AVP: R

[damonrpayne]

I am a complete sucker for this genre. It's too bad they have yet to give this franchise to a competant director and a story writer who understands the material. In many ways it's better than the first AvP movie but that's like saying this bread I dropped on the floor is way better than this bread I dropped in the toilet. Anyone else see this?

[Colin]

I’ve seen horribly bad shows in the movie theater before, but usually they are entertaining enough on the big screen to make it worth sitting through, if only to see the scenery, special effects or the action sequences. This movie hardly qualifies on that account.

Aliens versus Predators - Requiem is the sequel to the silly, but entertaining, battle between the antagonists of two other movies; Sigourney Weaver’s ugly space bugs in the Alien series and the human hunters from outer space in Arnold Schwarzenegger’ Predator movie. In both movies, the visitors conjoin on our planet to kill each other and us. I did sit through the sequel, but only because my bored date wasn’t ready to move.

I tired quickly of the gray-black figures fighting in stupid close-ups in dark-gray computer generated rain. There are no heroes, story, dialogue, wonderful scenes or redeeming features to this movie. It is a big snore.

An alien predator is one of the protagonists. He doesn’t speak English, he only clicks (purrs) and there are no sub-titles. While the human hero in the leather jacket inexplicably has nothing but good luck, the alien battling Weaver’s bugs is slowly losing the battle. For reasons never explained in the movie, he rushes to earth to do battle with a geometrically ever-increasing number of alien bugs. It soon becomes obvious that his heroic struggle is fruitless. He is inevitably losing. Pity.

The predator has the one part that might have added a little drama to the saga. Of course, acting out emotions might have been hard for a butt-ugly alien predator clad from head to toe in dark-gray armor. Not that would have mattered. There is virtually no acting in this movie, with or without armor. Loved ones die left and right and no one character shows much anguish or remorse. Not the actors’ fault really. The emphasis in this move is so much on making a lot of action out nothing that nobody paid attention to the dialogue. Take the gray on gray in the rain action sequences out of the script and nobody will know what the conflicts in this thoroughly forgettable movie are about.

Like this movie? Then check out Ang Lee’s equally dull The Hulk. What a waste of money. I would be embarrassed leaving a screening for such uninspired dreck. What possible platitude I could I offer my host? How do projects like this ever get out of the can?

I am glad I stayed though. The final scene is a blatant and idiotic grab for yet another Aliens versus Predator movie with our government secreting the predator’s futuristic silver gun for upcoming battles. Yawn. Who cares?

This is the season that Oscar quality movies compete for the gold statue. There are many great action movies to see. Check out any Jet Li movie, Eastern Promises, History of Violence, 3:10 to Yuma or Casino Royale. They are both excellent. I am Legend, Beowolf or National Treasure 2 has to be better.