRIBLE film, easily among the most disappointing and most unexciting action films I've ever seen, and quite possibly the worst film of 2007.
  
  ***
  
  Why is it so very, very hard to make a good Alien vs Predator movie? That's a question I think a lot of Xenomorph and Yautja fans are going to be asking themselves that question a lot as they walk out of theaters shaking their heads and wondering how this film even got off the ground.
  
  As a sequel to the original Alien Vs Predator (which I will admit to enjoying tremendously), AVPR was supposed to be an apology for the original, a return to everything Xenomorph and Yautja fans love...menacing creatures, dark, creepy, isolated, and dark environments. Action, blood, gore, guts, chestbursters, guns, plasma cannons, 'Get to the choppa!' lines. It even has the first screen appearance of the Predalien, a creature seen frequently in the non-film AVP franchise...and yet, while it has all these elements, the film fails completely, missing the mark on almost all fronts and ending up a dark, poorly edited, confusing and unsatisfying mess.
  
  The film gets off to a very good start, picking up immediately after the conclusion of the previous AVP film. Scar is dead, his ship and fellow Yautja on their way back to their home planet. Yet, as those who watched the previous film know, Scar happens to be host to a new type of Xenomorph...a vicious combination of the predators and the xenomorphs, the predalien. Emerging from his chest, this new beastie quickly goes on a rampage and the spaceship falls back to earth, crash landing in the remote mountains of Colorado...and near a small town isolated from the rest of the world. Within the span of a few minutes facehuggers escape, a predator on the Yautja's home planet heads to earth, and the unsuspecting humans of this small Colorado town are completely unaware of the danger now ramming itself down their faces.
  
  With all these elements, it's almost inconceivable that the film would fail. The directors, the Brothers Strauss talked at great length at how they were going back to the feel of the original movies and gave the general impression that they had done their homework about the two franchises. Yet the end result mirrors nothing the two said. It's as if they were trying to put on a front of trying to convince the fans that they knew what they were doing, yet knew at the same time that the film was turning out very poorly. Rather then being a suspenseful, action packed film, AVPR is a mess where half the time it's difficult to tell what's going on.
  
  I'm going to be blunt...AVPR is poorly shot. With all the close ups and above the waist shots of the aliens and predator, I got the impression that the filmmakers were trying to cover up the fact that the creatures apparently wern't working well when they were moving around, so they apparently hoped we wouldn't mind if we saw them close up and almost never full body. The predalien for example, fully appears on screen only twice if my memory serves me correctly. Considering the previous films, not just in the AvP franchise but the predator and alien franchise as well with it's large mix of wide, close up and medium shots, AVPR shows us the least of the creatures and considering what's come before it's very noticeable and quite irritating how we never see the aliens running around, scurrying, jumping, etc. Having a lot of the action shots be handheld and shaky makes me feel nauseous and dizzy from how the camera shakes so much. The cinematography here is, for the most part, poor, save for a few gorgeous shots of the town and the surrounding mountains.
  
  But the camera work isn't helped at all by what has to be THE WORST lighting in a major Hollywood film I've ever seen. Lighting, a fundamental and vital part of film making, is generally a difficult feature to get the hang of and very difficult to master. While the daytime scenes in the film are fine, it's the night scenes in the second half of the film that are bad. Dark, dark, dark, and more dark are the color platelets you'll see here. The hospital sequence near the end of the film is particularly notable as there are a few shots where you literally cannot tell what the hell is going on, seeing fuzzy, out of focus high contrast human shapes moving around, along with vague alien shapes. For a student film, this can be acceptable because the student is still learning the ropes. But for a major motion picture? That's pretty much unacceptable, especially considering that your audience is supposed to be able to see what's going on. Your audience is not supposed to be squinting, trying to make out dark shapes moving around on a dark background.
  
  When you combine the bad cinematography with the bad lighting, it's a predictably bad combination. Yet, the editing between the two, which relies on very quick, rapid fire cuts makes it an outright disastrous combination, where you can't see what's going on and fast cuts don't help at all. So on the base levels of production values, AVPR fails utterly.
  
  The story and characters, as you can probably guess, don't help either. We have a large cast of human characters, but almost all of them are completely uninteresting. There's the ex-con out of prison, the marine lady back from Iraq or whatever, the high school jock and his croonies, the panicking lady, the little girl, etc. As you might have guessed, all of them are pretty much cookie cutter characters with some attempt given to give them some depth, but failing pretty badly. I found myself interested only in the policeman and think that perhaps the only human characters should have been him and perhaps the mom and kid. You don't really care for anyone else, as they're introduced sorely to die. Literally. There's one charachter about 2/3rds of the way through the film who shows up, says something along the lines of "I couldn't help them because I was scared!", is given a gun, then dies, all with a screen time of approximately four minutes. I literally laughed at how silly it was.
  
  And the story? Well, the predator needs to kill the aliens. The end. Pretty basic and uninspiring, but really, we don't expect a very deep and engaging plotline for these kind of movies. I do wish there were more fight scenes and far, far less humans, but at this point it's kinda moot.
  
  Which brings us to the last big point: Since this is a film about aliens fighting predators, how does it turn out? Poorly. There are more fights this time around then the previous film, but as said before, the lighting, camera work and editing make almost all the fight scenes a chore to watch as you try to see what's going on. Not even a final one on one fight between the predator and predalien can save the film and by that time I just didn't care anymore and wanted the film to end so I could get out of the theater...but then the film brings a rather unexpected and unwelcome twist...it borrows the climax of the film from another film almost completely! This is, in effect, the only real shock of the film...seeing an ending borrowed from another film that I won't reveal here (but if you've been following a certain high successful film trilogy over the past few years, you'll recognize it instantly).
  
  There is one good thing about AVPR, and that it has a large amount of blood and gore which should delight fans of such things. People are killed by the dozens and in gruesome ways (you've no doubt heard about the pregnant woman by now so I won't elaborate on her), with one actually being a bit jumpy (involving a Shuriken). So the gore is good...but it's a tiny drop in a a chaotic hurricane of disaster.
  
  As the film finally, mercifully comes to an end, not even the introduction of a new and semi-important charachter with semi-ridiculous dialog can save it. When the film shot to black and the credits rolled I instantly got out of my seat and walked out of the theater in disgust at the amount of money I wasted watching this film.
  
  Avoid this film at ALL costs. Don't even rent it at the video store when it comes out on DVD. Go watch the original AVP instead. Heck, go watch Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection. AVPR has taken the place of worst film in both the Alien and Predator franchises with it being a completely uninspired, boring, poorly lit and hard to watch film.
  
  Let us now hope that Fox kills off the franchise for good...or at least bring back Ridly Scott, James Cameron, Sigourney Weaver and/or Arnold Schwarzenegger to try and salvage what they can.
  
  

• Requiem for a Spleen (aka, Night of the Predatory Aliens)

  
  By A3ROE64EVHDTTV on 2008-03-05
  The Good Things:
  -Definately more action, special effects, and gore.
  -Predator has more goodies.
  -Alien/Predator hybrid monster gets to wreak all sorts of havoc.
  -For that matter, all of the creatures get to wreak all sorts of havoc.
  -Even the military gets to blow some things up.
  -This is the first time you get to see the predator homeworld.
  -This is also the first time you get to see average people encountering aliens or predators (main characters are not military, spacemen, androids, commandos, explorers, or anything else fancy).
  -At the very end, there is a reference to the Yutani group (which later merges with Wayland), thus continuing to correspond to the Alien saga. Also leaves the movie open for a sequel.
  -The rest of the film stays true to the original concepts of the Alien/Predator sagas.
  
  The Bad Things:
  -Camera moves were shaky at some points, and lighting is very dark. As a friend of mine pointed out, it makes it harder to actually see any of the aliens.
  -Characters started off good, but seemed dull at the end, and many wound up dying.
  -There is also no hero character as there is in all other Alien/Predator films (such as Ripley or Schwartzenegger's character). You can only root for the Predator (or maybe the Alien...).
  -Lots of senseless deaths.
  -A few brutal parts (the aliens kill children, babies, and a pregnant woman).
  -Some parts seemed ripped off (the ending reminded me of "Resident Evil: Apocalypse", the story reminded me of "Dawn of the Dead," one part reminded me of "The Faculty," and other parts resembled the other Alien/Predator movies).
  
  This feels a lot less like Alien or Predator and more like "Dawn of the Dead." The focus for half of the movie is on a bunch of people who wind up as alien fodder. The other half is the cool half, where the aliens are fighting (and there is plenty of fighting!). It is good in a way, because it is more unique than the others (we finally get to see aliens trashing Earth). It is also bad, because the film is dehumanized.
  
  Ultimately, this is a brainless action/horror flick. I would reccomend it if you are looking for such a movie. I reccomend it more to Alien/Predator fans (and perhaps fans of other brainless horror movies).
  
  
• Like watching a movie with your eyes closed
  By A37OOQQLMMKYR8 on 2008-04-21
  When AVP went into production fans of both the Alien and Predator movies were very excited, but a little hope was lost when it was announced Paul WS Anderson was the writer/director; but what really got fans going crazy was when the rating was PG-13. While one cannot deny there were flaws with AVP it had more to do with the writing than anything else. Anderson's scripts often feel like an early draft rather than final shooting script. All the Alien and Predator movies were R-rated and no doubt AVP should have as well, but when all was said and done the PG-13 rating isn't what hurt AVP. Yes it could have used more gore and action, but the problems again were with the writing.
  
  With AVP-R announced without Paul Anderson being involved and the movie being made with an R-Rating fans were once again excited. And to be totally honest after watching AVP-R I think I'd much rather have Paul Anderson involved. AVP-R was a rather poor movie, while there was potential without Anderson I really think we would have been better off with him.
  
  The biggest problem with AVP-R is the lighting. Daniel Pearl was the DP and from what I have seen from him I have liked. He did the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre so right there he gets my respect, but the lighting here was terrible. There was more gore than AVP, but we can't see it! I don't know if Daniel Pearl was to blame or if it was Colin & Greg Strause who are the directors are too blame. Since Pearl is the DP I have to blame him. Watching this movie at times is sort of like watching a movie with your eyes closed. That was the biggest problem here, but not the only problem.
  
  The screenplay by Shane Salerno was terrible. There were far too many characters to keep track of and all were so poorly written and lack any depth at all. AVP-R is the type of movie that when all is said and done you'll be hard pressed to remember the names of any of the characters. The script was really poor. It's like Shane Salerno didn't even bother to try. We have the fan base for the Alien and Predator movies and well they'll see anything we spit out. Once again Hollywood treats us like idiots.
  
  Directors Colin & Greg Strause fail at brining any suspense and tension and with the terrible lighting not much of a surprise their scenes lack any of that. The action scenes are decent, but again since we can barley see them they fail at brining any excitement. There were a couple of solid scenes, but not nearly enough to salvage this movie. Had I actually been able to see what was happening maybe AVP-R wouldn't have failed as much as it did; by no means would this be a great movie, but slightly better. The final act is the worst offender; the scenes in the hospital for the climax are so dark that if you have any interest left in the movie by this point you'll probably lose it.
  
  AVP-R proved that the rating of AVP had nothing to do with its failure. Would an R-rating have made AVP better? Odds are yes very slightly better, but no way would it have been great. Like I said earlier the PG-13 rating didn't hurt AVP as much as the writing and this movie proved that. AVP-R was R-rated and wasn't as good as AVP, which was average at best. A lot has changed over the years, back in the 70s and 80s many movies were butchered by the MPAA and if released now most of these titles would clear and R-rating with ease and some would feature minor cuts and not be totally butchered. If AVP was released back in the 80s or mid 90s it would possibly get an R-rating.
  
  Times have changed though and AVP pulled off the PG-13, but it is slightly more extreme than most PG-13 flicks. Paul Anderson is hated by legions of Horror/Sci-Fi fans and while I can't say I like the guys work I don't hate it. I can tolerate him, but barley. And honestly I never thought I would say to myself I wish Paul Anderson did this and while watching AVP-R I found myself wishing Anderson would have done it.
  
  These cross over movies almost always seem to fail. Back in the 40s Universal did it with their monster movies and while some were fun none of them were as good as the monsters on their own. So when it came to AVP I wasn't expecting anything like the movies from either series. Besides being a Vs movie it's also a sequel to both Alien and Predator and honestly with some exceptions as a series goes on they don't get better they might stay enjoyable if lucky. With AVP-R I was simply expecting some mindless fun, and while it was very mindless the makers forgot about the fun part.
  
  For the hardcore fans of the Alien and Predator movies are the only ones who should watch this, but I doubt this movie will live up to your expectations. This one doesn't correct the problems found in AVP it just creates its own and far worse problems. With better lighting AVP-R would have been better, but still not very good either.
  
  
• Awesome Movie
  By A2SLCALOK3577K on 2008-02-29
  Alien Vs Predator: Requiem was an awesome movie and I don't care what everyone else says about it because I loved it, and thats all that really matters. This movie was a lot better than it's prequel, but I still loved both of them.
  The movie picks up right after the last one with the birth of the Hybrid and within the first 20 minutes or so the action begins and ceases to stop. This is the way an AVP movie was supposed to be. Great Job Strouse Brothers!
  
  By the way If you are thinking of purchasing the 2 disc unrated DVD this is it! Do not place an order for the AVP unrated 2 pack...that is a box of the two movies not a 2 disc special edition of AVP:R, the box comes with The 2 disc unrated version of AVP and the single disc unrated version of AVP:R...just wanted to clear that up for the AVP fans who are thinking of preordering AVP:R
  
  Alien Vs Predator: Requiem (2pc) (Unrated) (Ws)
  
  
• A major disappointment, but by all means please make more!!!!
  By A1F9KLKV2H5TLS on 2008-02-22
  Well, first of all, let me describe the type of person I am. I'm one of those people that loves movies, all movies - good movies, bad movies and all thats in between. If i'm entertained, then I love it.
  I really didnt think I could be disappointed (by the way, it is very hard to disappoint me), but they succeeded with this! I dont understand how it could go wrong? AVPR gives us excellent monsters, but terrible story and characters. Sure there's some story there and there are characters walking around on screen, but you will not like or connect with any of them. Its story kinda reflects Resident Evil: Apocalypse, however they bothered with cast and it had a point. Maybe if AVPR had one main character that was a popular and sucessful actor the film might hold your attention. It would be better as well if the film took more time over the story, it moves so quickly that a breather in between would have helped greatly. The movie also seemed to lack a structure, just being about this one day and night. With nothing really to over come besides escaping, a overall point to film would have helped. After all the hype about the Predalien, they really didn't do that much with it and we really didnt see enough of it. It was said that the Predalien would evolve into the next queen, which I think would have balanced the story a bit better, plus the audiece has never seen the maturing of a main queen alien character! try something new! anyway, enough ranting.
  
  Bottom line... I would really like to see 20th century fox do something really special with the alien and predator franchises. Both franchises being very character driven films. Not so much the predators, but the aliens films were serious, classy films. Not only in story, but the look of them aswell. AVPR and AVP have adopted the visual style of modern horror films (Particularlly - Final Destination 2, 3, Black Xmas etc.)
  
  So, get a real director! Get a point and don't drive one of the best film franchises in movie history into the ground!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pretty Please.
  
  
• What the ...!
  By A2ATWKOFJXRRR1 on 2008-05-20
  There's bad cinema, and there's really bad cinema. And then there's AvP Requiem. I do sympathize with the cast and crew, however, having a budget of only $40 million. With today's high-tech blue screens, CGI and special effects computers, $40 million ain't much. But it should still be possible to make a fair film from that meager amount.
  
  Regardless of budgetary constraints (Pitch Black cost only $23 million to make), one would hope for at least some cool camera shots, great action sequences, and good gadgets. Not so. The filming is dark. Too dark. In fact, it was so dark I couldn't tell who was doing what to whom. "Are they having sex? Or is that blood spurting from someone's eye?"
  
  Next problem: main character. Who was it?! I have no idea. If someone out there in FilmLand knows, please advise. At first I thought it might be Dallas Howard (Steven Pasquale), a down-on-his-luck excon trying to find his way after his release from jail. But no, we quickly move away from him and on to ...a mother named Kelly (Reiko Aylesworth, Mr. Brooks) who's just returned from military service and is trying to reconnect with her young daughter Molly (Ariel Gade, Dark Water). But no, we then move on to Dallas' brother Ricky (Johnny Lewis, a pizza delivery boy whose crush on a local hottie has him in hotter water with some local bullies. But no, then we move on (fleetingly) to Colonel Stevens (Robert Joy) who somehow, someway, knows that there's a serious threat to national security in this small town and is prepared to do whatever is necessary to eliminate it. Perhaps the main character was the Predator/Alien hybrid? Or the Predator that comes from Predatoria (my made up name for their homeworld) to kick some serious hybrid booty? Or maybe ...I don't know!
  
  When you have two such major weaknesses in a film (poor lighting and no main character to follow), you've pretty much set yourself up for disaster. Fans of the graphic novels might have fun sitting through it, but for regular ol' scifi buffs, this one's a no-go.
  
  (P.S. There's the possibility of a sequel thanks to the impregnating of a pregnant woman with ...OH WHO CARES! Grrr!)
  
  
• Alien vs. Predator at the Special Olympics
  By A2K0Y55A5KQSU7 on 2007-12-27
  Alien vs. Predator: Requiem is a franchise-killer. It's not even good enough to be as bad as a straight-to-video teen slasher such as, "I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer." To those just looking for some fun action and gore -- look somewhere else. Most of the kills in AVP:R are ultra-fast or off-screen. A few tiny snips and the film could have been a PG-13.
  
  Even Paul Anderson's PG-13 AVP abomination left 2 of the greatest monsters in sci-fi history with a little bit of dignity intact. The Brothers Strause, with their inability to properly stage or direct an action or suspense scene, have made both creatures look like B-grade monsters that should be hidden in a Black Lagoon somewhere.
  
  The Aliens aren't kept in the dark to create a mood -- they're kept there to hide their low-budget appearance and their director's inability to direct. The Predator walks around like a WWE wrestler, grunting at everyone and using blue ooze to melt victims in an attempt to cover his tracks (but, at the same time, he skins other people alive and leaves them hanging from trees).
  
  Next time the Predator race decide to send only 1 of their peeps to represent, they may want to reconsider sending the mentally handicapped guy in the bunch. Or was this the Alien and Predator's version of the Special Olympics?
  
  As for the humans? Who cares? Obviously not the filmmakers. There's no believable human character to follow, identify or empathize with. It's just some 25 year old actors playing teenagers with a few older characters thrown in to attract the adult demographic who watched Alien and Predator movies when they were still good.
  
  The best thing anyone could get out of Alien vs. Predator: Requiem is a refund. If you have any respect left for either of these franchises or simply value your free time stay far, far away from this movie. Hopefully the Strause brothers will stay just as far away from a camera, before taking it upon themselves to defecate all over another beloved film franchise.
  
  
• I paid good money to go and see this
  By A2R4XG0L7Z01V8 on 2008-01-20
  Which probably means there will by a third, to ruin everyone's memories of two reasonably good franchises.
  
  I thought the first Alien vs Predator was alright in the sense that it was completely unnecessary, but watchable. This was bad to the point where I thought it was never going to end. And it was only 86 minutes long.
  
  This kind of film is normally a straight to DVD release. I'd rather go and see a Jessica Simpson movie over this! There's no big stars in it - there is an actress who appears in 24, I've been reliably informed, but I've never watched that yet.
  
  I can't understand why there's three stars reviews of this existing out there. Go watch the original franchises again, and don't waste money on this. It'll only give them an excuse to make another one.
  
  
• Good stuff
  By A1NDWNI59LFU5K on 2008-03-22
  When I heard the first AVP movie came out I was extatic. I watched it and was let down quite a bit. I thought the action scenes were great, but the character development was very weak, I didn't care about the people at all, especially after they killed off the 2 family men right in the beginning. I mean what was the point of even bringing up the point if they were going to die? Who do you think would have the greater will to live honestly? Atleast if they survived I might have cared, but allas there was not enough gore. I'm not addicted to gore, but after watching 2 Predator movies and 4 Alien movies I had come to expect a little bit of it. Needless to say I still bought the movie and it is decent. Then I heard a sequel was coming out and this one was rated R. I was almost giddy. I then watched the preview and oh lord I was in love. Gore galore. I imediatley started searching for reviews online, and was suprised how many people were turned against this entire concept and did not like the movie siting "poor character development" and "type casted characters" I was bummed, then I saw the movie. Quite honestly I cared more about the characters in this movie than the previous by far. The characters were not that bad! I even rooted for a few of them in the end. Kinda sucked when a few died, but overall the action was between the battle of the 2 species. I thought that the movie brought back the old feel of the Predator and Alien movies which is what I was looking for all along. The first movie always seemed to feel a little to futuristic for my tastes. Either way I enjoyed this to the fullest and I can't wait to pick it up when it comes out.
  
  
• Dark, Terrible, Confusing, Pointless, I'm out of adjectives...
  By A1H63E0CN7E6CM on 2008-04-12
  Let me be very clear: I am a HUGE fan of both the Predator and Alien series. I own all of these films, and routinely watch both the special features and the features on a weekly basis. I absolutely love these films. I won't argue who's the greatest fan, but I'm definitely up there. So, when I went to see this with my best friend, I was more than excited, to say the least. After walking out less than two hours later, I was disgusted, demoralized, and bereft of any sense of humanity. Worse still...when I walked out of the film, I had no idea what happened. Not until I came home and read some reviews did I even know that the Predalien and the Predator kill eachother, before, getting nuked by the US Government. With that one insensible decision by obviously clueless executives at Fox, the whole movie was rendered moot. What was the point of anything that happened in the film? By the end, hundreds of people die, all the aliens and predators are dead, and an entire town, not to mention miles and miles of US soil, are rendered uninhabitable for millions of years. Lest I sound like an enviro-wacko, let me be clear that I could care less about the environment. Tear the whole country up; I don't care. However, if you're going to nuke a US city, at least give us a plausible reason for doing so. Okay...it would take too long to explain why this was a terrible film, but I'll start and finish with what should be the most important, which is, like so many sci-fi films gone bad, almost the entire film takes place in the dark. Yeah, yeah...I know...that annoying black line around any digitalized object makes it look fake...I know the reason, but audiences know that the only reason these shots are filmed in the dark is because the studio is trying to save money. The problem with doing this is that the audience CANNOT SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING!!! I am an English professor...relatively intelligent...a real film buff, and as I sit here I have to admit that for much of the film, I didn't know if I was looking at the predator, the predalien, or the aliens. They all looked the same, and in the dark, who can tell? Plus, the fight scenes are filmed so up close that there's just no way to tell what's happening. When I found out that the predalien and predator kill each other at the end, I asked my friend "when did that happen?" I certainly couldn't see it happening on screen. The cons to this film continue, but it would take too long. For example...how do so many aliens wind up all over the town in such a short period of time? How did everything get out of hand so quickly? One minute, the predator has everything under control in the underground sewer, and the next, six million aliens are roaming the town, killing everyone. Now, I don't give much of a hoot about human carnage, but when you start killing children, and pregnant women, you are crossing the line, and this is the reason I left the film knowing exactly what family rights groups have such disdain for Hollywood. All that said, I'll buy the freaking thing, because I can't get enough of these films, but I'm still not a happy fan.
  
  
• Just plain awful
  By ASSCA9IS0GWF5 on 2007-12-27
  AVPR stands a decent chance of becoming a cult classic, in the grand tradition of Plan 9 From Outer Space or The Brain That Wouldn't Die. I mean, there are no cardboard tombstones or disembodied fiancés, but there might as well be. Indeed, this is one of the few movies I can think of that had the audience roaring with laughter during all of the scary parts and dead silent during the comic relief. There's plenty of so-bad-it's-good fodder here: the ridiculously bad dialogue, the supernaturally inept acting, the unexciting action sequnces, the migraine-inducing plot, the throw-popcorn-at-the-screen ending... the list goes on. The whole thing is so full of clichés that it could easily qualify as an instructional film for aspiring horror movie parodists. The violence is so gratuitous that it verges on desensitizing. One of the "funniest" scenes in the movie involves a very young boy having a very gruesome alien pop out of his stomach. I was expecting them to start throwing babies off a skyscraper at any minute.
  
  So, the day may come when this is every bit as revered as Pod People. Until then, I can only say that this is one of the most aggressively unpleasant movies I've ever seen. If I want kitsch, I'll just remind myself that "all your base are belong to us."
  
  
• AVP: Ridiculous
  By ABZ991C66LLN4 on 2008-03-25
  Let me begin this review by explaining to those who may not know, that there are a series of very well written AVP books. The central figure is a woman named Machiko Noguchi, who works for Weyland-Yutani Corporation. The series starts off on a colony world, and long story short, much like the original AVP movie, Machiko is blooded as a Predator warrior. But where the first AVP movie made an uninspiring choice, in the AVP books, Machiko joins the predators on their hunts across the galaxy, which makes for a gripping story with her internal conflicts between her loyalty to the predators, her hatred of the aliens, and her heritage as a human. They're really well done, and I highly recommend them:
  
  1. Prey (Aliens Vs. Predator, Book 1)
  2. Hunter's Planet (Aliens Vs. Predator, Book 2)
  3. War (Aliens Vs. Predator, Book 3)
  
  So, given this context, I found the first AVP movie to be by far the most closely aligned with this vision of AVP, although disappointing that it stopped short of carrying through with the theme described in the novels. Not surprisingly, I found the second AVP movie (requiem), to not only be an unfaithful extension of that theme and a complete deviation from previously understood Alien canon, but also an utter mess of a movie in general.
  
  I would rank the Alien movies as follows:
  
  1. Aliens (*****)
  2. Alien (*****)
  3. AVP 1 (***)
  4. Alien 3 (**)
  5. Alien Resurrection (**)
  6. AVP Requiem (*)
  
  To provide additional insight about my view of this movie, I own all previously released Alien movies, but have no intention of wasting my money on this one. Furthermore, after I'd finished viewing this movie at the theatre, I was actually incensed as I told myself that I'd just lost 101 minutes of my life that I could never get back.
  
  Do yourself a favor - spend some quality time with a friend or family member, go out to a nice restaurant, or read a good book (such as those I've listed above), but DO NOT waste some of your precious time on this Earth watching this stinker.
  
  
• This is an insult to the awesomness that is Alien
  By A2QZAFCCMGQSUK on 2008-04-25
  Oh, my, how I hated this movie. I love me some scifi horror, particularly the Alien series. The first Alien VS Predator wasnt bad-it at least felt like a movie meant to be released at a theater. But this mess felt like a second-rate SciFi channel movie of the week. All of the scenes were so dark that I could barely make anything out on screen. The teenage/town folk storylines were cliche and pointless-you dont give a rip about anybody in this movie, unlike the others where you care that Ripley lives. The Alien was barely used, and the Predator was also rarely seen. Bad all around.
  
  
• Terrible and distasteful.
  By AAJIGWE242MSN on 2008-05-05
  I think it's safe to say that the AvP crossover is not Hollywood's thing. This movie sucked. it had decent action scenes, but it was too dark to ever get a good sense of what was going on. Acting and storyline were sub=par at best. The deal with the hybrid impregnating pregnant women was distasteful and offensive. I guess the Strause Brothers and their mom didn't get along too well.
  
  
• Proof our society is headed the way of Rome.
  By A2YUPA56DIORO6 on 2008-01-19
  This review contains spoilers. Although, I don't believe this movie could be any more spoiled than it already is. First, let me say I was not a fan of the first AVP movie so I didn't have high hopes for the second installment. The movie started with the alien (xenomorph) chest burst seen at the end of the first movie. Obviously the directors haven't solved the gestation problems of the alien so many fans complained about in the first AVP. The xenomorph is full grown seconds later and kills the crew of the ship which crashes in Colorado. (In the Alien films the process ranged from several hours to several days.) Next, one of the predators sends a distress signal to the predator homeworld. (WHY? As established in the Predator series a predator will activate his self destruct device when cornered.) Meanwhile the Pred-Alien (Alien with Predator Dreadlocks and mandibles) escapes with a host of face-huggers. A range of characters who we really don't care about are introduced. A pathetic pizza delivery guy, an ex-con, a police officer, a mother returning home from Iraq, and an easy teenage highschool girl who likes to take her clothes off. A lone predator shows up to stop the outbreak and eliminate the evidence with a blue liquid in a tube. This predator is a dishonorable hunter too. He kills a guy who was running away from him. What is the point of that? Soon the alien slaughter begins with none of the suspense of the previous films. Humans die and we don't care. The predator kills aliens and its boring. Only the queen can lay eggs yet the drone pred-alien spits eggs down the gullet of a pregnant woman in a hospital and aborts her baby replacing it with several alien chestbursters. SICK! There are some things that movies just don't do. This is tasteless and disgusting. The sanctity and beauty of motherhood was violated and for that this film is totally inexcusable. If you enjoyed that scene or laughed or cheered at it, I ask you who the real monsters are? Are they the ones on the screen or do they live in your heart? Our society is doomed.
  
  
• Another weak entry
  By A3MOF5KF93Q6WE on 2008-03-28
  lien Vs. Predator - Requiem is directed by Colin and Greg Strause. The film stars Steven Pasquale (Rescue Me), Reiko Aylesworth (The Killing Floor), and John Ortiz (Carlito's Way.) The musical score is contributed by Brian Tyler. This is the second film in the Alien Vs. Predator spin-off series. ***
  
  The second film in the Alien Vs. Predator series revolves around numerous people who are forced to band together, following a ship crashing on Earth. It isn't long before the crashed ship's inhabitants begin attacking humans, and there's an all-out battle between Aliens and Predators on the Earth - with humans caught up in the midst of the deadly conflict. ***
  
  The first two films in the Alien series were undisputed masterpieces of cinema. But from there it's all been downhill. As if the latter two installments in the Alien series weren't weak enough, the Alien Vs. Predator multimedia franchise fails to make a successful transition to film. It took this spin-off franchise nearly 15 years to spawn a feature film, and the end result was a disaster. Regretfully, the sequel doesn't fare a whole lot better. ***
  
  One thing I will give the film credit for, though - It's rated R. The first Alien Vs. Predator film was edited severely to get a PG-13, in an effort to appeal to a widespread audience. But as a result the film took a few hits in its overall quality. But the filmmakers pulled out the stops here and made this one rated R - the way any Alien or Predator film should be. ***
  
  The biggest problem with the film is that the entire first half of the movie focuses too much on the people of Earth and their individual lives. I don't know about you, but I didn't come to this movie looking for teen drama! If you've seen Transformers, you'll have a pretty good idea what to expect in the former portion of the film - and I DO NOT mean that in a good way. ***
  
  Even when the film gets down to the action (which it took long enough to get to), it still fails to please. Poor pacing, direction, a weak script, and a number of other problems drag this movie down so much, ensuring that it never gets off the ground. ***
  
  The DVD features an unrated presentation that expands the film's length, but most of the added scenes are worthless and were rightfully omitted from the film to begin with. Most of what gets added into the film are dialogue scenes - something this movie had too much of to begin with. ***
  
  If you want to see Alien and Predator films done right, go watch the first two films in the Alien series, and the first Predator film. This spin-off series fails to make a successful leap to the big screen. And while it goes all-out for an R rating unlike its predecessor, this certainly doesn't save the film. ---
  
  Image And Sound:
  
  For the most part, this is a solid transfer. The level of detail and clarity in the images are very impressive, and there are very few flaws to speak of. Likewise, the audio quality is terrific, with no major issues - and sounds especially good in the action sequences. ---
  
  Special Features:
  For a single-disc DVD, quite a few extra features have been included on here. There are two commentaries for the film, one with the directors and producer, and one with the effects supervisors. These are nice to listen to at least once (if you enjoyed the movie), and they shed some new light on the filmmaking process. For those of you who are into comparing the two versions of the movie included on the disc, a "marker" feature has been included as well, which allows you to see where footage has been reinserted. There are also still image galleries that are well worth checking out. ***
  
  But the main extras included in this set are the five featurettes, which delve deeper behind the scenes of the movie. The five featurettes follow Development/Production, Post-Production, Creating the Aliens, Creating the Predator/Alien Hybrid, and Building the Predator Homeworld. To be honest, these will have zero appeal to you if you're like me and didn't enjoy the film, but if you're one of the few out there that did, these will give you a nice look behind the scenes, for roughly an hour total. I'm glad to see they included SOME bonus material here, as plenty of Director's Cuts of films on DVD are bare-bones releases.
  
  Final Words:
  
  There's just nothing worthwhile here. Alien Vs. Predator's second film does nothing to redeem the weaknesses of the first, and instead drags the series' name down further. Go watch the first two Alien films and the first Predator film, but don't bother with the film versions of AVP.
  
  
• It was free and I still want my money back...
  By AC1HK87U3I7MQ on 2008-02-22
  This movie was so bad that I can't even begin to explain how bad. the director of photgraphy should be shot for not knowing how to use a light meter. I really wonder what the heads of 20th century fox were thinking when they were looking at the dailies. I want to get a descent glimpse of the monsters, not just a sea of black with a few shiny highlights. And no it's not better than the first AVP. At least that one gave me some back story and cool moments of aliens running amuck. this movie was so bad that I was laughing. It made no sense, and I actually feel that as a fan I was raped both intellectually and emotionally. And then to leave it with a cheesy cliffhanger. Actually it would have just been better if they would have handed me a pistol on the way out of the theatre to blow my brains out, just to erase the memory of seeing this god awful piece of trash.
  Thank you 20th Century Fox, and the Brothers Strause, for taking away and hour and a half of my life.
  
  
• And I thought there was no way the sequel could be worse than the first
  By A10YWUPQUNR9VF on 2008-02-26
  I went into this movie with high hopes. The first movie was horrible. One of the worst movies ever made.
  
  When I saw the trailer for this movie I knew that the mess that was Paul W.S. Anderson's Alien vs. Predator was redeemed. Unfortunately, the trailer was highly deceptive.
  
  The real title should have been Alien vs. Predator: The Hills because it seems as though you're watching The Hills, but with blood (and just about the same amount of fighting). It's pretty people with problems with gratuitous action and fighting.
  
  This movie was actually WORSE than the first movie and shame on 20th Century Fox for allowing Shane Salerno to pen the script.
  
  Shame on me as well --- what else should I have expected from the guy who wrote the script for Armageddon?
  
  
• Everyone Involved Deserves A FaceHugger Of Their Very Own!
  By AEQJ2SXV9LKA7 on 2008-03-04
  Loathsome, boring and stupid crud that does not even achieve Z movie status.
  Have I mentioned the fact that this insult to our intelligence is despicable?
  A lame attempt at edginess which only succeeds in pounding a long overdue stake through both zombie-like and increasingly unprofitable franchises - and I must gloat.
  Finally put them out of their misery, fools. And us!
  
  Except for some ridiculously brief glimpses of the Predators' technology and home planet - which are imaginatively conceived but ineptly lit, shot and edited - and one long shot of their crashed ship, there is NOTHING worth seeing in this thing.
  As for the repulsive hospital sequence: for that one scene alone I will enjoy - and encourage everyone else with a shred of decency - to boycott any and all future sequels.
  
  RIP - NOT!
  
  
  
  
  
• A Requiem is a Mass for the Dead.
  By A2NRS6CJBX3I1P on 2008-04-17
  I am not exactly sure what was meant by the title. Was it a requiem for the town that was destroyed in the movie? Or, was it a requiem for the movie franchises that Brothers Strause just finished destroying with this movie? I am inclined to believe the latter. Like any funeral, people reminisce about the moments that they had with recently deceased. That's what the movie AVP:R feels like. It is an homage to all the Alien and Predator movies that have gone before. Literally, every scene is a ripoff of a previous movie, only lit much more poorly. Like 70's car chase movies, the plot and characters only serve to move the story to the next effects scene. That's an overstatement really, because the character and plot development are so minimal in this clunker that nothing is particularly scary, only grotesque and disjointed.
  
  The only difference between the unrated edition and the theater version is that the unrated edition has a little more plot and a lot more gore with a couple of commentary tracks in which five hacks try to tell us what they know about filmmaking.
  
  
• This movie is really bad
  By A1PF4P4IJANKCB on 2008-04-21
  Top 10 Reasons This Movie Sucks
  
  1. Characters are bad, their performances are bad and at every opportunity they make bad choices. Especially the sheriff that guy was retarded or something.
  
  2. What was the predator's motivation? At first I thought it was here to cover up / kill the escaped aliens when it was hiding bodies but then it started randomly killing people and leaving them skinned and hanging in trees.
  
  3. I thought the National Guard troops were going to make the movie interesting. I was really hoping for some aliens/space marines style action. But they were all killed in like a minute by the aliens. "Game over man."
  
  4. Alien acid blood flying everywhere and no one getting burned.
  
  5. The blond girl getting killed.
  
  6. Her borderline retarded boyfriend living.
  
  7. Predator taking off all his weapons to fight the boss alien. Guess he wanted to keep it fare.
  
  8. Aliens no longer need to lay eggs they now simply spit half a dozen embryos down people's throats. And all half dozen of them come popping out of their chest two and one half minutes later. Good for them that was a real weakness.
  
  9. Fights are so dark you can't tell the Alien from the predator when they are rolling around. But with the amount of alien acid blood flying around he should have been a puddle.
  
  10. The paratroopers should have mowed the survivors down as they exited the crashed helicopter. They just nuked the town for Christ sake they would want to cover that up. And the government deciding to nuke a town based on a 2 second clip of a alien.
  
  It's like this movie was written by a couple of stupid drunken frat boys. I hear their next movie will be called "Ninjas VS Pirates".
  
  Hope this review helps.
  
  Thanks,
  
  
• Worst movie ever due to light levels
  By A39T0L7SX0BQ8R on 2008-04-24
  Trust the legion squinting amazon reviewers...My God this movie is dark. Light level dark that is. It's like trying to watch a movie through a welding shield. The special effects were wasted because....YOU CAN'T SEE THEM! Daylight scenes in the movie are hard to make out but the indoor and night scenes were just too blasted dark to make out. I WANT MY MONEY BACK! The movie was also stupidly edited. Hard to see a plot. Heck, hard to see ANYTHING. Just don't waste your time or money. Let it pass.
  
  
• Horrendous! Pitch Black
  By A2JY0ZQS79OF9P on 2008-04-28
  My wife and I both loved AVP. It began with an archeological dig, which we love, paying homage to The Thing. AVP 2, as we'll call this, was a disaster.
  There was a lot of action. That's true. If we'd been able to see any of it, it would have been good. This movie made us stop and increase brightness for our picture to where it distorted every other channel/movie. Just so we could try to watch AVP 2.
  The aliens were given dreadlocks (I think--hard to really see), so it was almost impossible to tell if it was an alien or the Predator.
  The day in this Colorado town was odd: 23 hours plus of night each day. We'd get about 10 minutes of daytime action, then it would be night again. And impossible to see what was happening. What a sorry disappointment.
  
  
• We aren't going to make it, are we?
  By A2XXV9HF169LCF on 2008-06-26
  Some spoilers below.
  
  Wow. If I could give no stars... well, it wasn't as bad as some other movies, but I'm glad I bought it and watched it at home on DVD instead of going to the movies to see it. If I'd seen it in the movies I wouldn't have been able to help myself: I would have mocked it ruthlessly in a loud voice in public. At least this way I managed to do all my mocking in the privacy of my own home. It was cheaper than going to the movies, too: add up tickets and popcorn and drinks for both my husband and I versus the price of the DVD, and it ended up being a much better idea to have the DVD.
  
  Frankly, this movie stank. I wasn't expecting anything original but they just went complete gore-fest: let's see how many icky concepts we can cram in as short a period of time as possible! Now, one icky concept per movie is cool: it has impact, it has horror, it's the focus of all your attention and the suspense is a line that runs up your spine. If you just dump as many as you can in a short period of time, it loses it's grotesque appeal and becomes... laughable. Like the movie. Plus, I have a huge TV with really good resolution, and I couldn't tell who was getting killed half the time. Which was no loss, since I didn't really care who was getting killed.
  
  Also? Very tired of the military bombing cities just to contain ever-expanding threats. It's been done, let's move on.
  
  
• 3 ½ Stars: Blood and Gore returns in this sequel! Not perfect but will appeal to fans....
  By A2UUP58XPQW3GF on 2008-01-03
  ALIEN VS. PREDATOR had a fairly successful box-office take; good enough to spawn this sequel; ALIEN VS. PREDATOR: REQUIEM. Purists were very disappointed with W.S. Anderson's version being rated PG-13 (Fox tried to make amends with an unrated dvd) and that the film didn't follow the essence of past Alien or Predator films. I am not defending Anderson's take whatsoever, but his version had a "comicbook" feel because hey, the idea came from a comic book by Dark Horse Comics. AVP: Requiem has been rated-R and thankfully so. I would not go as far as saying that the sequel is superior to the first film but I can happily say that the blood and gore is omnipresent.
  
  The film takes off from where the first film ended; a newer, tougher version of the alien spawned from the predator race wreaks havoc in the spacecraft carrying the hunters which caused the ship to crash-land on Earth. The aliens led by the hybrid attack a small town and for reasons unknown, a lone Predator warrior is sent to hunt and kill each one of the aliens. Humans are caught in the middle and the unsuspecting residents led by Dallas (Steven Pasquale) and Kelly (Reiko Aylesworth) must band together to have a chance at survival.
  
  "AVP: REQUIEM" does have a different feel from its predecessor. While the plot is simple and quite frankly it only has minor character development, directors Colin and Greg Strause waste no time in setting things up for the two warring creature(s). This may be a either a good or a bad thing, it all depends on how you take the plotline. The film is definitely a continuation of the first film, so it just deals with a different situation and different characters. The screenplay by Shane Salermo is not without any faults as it almost succumbed to unneeded and nauseating teen situations and it didn't develop the characters with a lot of potential such as Kelly; a mother who has just finished her service in the marines. I was rather disappointed that 15 minutes were wasted on characters that were obviously plot devices to increase the body count. One thing that really makes me grind my teeth sometimes with Hollywood fakery is the usual stereotypical views with cops and armymen. (Right, trained men and women wouldn't last long but untrained civilians would?!) "Requiem's" biggest weaknesses are its usual clichés and stereotypes.
  
  The cinematography of the film is a bit confusing. I know the film has a dark premise (thankfully) but the way it is shot is very dark. Ok, the timeline does mostly happen at night and there are a quite a few scenes wherein the area is in a very dark, enclosed space but I found it rather "inky". I'm not sure if this was done intentionally but some of the blood and gore gets lost in the "pitch black" cinematography. Thankfully, the screenplay does have a secret weapon: the aliens don't just look for the usual human hosts. They target pregnant mothers and it even suggests that infants were killed and devoured. How's that for a dark premise? The Xeno-morphs led by the alien-predator hybrid are the merciless killers they should be. The film does contain quite a lot of blood and gore.
  
  Despite its faults, the film does have its redeeming qualities. The predator(s) have the classic look in the Schwarzenegger film; they don't look like cool, stylish (with shiny helmets) and huge linebackers as in the first AVP film. I've also observed that the use of CGI has been limited and the EFX crew went on to use puppets for the aliens and a very big actor for the lone predator. I liked this approach because I still believe that the old fashioned way in making a horror film is still the best approach (depending on the film). The film does have a dark and moody atmosphere that adheres to its proceedings. There is also a scene that looks like a tribute to Ripley's character (Sigourney Weaver) in Alien 3.
  
  AVP REQUIEM is not superior to the first film but rather a different feel. The first film has its comic book-inspired action sequences and while "Requiem" does have a duel between the Predator-hybrid and a lone hunter; the battle didn't feel "comic-bookish" at all. Requiem felt more like an action-horror movie than its predecessor. The film isn't a bad film but in the end the film is very predictable and collapses in the usual plot devices and clichés. Fans of blood and gore will be partially satisfied. Again, I know this film will shine with an unrated extended cut. AVP REQUIEM does entertain and thankfully it does capture some of the essence of the highly successful "Alien" and "Predator" franchises.
  
  RECOMMENDED timidly to fans of the franchise and sci-fi monster films. [3 ½- stars]
  
  
  
• AVPRocks.
  By A1E11HKN4IRY09 on 2008-03-16
  This will be a biased review. I am a fan of the franchise and found the completely dumb ALIEN VS. PREDATOR somehow entertaining. That said, ALIENS VS. PREDATOR REQUIEM is a vast improvement. The atmosphere this time around is a lot more akin to the earlier movies in both series. Dark and bloody. The human characters are actually likable and those who meet their demise are the ones that early in the film you are saying, "I can't wait 'till that one gets impaled to a wall." The battles are well staged with a decent amount of creative gore (this review is before I check out the unrated ed., so there may be even more carnage). The coolest thing about this one is the Predator. He's no wuss. Instead of a couple of rookies, this is one blood-thirsty E.T. who we see towards the start of the flick chillin' on the Predator home-world watching the Predator/Alien hybrid taking out some of his boys. Before you can say, "get to the choppa," the ugly M.F. heavily arms himself, kick-starts his Predator hoopdie and high tails it to earth to kill him some aliens. And does repeatedly. I went in to this not expecting much, but with enough action and horror to please genre and franchise fans alike, AVPR was a most pleasant surprise.
  
  
• What happened here???!!!
  By AIOIYF9OQ9AKU on 2008-03-17
  What happened. I have been a Alien and Predator fan since I was able to remember. After reading all the comics and playing al the games I could not wait for the movie. AvP 1 wasn't bad but completely unfullfilling. I figured round 2 they would improve the action with a decent story-line but no. AvP Requim has awesome action but awful story. I brought 5 friends and they all hated life after. How hard is it to make a decent plot? The action is awesome, the original soundtrack and sfx are all there, new weapons, tons of killings, but the plot is a teenage drama, A TEENAGE DRAMA!!! What the hell where these guys thinking. I finally get the action I wanted, a Predalien, tons of aliens, still only 1 predator (which is another screw up) and then they gave us this plot, I felt cheated in life. I hope Fox realizes they messed up big time and sell the franchise to a company (WB, Paramount, MGM even Disney!!!) they wont ruin this anymore.
  
  

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