"Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem" served as a welcome break for all the holiday-themed vacation films these past few weeks. (And if the audience count was any indication, I wasn't the only one ready for something that didn't involve snow or caroling.)
The Aliens scout ship crash-lands near a small Colorado town, and almost immediately kill a father and son out hunting. A Predator from the Predator planet learns of the crash and flies to the same Colorado town to kill off the Aliens. The humans are caught up in the crossfire, including Ricky and his brother Dallas; Ricky's got a thing for blonde Jesse, and a fresh-from-Iraq mom Kelly, her daughter Molly, and here husband (of both unremarkable name and fate).
Sheriff Morales calls in the National Guard and orders an evacuation when it's apparent they are up against forces beyond what he can deal with; the Guard arrives prove to be no great match for the warring space creatures. The omnipresent rain keeps any risk of snow at bay as the body count adds up.
For whatever its worth, I wasn't expecting much from this sequel to "AVP: Alien vs. Predator." Granted, Paul Anderson ("Resident Evil" and some lesser works) neither directed nor was part of the writing team, which may have helped somewhat. Also figure we've pulled ourselves out of the tween-friendly 'PG-13' rating into the 'R' genre, so the door is open for more gore, blood, and general alien fighting elements.
The script works a lot better than the previous AVP film as well. The last film's dialogue sounded about as strained as junior high school kids at their first dance; this time around it actually sounded like people to each other. The opening scene with the father and son meeting an untimely demise all but set the tone of this being no-holds-barred (at least relative to the previous AVP).
All in all, a great leap forward whether you loved or hated the previous AVP film -- either way, the director team of the Strause Brothers (Colin and Greg) are welcome to take a pass at the third AVP film.
And that seems a strong possibility, given how the door is left wide open for the next installment, but at least if each sequel improves on the last -- and they keep the Strause on the project -- it will be well worth it.
Entertainment News International (ENI) is the popular culture network for fans all around the world. Get the scoop on all the popular comics, games, movies, toys, and more every day!
