When a film ends the way “Alien vs Predator” did, with a hybrid chestburster punching its way out of the body of the Predator it was gestating in, you know there's going to be a sequel. And after three years (smart move on Hollywood's part, giving plenty of time to develop a proper story), it has finally arrived. And the results are quite impressive.
“Requiem” picks up right where the first film left off, the aforementioned scene where the hybrid “Predalien” is born as the Predator ship leaves Earth. The ensuing battle that follows (which itself would've made for an interesting movie) causes the ship to crash in the Colorado woods. When a father and son out hunting go to investigate the wreckage, they're attacked by Alien facehuggers and become hosts for the first of an infestation. Back on the Predator homeworld (seen for the first time), a lone veteran Predator discovers what has happened after picking up a distress signal and immediately makes a beeline to Earth to both destroy the Aliens and their Predalien leader and clean up the mess, leaving no evidence left behind. Bad news for the Midwestern town of Gunnison, which has the bad luck of being chosen as the Aliens' breeding ground.
Moviegoers disappointed in the first “AvP” outing will not be feeling the same way this time out. Aside from a rather cool “villain” in the Predalien, both the Aliens and the Predator are back to basics, right down to the original look of the Predator's thermal vision as opposed to what was used in the previous film. He's even sporting two, count "em TWO, shoulder-mounted cannons, for double the fun of blowing away nasty Aliens and just upping his status as a bad-ass. In addition to some of the other cool weaponry and gear we"ve seen in the past, such as the “Combistick” and shuriken discs, we get some new ones like a rather nasty whip that slices and dices those nasty Aliens. And thanks to the film's "R" rating, we get the appropriate blood and gore needed for these film monsters, right down to some poor sap being skinned by the Predator. Not to worry for those on the more squemish side; compared to what's been seen in recent horror films, most of the stuff in this flick is rather tame.
Naturally, there are some humans in the story (hey, somebody's gotta get caught in the crossfire), who provide some sidestories to the main plot. Ex-con Dallas has just been released from prison and wants to look out for his little brother, Ricky, who lusts after pretty girl Jesse and has to deal with her jock boyfriend. Soldier Kelly has just returned from Iraq and is trying to reconnect with her daughter. And there's the local sheriff, Eddie, who has to deal with all the bizarre happenings and try to keep a level head with little success. We get just enough story for the characters to care about them and hope they survive this latest battle, but not so much that it just seems like filler. And don't be expecting any team ups between the Predator and the humans this time out; the humans aren't stopping to find out whether or not either one of the otherworldly beings could help them, and the Predator is pretty much killing anyone who gets in his way as part of his “clean up” job. The movie quickly becomes one big, three-way battle, all leading up to the main event of the Predator versus the Predalien (seeing as folks can expect this, I doubt I'm spoiling anything).
“Alien vs Predator: Requiem” isn't the greatest film out there, and certainly not when compared to the original films of either franchise. But it does manage to hold its own and generate new interest in either series, plus prove its worth as a superior sequel. Not bad for a “slugfest” film.
