Monster Movie Reviews!
Hah! You probably think I'm going to review Cloverfield. But I haven't gotten around to that yet. Instead, we'll study a hidden gemstone whose value is surprising, all things considered.
Alien vs. Predator: Requiem
A few years ago... no, let's go back a bit further. Over a quarter of a century ago, "Alien" burst onto the screen (hee hee, burst) and put the horror into sci-fi horror with the now ubiquitous H.R.Giger-created alien xenomorph that was a perfect killing machine. From facehugging parasitic infection to chestbursting larva to slimy trailmaker to double-mouthed injector to universal solvent bloodwork, the Alien was a primal force of destruction that seemed to exist only to multiply and kill. The Alien spawned many copycats, and Giger's artwork is famous especially because of this movie and its successors. Also, Sigourney Weaver kicked ass. Can't go wrong with that.
Enter the 80's. It is the Age of Schwarzenegger. His action-packed films are adrenaline laced fun for those who like a dose of KAPOW in their moviegoing experience. After "The Terminator" and "Commando" and "Conan the Barbarian" and many others, The Governator brings to us "Predator", which pits him and his disposable colleagues against an alien who revels in the thrill of the hunt. Despite Ahnold's ultimate victory, the character of the Predator remained in the minds of fans everywhere: what did it hunt? Where did it hunt? and what would be the ultimate prize?
Pitting the supreme hunter against the ultimate monster seemed only logical, and it was first done in a series of graphic novels. Fans clamored for a film adaptation, but it took some time for the two licenses to be acquired and permitted to star together. And thus the first Alien vs. Predator movie came to be. And it was pretty good. Ended with the obvious feed into a sequel. And now, four years later, the sequel is in play.
The plot: Aliens vs. Predator. Pretty much, yeah. Also, some humans get caught in the crossfire.
The pros: New to the field is the Predalien, born from the end of the previous film. An Alien with some of the abilities and characteristics of a Predator is in play, and it is mean and naughty. Also, it's killing humans and making babies. Along comes a Master Predator to fix up the mess his buddies left behind. He has Bad Mother Fucker etched onto his helmet. The battles between the two, and the other Alien spawn, are all exciting, and if the whole movie had been fight sequences, it would have been fine by me. We do get the obligatory Human Setting, in which a small rural town becomes the battlefield between the two alien species, and the human casualties are surprisingly numerous. Especially excellent is the Predalien entering a maternity ward and "altering" the pregnant women to explode into aliens instead of babies. For a relatively low-budget film, it was high-handed with the action and effects.
The cons: Aside from a cast of third-string actors and some dialogue that rings a bit dull, for an action film there's actually not too much wrong here. Obviously this is not High Cinema that the Academy will be paying attention to... but really, if you wanted that, you wouldn't be reading my movie reviews in the first place.
The verdict: If you liked the first AvP movie, I think you'll find this one to be better in several ways. It's hard to imagine, yes, but I think it is the truth. If you're not an AvP fan, or an A or P fan, well, obviously, you're going to see something else.
Disclaimer: I really can't say enough about how cool the scene in the maternity ward was. He turned babies into aliens! That's fucking boss!
Alien vs. Predator: Requiem
A few years ago... no, let's go back a bit further. Over a quarter of a century ago, "Alien" burst onto the screen (hee hee, burst) and put the horror into sci-fi horror with the now ubiquitous H.R.Giger-created alien xenomorph that was a perfect killing machine. From facehugging parasitic infection to chestbursting larva to slimy trailmaker to double-mouthed injector to universal solvent bloodwork, the Alien was a primal force of destruction that seemed to exist only to multiply and kill. The Alien spawned many copycats, and Giger's artwork is famous especially because of this movie and its successors. Also, Sigourney Weaver kicked ass. Can't go wrong with that.
Enter the 80's. It is the Age of Schwarzenegger. His action-packed films are adrenaline laced fun for those who like a dose of KAPOW in their moviegoing experience. After "The Terminator" and "Commando" and "Conan the Barbarian" and many others, The Governator brings to us "Predator", which pits him and his disposable colleagues against an alien who revels in the thrill of the hunt. Despite Ahnold's ultimate victory, the character of the Predator remained in the minds of fans everywhere: what did it hunt? Where did it hunt? and what would be the ultimate prize?
Pitting the supreme hunter against the ultimate monster seemed only logical, and it was first done in a series of graphic novels. Fans clamored for a film adaptation, but it took some time for the two licenses to be acquired and permitted to star together. And thus the first Alien vs. Predator movie came to be. And it was pretty good. Ended with the obvious feed into a sequel. And now, four years later, the sequel is in play.
The plot: Aliens vs. Predator. Pretty much, yeah. Also, some humans get caught in the crossfire.
The pros: New to the field is the Predalien, born from the end of the previous film. An Alien with some of the abilities and characteristics of a Predator is in play, and it is mean and naughty. Also, it's killing humans and making babies. Along comes a Master Predator to fix up the mess his buddies left behind. He has Bad Mother Fucker etched onto his helmet. The battles between the two, and the other Alien spawn, are all exciting, and if the whole movie had been fight sequences, it would have been fine by me. We do get the obligatory Human Setting, in which a small rural town becomes the battlefield between the two alien species, and the human casualties are surprisingly numerous. Especially excellent is the Predalien entering a maternity ward and "altering" the pregnant women to explode into aliens instead of babies. For a relatively low-budget film, it was high-handed with the action and effects.
The cons: Aside from a cast of third-string actors and some dialogue that rings a bit dull, for an action film there's actually not too much wrong here. Obviously this is not High Cinema that the Academy will be paying attention to... but really, if you wanted that, you wouldn't be reading my movie reviews in the first place.
The verdict: If you liked the first AvP movie, I think you'll find this one to be better in several ways. It's hard to imagine, yes, but I think it is the truth. If you're not an AvP fan, or an A or P fan, well, obviously, you're going to see something else.
Disclaimer: I really can't say enough about how cool the scene in the maternity ward was. He turned babies into aliens! That's fucking boss!