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The first Alien vs. Predator film went on to gross close to $175 million world wide; that would mean that the film actually made the studio a profit of around $110 million. So, since AVP made 20th Century Fox money, you know what that means… a sequel! But the studio had one little problem. That hack director, Paul W.S. Anderson, wasn’t going to return to the franchise because he was off doing other projects (i.e. writing/producing Resident Evil: Extinction and writing/directing/producing Death Race)… news that instantly gets this movie points in my book. Since he wasn’t returning, 20th Century Fox was left scrambling for a director who could make the movie, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem… or AVP:R, on the cheap (roughly $40 million). Their solution; veteran music video directors, Colin and Greg Strause (a.k.a. The Brothers Strause).

AVP:R picks up right where the previous film left off; with a Predator/Alien hybrid busting out of the Predator… oops, spoiled it. Anyway, the Predator/Alien, dubbed a Predalien for the film, starts killing the Predators on the Predator spaceship… which is conveniently carrying facehuggers on board… and causes the ship to crash on Earth… more specifically, outside of the small town “Who Gives a Shit”, Colorado. The crash frees the facehuggers and the Predalien on board and they start doing what they do best; killing shit… and one of the victims is a kid (TITS!). Afterwards, a distress signal is seen by another Predator, who is apparently named Wolf in the film (and, to my knowledge, the only Predator to get a name), who quickly dispatches to clean up the mess. Oh, and there are some humans, but no one cares about their retarded storyline.

Unlike the previous film, which was PG-13 because Anderson was too much of a pussy to let the Aliens or Predators unleash the fury, the film actually has balls. In this one, both the Aliens and the Predator are the killing machines that they are supposed to be. The Brothers Strause (who also had their special effects company, Hydraulx work on the film) have no qualms with racking up the kills in their film. Many of the kills are brutal and look fantastic on the screen. Their direction is actually pretty solid and they do what they can with the talent that they have. Their only flaw, in my opinion, is that the film is awfully dark. I don’t mean dark in tone; I mean dark as in poorly lit. Most of the movie takes place during the night or in the sewers and because of this, it is hard to see what is going on in some of the scenes. To get back to their special effects company, Hydraulx; they did a great job on the special effects. The only time they used CGI was when it was truly necessary; besides that, a majority of the film uses practical effects and do a great job at it. The only downside in the special effects department comes from the Predalien’s creature design. The Predalien just looks silly. When it appeared in the comics, if I remember correctly, it was a beast that the Predator couldn’t take on by itself, but in this movie, the Predalien looks like it’s anorexic and wouldn’t be able to put up much of a fight.

The story and the acting are a step up from the previous film. But that really isn’t saying much. When the story focuses on the Predator and the Aliens, the film is top notch, but then the writers decided to interject some humans into the film. Each of whom have their own uninteresting stories (i.e. a mother trying to reconnect with her daughter while on leave from the army, an ex-con trying to redeem himself and the ex-con’s little brother chasing after the girl of his dreams). These little subplots are just used so the people in the audience have someone to connect with; but, truthfully, no one gives a damn about them. All the audience wants is for them to die in a glorious manner… and many of them do. As for the acting… it isn’t anything award winning, but it’s fine enough. No one sucks the life out of a scene, so, job well done.

Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem is the film the first one should have been. The Brothers Strause did a great job on a relatively small budget and with a cast of nobodies and made an entertaining movie. If they were given the chance to continue the franchise, they could probably deliver on an even better movie. Sadly, with Robert Rodriguez’s Predators already filming and the rumor of Ridley Scott returning to the Alien franchise for an alleged prequel (maybe even a reboot), things don’t look good for a sequel.

Final Synopsis: AVP:R is a fuck load better than AVP. Skip AVP and watch this one instead.

Points Lost: -1 for the lame human stories, -1 for being a bit too dark (lighting), -1 for the silly looking Predalien.

Lesson Learned: If you’re in a group of people trying to escape from Aliens or a Predator, have the hot chick run in past a doorway first. There is a very good chance she’ll get killed and give you time to run away.

Burning Question: If there was a sequel, how would you like to see the franchise continue?

Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem
7/10

Tags: 2007, action, Ariel Gade, colin strause, David Paetkau, greg strause, horror, Ian Whyte, John Ortiz, Johnny Lewis, Kristen Hager, latest movie reviews, recent3, Reiko Aylesworth, Robert Joy, Sam Trammell, sci-fi, science fiction, Steven Pasquale, The Brothers Strause