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Monday, March 28, 2011


My Favourite Movies: Aliens Vs Predator 2: Requiem

Few of the Alien or Predator movies received any kind of critical praise – with the possible exception of the movie that started them all – the SF horror classic Alien. The AvP films have come in for particular criticism and I can, to some extent at least, see their point. Although I enjoyed both AvP films I am far from gushing in my praise for either. But neither am I dismissive of what I regard as two decent SF films and one’s that add rather than detract from the Alien and Predator ‘franchise’.

AvP2 starts, appropriately enough, where AvP finished – with the body of the dead Predator lying in the departing starship when out of its chest pops an alien/predator hybrid. This, in well known fashion by now, grows and attacks the Predators on the ship which subsequently crashes somewhere in small town America. This was the part of the film that jarred the most. After it was pointed out to me that the crashed ship was very much smaller than the departing ship in AvP I watched carefully to see how, or if, this was explained. It was – sort of. Just before the alien causes the crash a smaller craft (lifeboat?) detached from the much larger ship. It was this smaller craft which crash landed in the forest surrounding the small town we all knew at this point wasn’t going to have a good day (telegraphed by the trailer which showed the town’s population counter in freefall soon after the crash). The confusing storyline continued when a Predator leaves what we can presume is their Homeworld to travel to Earth to investigate the crash. I couldn’t help but wonder why no one was dispatched from the larger craft already departing Earth unless the new alien hybrid had killed them all which I felt was unlikely given that their were clearly a large number of hunters on board: Such as idea felt disrespectful to the Predators.

The rest of the film was largely formulaic in that we are introduced to a number of young people, some of which look like survivors and others clearly alien fodder (the town bad kids). The only adults of consequence are the town Sherriff and a returning female soldier (presumably from Iraq). The scene shifts to a series of attacks where local people are impregnated by face huggers and the new method of direct implantation which, according to an expert source, goes against the known cannon of alien/predator lore. The scene in the forest with the father/son hunters is dramatic and scary. The scene in the maternity ward is rather gross. When all hell breaks lose the wheat and the chaff are sorted rather bloodily. Two brothers turn out to be the heroes who rescue a hand full of people along with the Iraq vet and her daughter. After the National Guard are quickly dispatched by a few passing aliens they ‘borrow’ an armoured transport and get out of the killing zone.

This is, in all honesty, a popcorn movie. The plot is minimal at best, the actors largely disposable and largely disposed of, the SFX are more than adequate though it is noticeable that most of the action takes place at night and you don’t actually see that much. There are a few reasonable moments and quite a few bits that might make you jump. But this is not a thinking film. It’s leave your brain in neutral and just go with it entertainment. There’s one good joke – about trusting the government – and an interesting bit at the end which nicely dovetails into the overarching story (plus leaving the inevitable door open for a sequel). I liked this movie because of its basic entertainment value. I’ve seen it several times now and could probably watch it several times more without getting bored by it. If you’ve been put off by the bad press and just want something to chill out to – and you’re into SF monster movies – you could do a lot worse than this. Just don’t expect to have any of your mental faculties engaged.  

3 comments:

Mike aka MonolithTMA said...

I thought Alien Vs. Predator would be stupid, so I avoided it. Eventually I got curious so I rented it and I loved it. When AvP 2 came out I went to see it in the theater. I was extremely disappointed. It's my least favorite of all the movies in both franchises.

I'm glad you enjoyed it.

CyberKitten said...

AvP2 is definitely AvP's poor relation. It's more like one of those small town slasher movies - but with iconic aliens instead.

I'd like it if they made something like Aliens but on a much larger scale - maybe fighting them on their homeworld or something....

AvP is much closer to the original Alien idea. AvP2 opens it out and maybe loses something by that. Despite all of its faults though I still like it. Both Alien and Predator are very good ideas so its good to see either franchise on the screen. I don't think that AvP2 is the weakest of the bunch. That'd have to be Alien 3 which I thought was quite dire. Alien Resurrection was very good up to the last 5-10 minutes which basically ruined it. Predator was pretty good if rather hammy, Predator 2 wasn't bad except for Gary Busey. Even the new Predators movie was pretty good (better after the 2nd viewing actually). So overall I'd put AvP2 somewhere in the lower middle of the batch.

Mike aka MonolithTMA said...

Most people seem to dislike Alien 3, but I really enjoy it, particularly due to some of the great cast members like Pete Postlethwaite, RIP.

I love the man vs. predator second half of Predator, but the first half doesn't do much for me. Then again, I haven't seen in it a very long time.