Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem

What bothers me most about this crossover series is the fact that the creators have sucked the soul out of two icons of horror sci-fi, leaving us with only a marketing product. It’s dressed up and packaged to attract the masses and neutered enough to hurt anyone drawn to the series with any sort of sympathy. The Brothers Strause understood the task perfectly, but in looking at the individual parts, they didn't understand a single one. And so they ride a wave of references (mostly to Cameron), which they intersperse with fashionable zigzags between the boundaries of correctness (dead children and pregnant women, an interesting kill list). The result is an unwanted B-movie dominated by... the Predator. His sovereign hunting instincts entertain about as much as the Aliens have been relegated to the role of expendable insects. I’d say that kids would be entertained, but my 13-year-old brother told me that it would be better to adapt the game than to create this... shit (I added). (08/08/2009)

The beginning is so fast that you can't even properly take a look, turn off the lights, and grab popcorn, and we already have alien embryos attacking the faces of poor people. This sequel strictly follows its predecessors in terms of classic trademarks and other specifics – from the sounds of fights to typical gimmicks on both sides. As a bonus, we get to see from time to time the planet of Predators (amazing) and some new cool gadget and weapons we didn’t see in the previous movies. All of this in sharper camera shots because we're no longer in the 80s, technology is advancing. Unfortunately, the plot is nonexistent and the characters, with a few exceptions, behave like morons. There are classic clichés (group division, heroic acts), but fortunately, the people don't play the main role here. The monster fights are nothing special, lacking clarity in action and a proper drive, but the emphasis on the physical abilities of each monster is intriguing (breaking through walls, destroying everything around them). As a detailed showcase of legends, it's very entertaining and technically quite decent. As a tribute to classics, it is acceptable because many scenes are basically replicas in a modern attire, but as a pure slasher, it's rather weak. Therefore, better focus on the hunter and the slimeball, and then you’ll feel better. (07/19/2008)

I had the same problem as with the first one: it became boring after a few minutes. That’s surprising because there’s something going on almost all the time – the aliens killing someone or fighting with the predator – but it’s executed in such a sterile and dull way that it almost makes you sad when you imagine how it could have been if… If the action scenes weren’t confusing, if the characters uttered sensible dialogues, if the extraterrestrial monsters were shown in full at least for a bit, or if it focused more on the atmosphere – in other words, if someone else had directed. The final impression is a little bit better than with the first one, but still weak. AvP 3 this time in space and without Straus, please. (01/31/2008)

It's as if you were walking around a fair's House of Horror with exclusive exhibits, but you couldn't see anything because there’s a blackout. In the night scenes (which make up two-thirds of the film), the Straus brothers deliver confusingly edited action sequences drowned in darkness, in which many times you have no idea who is killing whom, who is shooting at whom, and whether this creature is a predator or an alien boss. The brothers prove with their script that they can squeeze some water out of a rock, but they shouldn’t have got behind the camera. (04/20/2008)

The start-up of this B-movie is great. Beginning on a predator ship, a crash, alien "face-huggers" rampaging through the forests, a predator planet, a predator who goes to Earth to find out what happened. Seriously, the film is not flawed up to this point. But then it starts to run out of breath, the atmosphere ceases to build up in any way, and most importantly - night comes and the power goes out in the city. The darkness annoyed me to no end. Everything that took place in it was unclear - especially the predator-alien fights, which were also confusingly edited. What follows is boredom interspersed with occasional eating, shooting, skinning someone (it's spectacularly filmed, yes), which culminates in a fairly decent scene at a hospital. Towards the end, the film picks up again, but to be honest, I wasn't in the mood for it after an hour and a bit. So I give both stars to the great beginning and the decent ending... (02/21/2010)