Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Aliens vs Predator: Requiem "People are dying... we need guns!"

Thankfully the first "proper" movie of the year was not a let down. The sequel to the not-extremely-brilliant Alien Vs Predator directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, this movie picks up pretty much right where the last one left off and supersedes it magnificently.

Instead of being secluded away in some remote area of the antarctic, the action in this movie takes place in a quiet little Colorado mountain town, with all sorts of fodder for both the Aliens and the Predator to hack, slash, maul, skewer, eviscerate, dismember or disembowel. Please be warned that this movie has received a somewhat restricted rating mainly due to what happens to a hospital ward full of helpless pregnant women. Even children horrifically fall victim to the directorial majesty of The Brothers Strauss.

There's nothing better that I can say about this movie other than that there's enough Aliens Vs. Predator action on screen to satisfy any Aliens or Predator fan. There are many nods to graphic novel material which spawned the series, much more so than in the previous installment but it's not essential to have digested it to appreciated this balls-out combat movie. The role of the Predator here is fleshed out as we see a different side to their society and understand what's happening even though they have no dialog. The AvP action coupled with the humans unloading plenty of ammo at both menaces and the "satisfactory" explosions makes this an A-List flick in my book: The only one that really matters.

I will say the human characters are as lame as the previous installment with the exception of Reiko "24" Aylesworth's Kelly O'Brien, an Airborne soldier just returned home from deployment (complete with handy plot device #1: Night Vision Goggles) in time for the living nightmare to begin. We have a bad-boy gone legit (after time in prison) in the form of Dallas played by Steven Rescue-Me Pasquale who is far more clued in and more intelligent than John Ortiz' inept Sheriff character. Rounding out a cast of predictable sci-fi characters we also have Dallas' hot-headed teenaged brother who has a crush on a thoroughly unlikeable Barbie-whore who's only saving grace in the movie is that she strips off to almost nothing. This time there is no Gary Busey type character who has been tracking the Predators and knows something about them and none of the characters played by Danny Glover or Sanaa Lathan who "bond" with the beast and earn the respect of the Predator Elders - this is just sheer WAR and it's survival of the fittest!

A couple of major issues with costuming with this movie prevented it from getting the coveted "5-Star Plus" rating. A scene depicts Aylesworth's character returning home to her husband and daughter. Her uniform is clearly the USMC MCCUU (desert) but has US Army patches with most notably the 101st Airborne, sewn on it. It's not like the production didn't have access to the US Army's ACU as we saw the gloriously ineffective National Guard wearing them later in the movie. Also at the end of the movie we see an unnamed "Special Forces" type unit wearing the woodland variation of the MCCUU but had subdued US flag patches on their left shoulders, something the US Army doesn't even wear when stateside let alone Marines whatsoever. While these inexcusable errors didn't ruin the movie, it can't be called a masterpiece because of them.

Final Verdict: Excellent continuation to the Aliens and Predator sagas that changes some perceptions of the movies that have preceded this. It will satisfy any sci-fi action-junkies craving for what they desire most: This shit!

Colonel Creedon Rating: *****

2 comments:

Ian said...

My child is only 2 days old and he got sick all over you're review.
If i wasnt so tired,i would kick you're ass Creedon.
You're review is very poor.

Loc Da Smoke said...

I totally agree with your review man! This movie kicks ass!! I saw it on the opening day in the theater, I got the bootleg and I even purchased both versions of the DVD when it came out! I hope they make a 3rd one someday!