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Old 12-26-2007, 12:43 AM   #1
bacalaoboy
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Default Aliens vs. Predator- Requiem

I just saw it a few hours ago. Turns out that if you like constant killing and impregnation (is this a word?), AvPR is probably your kind of movie. This film is PACKED with brutal deaths, gore, and bodies that infant Xenomorphs burst out through. There were so many parts of the movie when I would think things like: "BRUTALLY MURDER'D (BM'D!!!)", or "that's messed up! Howw could they do that!" You can tell the differences between AvP 1 and 2 since it's based on the "Pred-Alien bursting out of the Predator" seen at the end of the first AvP, and it goes from there. A lot of people leaving the theater seem a little disappointed, and others were satisfied. Right now, I don't know if I should compliment or flame AvPR IMO, but if you've seen it, post your thoughts I guess...
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Old 12-26-2007, 12:28 PM   #2
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Default Re: Aliens vs. Predator- Requiem

The movie was bizarrely cruel to everyone, which I didn't really like. At the same time, it was competently filmed and directed. The script was sub par, (say what you will about Paul Anderson, he can still write okay movies), the action was murky, and this was about the meanest a writer can be to his characters this side of Darabont's adaptation of The Mist.

There wasn't much of a story to speak of, although it was nice to see the Predator (Wolf) actually hunting, running chemicals through his arm computer, all those kinds of things. And the glimps of the Predator home world was nice enough where we didn't exactly get to see the inner workings, but rather had a cursory understanding of the environment and technology.

One thing that irked me about AVP was the Predators - they were, at points, actually nice to the humans. That bothered me. The Predators are hunters - they either kill you, or leave you alone. They DO NOT team up with you and become buddy-buddy because you happened to take down an alien. In this movie, Wolf kills everyone that gets in his way - police officers, teenagers, it doesn't matter. He even baits a trap with a human at one point.

Wolf is a lone hunter - he is, from what I gather, the guy that gets called in to clean up messes. He has a box of weapons, he has an assortment of masks, his own ship. He is the guy that you go to when you don't know who to go to. He is not interested in sportsman like conduct, although his tracking skills are still intact. He straight out brawls for parts of the movie, waylaying guns and using his fists instead.

The Predalien looked good and functioned as a half-way queen, but wouldn't you know it, in the end, the real evil comes from the military.

I found it slightly heavy handed that near the end, the small child (NEWT OH MY GOD NEWT NOT REALLY) asks her mother (RIPLEY BUT NOT REALLY) if the monsters are gone. A US soldier steps in to frame and her mother replies, "Yeah, honey. They are."

However gung-ho the movie was with its messages, DO NOT see the movie if you have a problem with children dying. Or pregnant women, as this is how the Predalien reproduces (think face-hugger, but instead of chest-burster, the alien festers inside the womb - say goodbye to the fetuses, dearie!). While the original chest-burstin seen was unsettling because it bastardized an actual birth (and coming out of a man, no less!) the birthing sequence in the hospital was far more disturbing, as innocent characters are punished with cruel delight by the directors.

There wasn't much that could be done after the setup from the last movie, and this one, I hope, fills in gaps between the first (horrid!) and the inevitable sequel, which will hopefully be better. This is just a step above drek. It's shocking in its distaste, overt in its anti-military, **** the government themes, and clocks in at 86 minutes - just enough so that you don't really dwell too much on what you've just seen.

If you'll notice, I didn't really talk about the human characters. While they ARE in the movie, they are carbon copies of other Alien/Predator movie heroes and fodder. Hell, the central character is even named Dallas.

There are a bunch of homages to the original films, but by the time the ending rolled around, everyone in the theatre was either so dumbstruck by the hospital segment (which involves not only womb-bursting aliens, but an out of no where death that is particularly brutal) or couldn't handle any more nods to the original. When Dallas shouts, "GET TO DA CHOPPER!" I clapped. I'm not ashamed to say I did.

While I cannot seriously consider giving this movie anything over a 6.5, I can't really give it anything less than a 5. It was run of the mill, but didn't particularly insult my intelligence like the first AVP. Shock tactics were employed, but there were some well staged fights between the A's and the P's.

If you go to this movie, expect to turn your mind off the second you walk in the door. Otherwise, you might hurt yourself.

5.5/10
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Old 12-26-2007, 07:33 PM   #3
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Default Re: Aliens vs. Predator- Requiem

Mal, I think maybe you were expecting or hoping for too much.

An exploitation sequel of an exploitation team up of fan favorites.

What do you expect from something like this? Personally, I expect nothing at all other than decent action. Not looking for plot or character development or anything fancy like that. Just good action, and from what you say, it sounds like they pulled this off, at least in a satisfactory fashion.
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Old 12-26-2007, 07:49 PM   #4
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Default Re: Aliens vs. Predator- Requiem

That's the thing - it's competent. And that's it. Alien has always been one of the best action/adventure/horror series (I even count Ressurection) and Predator has always been a tense movie about hunters and their prey. I do NOT see why it would be so hard to make a GOOD movie about the two species fighting. Personally, I blame Anderson. The first AVP was poorly reviewed and did tepidly at the BO, which means any hopes for a higher budget in the second went out the window.

I don't like letting my intelligence get insulted when I go to movies. And I said it's fine if you switch your brain off. That doesn't make it a good movie. That makes it a brainless movie.
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Old 12-26-2007, 08:03 PM   #5
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Default Re: Aliens vs. Predator- Requiem

Yes, it's almost necessary to close your mind to any connections to the original series (AVP will likely forever pale in comparison to the first Alien, etc.). AVPR is the continuation of AVP, nothing more, nothing less. It doesn't really have the thrills or chills that one might like, though switching your brain off for a while, as Mal said, allows you to take in only the action and gore, which are essentially the core elements of the AVP series.
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Old 12-26-2007, 08:18 PM   #6
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Default Re: Aliens vs. Predator- Requiem

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Originally Posted by MalReynolds View Post
That's the thing - it's competent. And that's it. Alien has always been one of the best action/adventure/horror series (I even count Ressurection) and Predator has always been a tense movie about hunters and their prey. I do NOT see why it would be so hard to make a GOOD movie about the two species fighting. Personally, I blame Anderson. The first AVP was poorly reviewed and did tepidly at the BO, which means any hopes for a higher budget in the second went out the window.

I don't like letting my intelligence get insulted when I go to movies. And I said it's fine if you switch your brain off. That doesn't make it a good movie. That makes it a brainless movie.
It really sounds like you were looking for plot and ****. Even if they had pulled off good character development and plot and ****, it would feel fake. These movies don't need that. It's not how movies like this work. You don't want to shut off your brain to enjoy this film, go see another film.

I guess what I'm trying to say in a roundabout way is that the movie would be an absolute failure if it pulled out good plot (or how about if it TRIED to pull of a decent plot and failed), yet as it stands, it functions well as a mindless action yarn.

And yeah, as far as I'm concerned these movies exist outside of the original continuity of the original films. I mean, come on, these predator aliens exist and hunt humans on Earth in modern times; I can buy this. These Xenomorph aliens exist out in space, and are multiplied and cloned and **** in the future; I can buy this too, even the ridiculous cloning of Ripley in Resurrection. But to think that these Xenomorphs were also on Earth all of this time and to think that they were there specifically as game for the Predators who were already on Earth to hunt humans... it's just too outlandish. Personally, I would have rather seen a Alien Vs. Predator movie that doesn't involve Earth at all. More of a remake of Aliens with Predators instead of humans.
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Old 12-26-2007, 10:53 PM   #7
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Default Re: Aliens vs. Predator- Requiem

Yeah I saw it yesterday and I was a little disapointed. It started out wonderful, even better than the first, it had great character buildup and stuff, and then after the swimming pool scene, everything was like soooo fast, like a blur to the end. Iono. I hoped for more. I still love all Aliens and all Predator, and all AVP movies though.
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Old 12-26-2007, 11:09 PM   #8
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Default Re: Aliens vs. Predator- Requiem

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It really sounds like you were looking for plot and ****. Even if they had pulled off good character development and plot and ****, it would feel fake. These movies don't need that. It's not how movies like this work. You don't want to shut off your brain to enjoy this film, go see another film.

I guess what I'm trying to say in a roundabout way is that the movie would be an absolute failure if it pulled out good plot (or how about if it TRIED to pull of a decent plot and failed), yet as it stands, it functions well as a mindless action yarn.

And yeah, as far as I'm concerned these movies exist outside of the original continuity of the original films. I mean, come on, these predator aliens exist and hunt humans on Earth in modern times; I can buy this. These Xenomorph aliens exist out in space, and are multiplied and cloned and **** in the future; I can buy this too, even the ridiculous cloning of Ripley in Resurrection. But to think that these Xenomorphs were also on Earth all of this time and to think that they were there specifically as game for the Predators who were already on Earth to hunt humans... it's just too outlandish. Personally, I would have rather seen a Alien Vs. Predator movie that doesn't involve Earth at all. More of a remake of Aliens with Predators instead of humans.
Okay, first of all, by saying that you don't expect a good plot from a movie, or decent characters, you're letting a movie be dumbed down. People like this are the reason I Am Legend was changed from a character driven story about revenge, changing times, and loss of humanity to an out and out action fest with a happy-go-lucky ending.

EVERY SINGLE GODDAMNED ALIEN AND PREDATOR MOVIE before AVP had good characters. They had at least DECENT plots. Without looking up character names, I can name Hicks, Newt, Bishop, Ripley, Dutch, Dillon, Blaine, Ash, Dallas, Kane, Hudson, Vasquez, Call, Vriess, Johnner, Harrigan, Keyes and Lambert. Without looking. Why? Because these movies were good. They made you care, because even though the plots were outlandish, they were well written, well paced.

You know who I can name from the first AVP? Bishop. Because it's the same damned character.

You know who I can name from AVP:R? Dallas. BECAUSE IT'S THE SAME CHARACTER.

I can't remember, for the life of me, another name from that movie.

I'm NOT saying it's all bad. I AM saying that it's bad that you're letting your mind get owned because you're expecting something less than what could be there. My demands for a good movie are not outlandish. The frickin' foundation is there.

By saying the movie would be bad if the plot were good, you're effectivley spitting on the face of cinema. I'm not even kidding here. How on EARTH would a good plot make a movie bad? If I was invested in the characters? If anything, it would make it a rewarding experience.

I went and I saw Shoot Em' Up. That movie was advertised as pure action. That movie WAS pure action. It did not let me down. It was wreckless with its stunts, it was relentless with the gore, and people were killed with a goddamned carrot. It didn't masquerade as being something more important than it was. It didn't take 2 good film franchises, where even the weakest film in said series was pretty damn good, and completley screw them up.

If you go into a restauraunt and order a steak, you get a steak. Sometimes a cheeseburger is good - not all the nutrients or protein, but if you're in the mood for a cheeseburger, damn is it good. If you go into a restaraunt and order a steak after looking at the picture on the menu, and you get a burger, well, something is up. Especially if you've eaten at the restaraunt before.
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Old 12-27-2007, 06:47 AM   #9
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Default Re: Aliens vs. Predator- Requiem

Mal, the reason why the characters have more depth and such in the earlier films in their respective series is that the central idea of the film is "omg this wacky alien/aliens is killin' people~!", while in this one it's "omg predator fighting xeno****s neato hey look at that~". The humans are secondary in this spinoff ****. They don't even matter. And if they tried to make them matter, they would fail to deliver in the department that the film is SUPPOSED to be about: predators fighting xenofags. It would be more like "hey look we're humans getting killed and you're suposed to care about us even though these wacky fighting aliens are picking us off like it's no thang~".

And your cheeseburger/steak example might be more fitting if the first vs. film didn't also lack character development. In that case, you can say that you've already ordered steak and received cheeseburger in the past. So you go back and order a steak and get a cheeseburger again and you're surprised? How about the name of this restaurant is "hey this is cheeseburgers" or "you might get cheeseburgers" (alluding to the fact that considering the first vs film, it's unlikely that you'll get the plot development of the earlier films)? And a better example would be like saying "I ordered lobster on it's own and get lobster and i order steak on its own and get steak, but if i order them together, i get fish sticks and a cheeseburger". Seriously, how you could be expecting strong plot and such; I just don't understand. Yes, the earlier films could manage it quite a bit better, but that's because the earlier films were based around the humans, while the central point of these films are aliens fighting.
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Old 12-27-2007, 07:35 AM   #10
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Default Re: Aliens vs. Predator- Requiem

If you really think the first films are about wacky aliens killing people, then yeah, you'll love this movie. It'll be great. Sorry for mistaking your intelligence for depth.
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Old 12-27-2007, 08:01 AM   #11
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Default Re: Aliens vs. Predator- Requiem

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If you really think the first films are about wacky aliens killing people, then yeah, you'll love this movie. It'll be great. Sorry for mistaking your intelligence for depth.


I was oversimplifying it in feeble attempt at humor.

I suppose I can live with this offhanded insult as closure here though.
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Old 12-27-2007, 09:14 AM   #12
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Default Re: Aliens vs. Predator- Requiem

I'm not saying that you can't be deep. Don't take it that way.

I just expected more from the merging of 2 successful, tense franchises, and thought AVP:R, with new directors, writers, actors, but the same general idea, might deliver. I was wrong, and feel somewhat cheated.

I didn't mean to get so intense.
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