AVPR: Aliens vs Predator � Requiem

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"Requiem" is right: this deadly sequel could kill off a horror franchise that goes back nearly three decades.

As someone who grew up with the Alien series (hell, I don't mind telling you I misted up at Alien 4) it's depressing to see just how far the mighty have fallen.

Course, as soon as they announced the first AVP flick, it was obvious the aliens had already lost the battle. Certainly in terms of prestige, it was game over - you can't mix it up with trash like the predators and retain even a semblance of dignity.

The trouble with this monster mash is that it's hard to root for either camp. The Predator gets the lion's share of the point-of-view shots and the cool prototype Pentagon technology. As far as I could follow the story, he (It?) comes down to Earth in pursuit of some rampaging alien spawn, incurring considerable human collateral damage in the process. But how much respect can you give a creature who painstakingly pours invisible juice over two corpses, then moments later leaves a third hanging in plain view?

I doubt the filmmakers intended that the cardboard stereotypes passing for earthlings in Requiem should make the extra-terrestrial psychopaths seem sympathetic, but that's how it pans out. There's the underdog pizza delivery guy who fancies the hot girl with the bully bf; his ex-con brother; the good guy sheriff. The acting in this movie is an embarrassment, almost without exception. (The dude in the rubber predator suit was okay.)

If the acting is bad, that's only a reflection of the direction, which is terrible. Sfx guys Colin and Greg Strause haven't helmed a movie before and it shows. Scenes are barely coherent; none of the relationships are developed properly and motivations are sketchy at best. Half the time the actors don't seem to know which way to look, and the action is confusing, with most of the hackneyed "scare" moments falling distinctly flat. Even the camerawork is wretched, with lots of murkily lit, uncomfortably close two shots predominating (cinematographer Daniel Pearl is also responsible for Pathfinder and Captivity: three dogs in the space of 12 months).

Sure, it has a few pleasingly cheesy moments. There's a good scene when the young daughter of a returned female Iraq veteran uses the night vision goggles mommy has given her and sees monsters lurking in the garden. "Oh, honey, there aren't any monsters" her doomed dad assures her.

But such macabre wit is in wretchedly short supply. Cheap and nasty, AVPR is a sorry excuse for a movie no matter how low your expectations may be.

Tom Charity
tom.charity@lovefilm.com

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Reviews Voted Most Helpful

Absolutely Loved It!

buzzgav from London [Highly rated reviewer] , 23/01/2008

I had read all the bad reviews on the internet but thought i'd see it anyway and i'm really glad i did - then i can form my own opinion!

The only bad point is the acting - yeah, it's a bit wooden and predictable but hey!

I felt the storyline picked all the best bits from the Aliens/Predator films and attempted to recycle them - although it wasn't done really well, it was done well enough to keep your attention throughout the whole film.

There was enough action from both the Aliens and Predators and was impressive.

I do think this is for die-hard fans of the Aliens/Predator films but give it a go and enjoy it for the action/sci-fi flick it is!

70 out of 73 people found this review helpful

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ALIENS VS PREDATOR:REQUIEM

JonnyDay from Leicester , 25/01/2008

I won't tell you too much but in this film the predator is like the one in 1 & 2 - sounds and imagery ripped straight out of the originals, brilliant, the aliens are james cameron's aliens hardly any CGI and sound effects are from the original aliens. The music is awesome as well, every theme from all the franchise is in there at some point.

The negative, this is no where near as good as arnie's, the human characters just don't cut it, there's no dutch or hudson to root for, no memorable patter like 'fall in situation position get karnov on de hook' and of course no sign of jim hopper, but i would put it on par with predator 2 which if you consider how crap the last two alien films have been thats not bad.

The gore and violence is back and the big baddie's breeding methods are horrific.

39 out of 41 people found this review helpful

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very average

Russell22 [Highly rated reviewer] , 21/01/2008

The brothers strauss who directed the new avp film said they were gonna make a much better film than avp pt 1 and it would please fans again of both franchises..yawn..it was so obvious from the outset this was gonna be mediocre at best and it was!!

I though AVP 1 was ok..not nearly as bad as some suggested it was but certainly no masterpiece and not as best as the best aliens and predator movies seperately..it was a good actioner with litle else to recommend and had the always watchable lance henrikson too. This however has a bunch of mtv actors and some of the worse editing and lighting work i've seen in a film!! Trust me you cannot see a thing that goes on in this film!!..ok so its set at night fair enogh but when the action scenes start the editing is so frantic and the lighting so dark,the scenes lose any cohesion and you miss half of what was filmed.

The brothers strauss should stick to sfx and stay away from directing. I hope this is the last avp film..i can't see much of a future for aliens as all the mystery and scares were eliminated eons ago but i still believe a kick ass predator film can be made given the right script and director..here's hoping?

34 out of 34 people found this review helpful

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Hrm, a dairy product too far?

Simon Marshall from Doncaster , 23/08/2008

Ok right off the bat, adjust your brightness settings before you start. Otherwise you'll spend the first half hour asking who the hell is that? And when the predator and the pred-alien fight.. perhaps they could have held coloured flags or something?

Brightness suitably adjusted? Right, then lets look at the film. It's not good. The acting is pretty painful at times, the script is just good lord bad. 'are the monsters gone?' 'no dear, script writer's over there, the directors are over there, there's the lighting engineer...'

Don't get me wrong, reasonable enough fluff, but you'll be left feeling a little dirty, like you cheated on Aliens and should go have a shower. And possibly like you just spent the last 90 minutes watching a film from the corner of your eye, never quite entirely sure what was in the last scene..

1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

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