Aliens Vs. Predator: Requiem

[Zasz Grimm]

So! I already know people are gonna come in here being ugh, agh, etc. etc. The first one was an entire abortion of both series, and the only good part was maybe three seconds long whenever the predator at the end jabs a spear into the queens face.

However, from this trailer, this is everything the first movie should've been. Albeit no space marines which pisses me off, but the US army gets involved, only to get absolutely owned.

http://media.movies.ign.com/media/746/746237/vids_1.html

I shall be seeing it in theaters.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Awful title, but first it looks ten times gorier than the last film. It reminds me of the two predator films which were very gory. Man and Michelle from 24 is going Ripley in that trailer.

[Rutabaga]

Holy crap!

I actually enjoyed the first Alien Vs. Predator movie, although I'm the first person to admit that it was pretty tawdry at points. But at least it had Lance Henriksen in it. ;)

But this one appears to be poised to kick the first one totally in the kiester. Considering the fact that this is an infamous "red band" trailer and has some extreme violence, it's obvious that somebody out there likes us and really heard the griping about the tame PG-13 action in the first one. This one looks like a completely over-the-top gorefest, which is exactly what a movie like this needs to be.

I'll be there, Merry Christmas, ho ho ho! :lol

[Sanis Prent]

Why are the military units combing at night by flashlight? We have fully vetted night combat gear in the 21st century now. :|

Looks promising.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Why are the military units combing at night by flashlight? We have fully vetted night combat gear in the 21st century now. :|

Looks promising.

I must have missed that. I saw all the regular people with flashlights although don't know why the military would have them too.

[Captain Raurrssatta]

I'll have to check that again. I mean I don't mind them having lights on, but there is a time and place for that.

My hope is that they give the grunts enough personality and macchismo to hold their own to a degree. We need an Arnold or a Danny Glover or a Ripley or a Hicks or anybody. Thats what made AvP suck.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I'll have to check that again. I mean I don't mind them having lights on, but there is a time and place for that.

My hope is that they give the grunts enough personality and macchismo to hold their own to a degree. We need an Arnold or a Danny Glover or a Ripley or a Hicks or anybody. Thats what made AvP suck.

I am not sure who she plays but Reiko Aylesworth from 24 seems to be playing a very tough female character. Although, if all she does is act tough and that is it, is the question. Hopefully, she is given some character depth.

[Aurelias Kazaar]

Aylesworth did a good job as Michelle Dessler, so we'll see. It looks like they're going for something completely different from the first one.

Which is good or bad.

[Captain Raurrssatta]

I don't like 24 so I'm not nearly as assured ;)

[Karl Valten]

Either way it looks like it's going to be a gory romp throughout. Even if there is no substance to it, I'll probably go watch it.

[Itala Marzullo]

Anybody expecting a masterpice out of the concept needs help, it's just mindless fun. if it turns out to be super awesome like Aliens, then it's a welcome bonus.

[Yog]

Aliens IS a masterpiece, so I am definitely not expecting that much. Although, judging by that trailer, this COULD be the best movie in this franchise since Aliens.

[Regan Valdis]

I have to disagree with you there Yog. While it looks excellent, and I'm looking forward to Christmas infinitely more having seen the trailer, I can't see it being as good as Alien 3.

That film holds a special place in my heart. It's very underrated. Most people hate it - at least out of those I've spoken to regarding the Alien saga. And I can see why - it's so far below the awesome action level that Aliens reigned supreme on, but I'd be lying if I said I wanted more of the same. The fact that it's so different to the first two (it's similar to Scott's film in some ways) is one of the things I love about it. The lack of action makes the film boil down to two things - horror and character. The horror is in bucketloads for me. The prison facility is incredibly creepy - those dirty tiles in the medical wards are a great backdrop for some scenes - and the atmosphere of Fincher's direction is sublime and chilling. It has an ambience on par - if not beating - the original. And the characters are golden. Super-intendent Andrews and Medical Officer Clemens have some great exchanges with some cracking lines.

I think it was a perfect way to end the trilogy (disregarding Resurrection, since it throws a spanner in the works) and I highly recommend anyone who dismissed it as a poor follow-up to Cameron's 'masterpiece' (I agree, it's my favourite film of all time) to give it another viewing. If you can get hold of the extended directors cut, excellent. It gives finality to a few scenes that seem rushed and a bit pointless plot-wise.

Sorry to ramble off on a tangent (sort of). I guess my point was that I think the AvP-R trailer doesn't threaten Alien 3 in my view. But there are so many great things in that trailer. The predators being portrayed as they are in the AvP setting (comics/games etc) as bad mofo's really pleased me. That shot of the predator holding two aliens by their necks really made me smile a wicked-cool smile. And at the end when the guy greets the alien with a shotgun and a suggestion of procreation, did anybody else notice the sound effect of the aliens scream? It was the same one used in Aliens (the sort-of high-pitched elephant sound). Nice to hear that after so long :)

Oh and since I'm too lazy to check, does anybody know who's directing it?

I'm just so happy it's not Paul W.S. 'ultra imba video game movie maker who seemingly doesn't play games at all judging by his films' Anderson.

[Yog]

Well, I don't 'hate' Alien 3, I was just very disappointed with it. I know a lot of Alien fans who do hate it though. Alien 3 is a good sci fi horror, but not a classic like the first two movies, IMO. I agree with what you say about creepy atmosphere of the prison facility and medical ward and the character interaction.

I strongly disagree about it having a perfect ending though. You see, the movie stops when it really starts to get interesting. It builds up momentum forever, and when you finally get the feeling an epic showdown is about to start, a bunch of company space marines breaks the door and Ripley jumps. I was like "huh, is that it?". That would have been a decent ending for most other sci fi horror flicks, but not for aliens, because it conflicts with what makes Ripley's character so great. Sure, she sacrifices her life to finally end the alien species, I can accept that, but she did it after spending most of her time at the medical ward, it was not after kicking some major butt. And that is why Alien 3 ultimately fails to measure up to the first two movies. You just don't do that to RIPLEY, one of the coolest motion picture action heros of all time.

Had the movie been 30 minutes to an hour longer, with "Alien type" showdown, where everyone got killed (including the corporation marines), and she is the lone survivor, and the only way to stop the alien from reaching colony space would be to sacrifice her life, then you would have a sad, but exhilerating end to the series, respecting Ripley's 'kick butt' factor. Instead, the director does a dramaturgical disasterous move. Imagine if James Cameron let the nuclear reactor explode while everyone is still on LV-426 or if Ridley Scott decided Ripley never even makes it to the escape shuttle. Alien 3 ending is an abrupt one, and worst of all; it is insulting to the fans of the series.

Anyway, I digress. Like I said, Alien 3 is still a good sci fi, but it is definitely not an unsurpassable one. My hope is, this movie COULD be on par or better, which would be a good deal for me. By the look of the trailer, this could be a gory, highly intense horror roller coaster action movie POSSIBLY with real suspense. Beating out resurection or AvP is not a particulary difficult feat, and I expect it to do at least that.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I hated Alien 3 because it just ruined the ending of Aliens. It took a cheap way out to get rid of two main characters from the previous film. I thought the beginning was really dumb and really negated a lot that happened at the end of the second one. Of course, the fourth is still worse than the third.

[Yog]

^^ You got a point there. The opening had a lazy way of getting rid of two major characters. I really liked Newt and Hicks too :(

[Rutabaga]

I hated Alien 3 because it just ruined the ending of Aliens. It took a cheap way out to get rid of two main characters from the previous film. I thought the beginning was really dumb and really negated a lot that happened at the end of the second one. Of course, the fourth is still worse than the third.

I totally agree with you on Alien 3. The absolutely heartless killing off of Newt and Hicks basically was a slap in the face to those of us who loved Aliens, and I have only seen the movie once because of that. I was just too angry to ever be able to watch it again :shakefist.

I actually kind of enjoy Alien Resurrection, as crappy as it is, because it entertains me. And it has Ron Perlman in it :D. But the last 15 minutes or so is just completely horrible. The ruining of the Alien queen hive-like reproductive cycle was an absolute death-knell for the series. Stupid beyond belief.

[Cat X]

There is no such movies as Aliens 3 or Alien Resurrection. Aliens was the end of the series.

[Itala Marzullo]

I don't care what anybody says, you do NOT kill an iconic, life-shaping character like Ellen Ripley (quite possibly the greatest female movie icon of all time), that writer just had no damn clue.

[Jedieb]

^^ You got a point there. The opening had a lazy way of getting rid of two major characters. I really liked Newt and Hicks too :(

And that right there is one of the main reasons A3 sucked. It basically took a dump on Aliens before it really got started. It took two of the main characters that made that sequel click and killed them OFFSCREEN. Those characters deserved better. Every film is bound to have its supporters, but most people thought A3 was the decline of a great series and I'm one of them.

I don't expect a great movie, but this trailer looks like we're at least getting a grown up AvP movie and not a PG-13 cash machine like the last one.

[Darth Lucid]

I guess i am the only person in the world who liked all three of them. Resurrection had some interesting spots but as a whole I didn't care for it. I realy hated the human alien live birth monster that was stupid IMO. Infact truthfully only really memorialable thing I can remember from Resurrection is the very last line or nearly the very last line in the movie. "Where are we headed?" "Earth." "why would anyone want to go to that ????? Hole.".

As for ripley dieing if your going to make a great epic that will be remembered you kill the hero in then end. If you leave her alive you have fans wanting more even though you used it as the last movie. If you don't give them more there left asking what happend and there still unhappy so you kill the hero to put an an end stamp on it. Then there are no questions no begging for more people are still pissed but you made a sacrofice. dispite everyone heres dislike of three I loved but I loved the two before it as well they all had there own gems.

As for AvP I liked the first one and I will more then like the second one. Mind you I'm the evil basterd in the back of the theater secretly routing for the aliens. I didn't care much for the pred movies except for the little insight they give on the way there culture works. AvP does a better job on that though.

However I was hoping AvP would give us a clue as to what happend to the chick on antartica and why bishops company starts making androids and how the heck they get ones that think and act exactly like him truth be told that would be a very action packed or exciting movie though.

[Itala Marzullo]

I liked Alien 3 but like I said, killing off all the awesome characters was a big mistake.

As for Requiem, it looks sweet, bloody and shocking, kill women and children!

[Darth Phantom]

I don't honestly believe the scenario portrayed in AvP would have ever taken place. From what I've seen and read the Predator's would never have hunted in the Arctic, in fact they hate the cold. There was a book where the Predator's were in the middle of a huge battle and left in the middle of it because it rained. Also, the fact that there was little to no gore in the movie was lame, both franchises were pretty gory, more so Predator then Aliens, but still fairly gory. However thats my 2 cents.

[Peter McCoy]

Just wondering who has been to see this film. The overall census seemed to be that people were either expecting a pile of rubbish, or expecting some popcorn fun and looking forward to it.

I was in the latter group and I'm happy to say that I really enjoyed this film when I saw it last night.

I can tell you guys now though - taking the movie as a whole, maybe 5% of it is minimal character development. It falls into the horror-genre trap of 'Oh my god, you would not go in there!? Oh my god why would you run off with those things running around!?". I am yet to see such a film where the characters are truly sensible.

None of the characters are memorable. I can't remember a single name in the film. But I didn't expect to.

What I did expect was to see a veteran predator lay some serious smackdown on a bunch of aliens, tearing up the town as he went. And that's exactly what I got and it was great.

If you're in the mood for some no-brainer action fun, go see it. It's better than sitting in if your friends are going to see it. But the entire thing is of no consequence since the town gets nuked at the end. Well I doubt it's a nuke, maybe a ballistic missile or something!? Either way the infestation is wiped out. So whereas in Alien, Ripley surviving the ordeal is a big consequence since she knows what the Company was up to to a degree, and in Aliens the three main characters surviving and eliminating the aliens is a big consequence for the Company yet again, and even in Alien 3, Ripley sacrificing herself to stop the Company from getting their hands on the alien species. But in this, they really do push a reset button to contain the entire event.

[Yog]

I can tell you guys now though - taking the movie as a whole, maybe 5% of it is minimal character development.

That is my problem with the Alien(s) spinoffs, they have no human element at all. You don't care for any of the characters. The 'horror' element also tends to be rather lame. And from what I hear, this was no better than AvP1, in fact, most say it's worse. I will probably catch it on DVD or something because I'm such a geek, but I don't expect anything else than another dumb and poorly executed bastardisation of what used to be an awesome franchise. My main interest is just to see some Predators and Aliens kick some hiney. Pretty shallow of me, huh?

Here are some reviews:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/avp2/

[Eluna Thals]

Yeah the thing that is keeping me away from these AvP movies is not having a convincing human factor. You look at the group of personalities you have in Aliens, and look at the ones you have in predator. Those are the real stars of those movies. They are most certainly larger than life characters, even if they get mostly killed in the end.

[Peter McCoy]

My main interest is just to see some Predators and Aliens kick some hiney. Pretty shallow of me, huh?

If that's what you expect, then you'll enjoy it. It really is as simple as that. In context with the other Aliens and Predator films, this is yet again a poor excuse for cinema. But that didn't stop me enjoying it for what it was. I went in with low expectations and had a really good evening.

[Rutabaga]

I decided to wait for DVD for this one. I was going to the movies so often for a while there that I just needed a break :).

[Yog]

If that's what you expect, then you'll enjoy it. It really is as simple as that. In context with the other Aliens and Predator films, this is yet again a poor excuse for cinema. But that didn't stop me enjoying it for what it was. I went in with low expectations and had a really good evening.

I eventually caught this on DVD. You were right, it was a very bad movie. Terrible. But I enjoyed it for what is was. A lot of Alien / Predators action. They got more screen time than any other film in the series. It is better than AvP1 and Alien Resurrection, but nowhere near Alien 3, let alone Alien / Aliens.

The bad stuff:
- stupid characters you don't care about.
- in fact, they are so stupid, every minute they are on the screen makes the movie worse.
- laughable acting and story.
- I could see how the movie was going to end 5 miles away.
- it does not get less innovative than this (blatantly copying scenes from every movie in the franchises).
- some times, it gets so over the top ridiculous, moving away from the lore too much. Example: Alien / Predator hybrid injecting eggs into a pregnants womans throat right before she is about give birth.. o_O

The good stuff:
- some nice action and visual effects.
- absurd amount of gore and violence.
- lots of screen time for the aliens / predators.
- it's pretty intense and high paced most of the time.

I would only recommend this movie if you planned to see it anyway. It's basically for the fans only.

As a movie: 1/5
Entertainment value for the fans: 3/5

[Park Kraken]

But the entire thing is of no consequence since the town gets nuked at the end. Well I doubt it's a nuke, maybe a ballistic missile or something!? Either way the infestation is wiped out.

Nuke - Ballistic Missile = same thing. But perhaps it was just an itty bitty 40-kiloton tac nuke rather than a 15 Megaton City Buster nuke.

I think I'll see it when it comes out on DVD.

[Yog]

I think I'll see it when it comes out on DVD.

It was a nuclear warhead dropped from a fighter jet. The explosion was big enough to wipe out the entire town and some of the forest around it.

[jjwr]

One comment about the lack of a good human element in the movies. To me I'm going in to see Aliens vs Predator, not Aliens vs Humans or Predator vs Humans, its Aliens vs Predator. To have a big super strong human influence like Ripley, Arnold or Glover would take away from what the movie is supposed to be. I wanted lots of Alien vs Predator goodness and we got it. The Humans were merely just there along for the ride and meant to be killed which is what they were.

[Peter McCoy]

I can see your point, but it sooooooo didn't have to be as empty as that.

The Alien vs Predator video games and comics are fantastic - probably my favourite 'universe' outside of H.P. Lovecraft's stuff. Great characters, really fun stories - and the humans are actually characters. It's the humans you follow in the comics/books, but the realm of AvP is the ride you join them on.

[Park Kraken]

I think I'll see it when it comes out on DVD.

It was a nuclear warhead dropped from a fighter jet. The explosion was big enough to wipe out the entire town and some of the forest around it.

Fighter Jets could only carry about 100-kiloton warheads, max, which the destruction sounds about right. A 15-Megaton warhead would wipe the city, it's suburbs, and anything within a 50-mile radius of the point of detonation.

[Rutabaga]

I have a question for those of you who saw this in a theater...could you actually see anything?

This movie had the WORST cinematography and lighting I have ever seen in a movie. I couldn't see a freaking thing!!!! I thought maybe it was my TV or the DVD or something, but then I checked just a few of the reviews posted at Netflix, and almost everyone complained about how dark it was. I never even got that great a view of the hybrid, except maybe a little bit at the end. Ugh! :shakefist

What I could see, though, was awful. I am SO glad I didn't waste money on seeing this in a theater. The writing was even worse than the lighting, and no one who "acted" in this movie should put it on their resume. And they actually named one of the characters "Dallas"? Ugh again! :shakefist

This was one of those cases where a kick-butt trailer ended up leading to a horrible movie. Both of these franchises are dead as a doornail. And that's a shame.

[Yog]

^^ Yeah, it bothered me that we never got a good look at the hybrid.



Both of these franchises are dead as a doornail.

As far as poduction values goes, both franchises are dead. I don't think this will be the last movie though. It made $128M worldwide and was said to only have a ~$40M budget. In it's debut week on DVD, it made #2 with $7.7 million, was #1 on the Blu-Ray. 6 out of top 11 grossing sci-fi horror movies are alien movies. Trust me, as long as the franchise makes money, they will keep chucking these movies out as the alien motha laying cocoons...

Edit: Actually, here are a couple photos of the hybrid
http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/images/reviews/194/1208175773_3.jpg
http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/images/reviews/194/1208175773_4.jpg

[Jedi Master Carr]

I have a question for those of you who saw this in a theater...could you actually see anything?

This movie had the WORST cinematography and lighting I have ever seen in a movie. I couldn't see a freaking thing!!!! I thought maybe it was my TV or the DVD or something, but then I checked just a few of the reviews posted at Netflix, and almost everyone complained about how dark it was. I never even got that great a view of the hybrid, except maybe a little bit at the end. Ugh! :shakefist

What I could see, though, was awful. I am SO glad I didn't waste money on seeing this in a theater. The writing was even worse than the lighting, and no one who "acted" in this movie should put it on their resume. And they actually named one of the characters "Dallas"? Ugh again! :shakefist

This was one of those cases where a kick-butt trailer ended up leading to a horrible movie. Both of these franchises are dead as a doornail. And that's a shame.


I had no problem with seeing anything that I can remember. The lighting seem fine. The movie wasn't great. I am with Yog on this that it is just entertainment and for the fans of the series. I am glad I saw it on DVD though. The only human actor that I cared for was the female lead played by Michelle from 24, but I think that was my bias for her from that show. She must needed the money after getting killed off 24.

[Crusader]

There is one thing that really bothered me after seeing this movie: Are pizzas really that expensive in the US?

The lighting was OK at the movies. Maybe you should pop in one of your SW disks to check the contrast and gamma settings.
The movie was playing with a lot of blue and black contrasts so if your TV is not correctly adjusted it will be a pitch black movie in many scenes.

[Rutabaga]

Every other DVD I've played on this player and with this TV has been fine, plus the fact that so many other people have complained about it at Netflix makes me comfortable with the idea that it wasn't just me. Plus the movie was so bad that it's simply not worth the effort to change my TV's settings for just one DVD. When it comes on cable, I might see how it looks then, but I seriously doubt that my opinion of the movie overall will change at all.

Thanks for the photos, Yog, that was a better look than I ever got during the movie. And I suppose you're right, that they'll keep making movies because it's profitable, but perhaps at this point straight-to-DVD would be an option. With better lighting, though. :shakefist

[Jedi Master Carr]

Every other DVD I've played on this player and with this TV has been fine, plus the fact that so many other people have complained about it at Netflix makes me comfortable with the idea that it wasn't just me. Plus the movie was so bad that it's simply not worth the effort to change my TV's settings for just one DVD. When it comes on cable, I might see how it looks then, but I seriously doubt that my opinion of the movie overall will change at all.

Thanks for the photos, Yog, that was a better look than I ever got during the movie. And I suppose you're right, that they'll keep making movies because it's profitable, but perhaps at this point straight-to-DVD would be an option. With better lighting, though. :shakefist

Maybe it is Netflix's fault. Can't think what else would do that though. I wouldn't mess with your TV though unless you are have problems with other movies.

[Rutabaga]

I spoke to my sister this afternoon, and she said she had the same problem. She doesn't rent from Netflix, I think she goes to Blockbuster. And she has a fairly new HDTV and all the bells and whistles. She said she was so disgusted with it that she turned it off after 20 minutes.

Either the movie was poorly shot and looked okay in theaters but sucks on a TV screen, or else maybe there was a burning/manufacturing mistake that led to this. I dunno. :\

[jjwr]

There is one thing that really bothered me after seeing this movie: Are pizzas really that expensive in the US?

Large Pizza's from a smaller shop can easily run that much. If you go for the big chains its much much cheaper.

I personally really enjoyed the movie. It was what it was. Aliens and Predators kicking butt and killing people in a town. Expecting more out of a movie like this is just silly. I saw it in the theatre and have no regrets.

[Crusader]

So these prices are realistic! Damn me and my friends thought:"Seems like the script writer hasn't ordered any pizza for a long time.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I spoke to my sister this afternoon, and she said she had the same problem. She doesn't rent from Netflix, I think she goes to Blockbuster. And she has a fairly new HDTV and all the bells and whistles. She said she was so disgusted with it that she turned it off after 20 minutes.

Either the movie was poorly shot and looked okay in theaters but sucks on a TV screen, or else maybe there was a burning/manufacturing mistake that led to this. I dunno. :\

Is this the standard DVD version or the blue Ray or HD version? I saw it on the regular version as I don't have a Blue Ray yet.

[Rutabaga]

It was the standard DVD version, as far as I know. I don't have Blue Ray yet either, probably won't be getting one until next year. And I'm fairly sure that my sister doesn't have one either, she hasn't said anything about getting one. When you put a DVD in the queue at Netflix, it's automatically the standard one, you have to click on special links to get the HD discs, from what I've seen.

[Damien E. Dervish]

Well, it isn't the television's fault, or the bad burning; the lighting in it is that....I guess you would say bad. I think it was done that way on purpose. To show just how poor a human's vision in near dark, or absolute darkness. And to accentuate the point of just how easy it is for the monsters in the dark to track, chase, and then maim or otherwise murder you. Even after adjusting the brightness, it was difficult to see. But after watching the darker scenes for five minutes or so, it became clear to me that it is done purposefully, perhaps to add to the effect. Also, my vision in near-darkness has been honed by years of video game playing at midnight and later, so I eventually had no trouble following the gankage.

As for the human element, it was just fine. To Aliens, humans are cattle, food, and birthing points. To a Predator, most are not even worth hunting. Those that show martial prowess, or a calculatable threat are fine prey indeed. Either way, it would take some massive firepower to go toe-to-toe against either species, let alone some strange hybrid. And even then, expect massive causualties. So, all in all, the human element was realistic enough: we are expendable to either side. Nothing more.

In terms of gore, the movie was great. In terms of plot, what I've seen (haven't finished it yet) seemed okay. The humans in it were fine, existing in their own, monster-free world, until several people were ganked and viciously maimed.

Other than what I've mentioned, all the other points mentioned seemed valid.

And that lone Pred is a posterior-kicking monster. Shoulda called him The Janitor. Man, did he clean house.