Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007) User Reviews

A hybrid crossover has left no rules on the table just hide

[lark40 · 6/10 · 27 May 2021]

Following on from the first its back with even more blood soaked action after a horrifying predalien hybrid crash lands near a colarado town killing everyone it encounters after the ship crashes in the woods and produced countless alien offspring a cleanup operation is done after the predator send a beacon for help so one has his work cut out to clean the infestation with all areas including a children hospital soon its all out battle to the death in this picturesque town as the predalien takes over with no rules there is no mercy and hundreds of innocent people caught in the crossfire as carnage happens all around a handful of survivors attempts a daring escape coming across army vehicle to get to a helicopter with been attacked by aliens and predator tech been used but there is a twist the American government have hatched a deadly plan of its own.

Its a better film that it should be good acting on a budget and there is 7 mind extra on the dvd.

Slasher flick: a breakdown of AVP-R

[LordBlacklist · 4/10 · 30 December 2007]

With this movie I was really hoping that the idea was to make up for the hashed together ineptitude of the first AVP, and yet to my horror: Requiem is far worse than I could have imagined.

My hopes were up in the opening moments of the film inside the Predator ship, and I almost breathed a sigh of relief when we finally saw the Predator home world (a throwaway digital matte painting, but still nice to finally see it) and then of course, the humans (if such poorly written characters can be referred to as such) are introduced...

One must wonder why it seems to be impossible for Fox to make a good film out of Aliens and Predators. At the very least the supposed filmmakers could have done their homework.

Characters are set up in the same manner in which we would expect from the worst Friday the 13th Sequel. The pizza delivery scene was cringe inducing as was every other scene of character interaction that followed it. Bimbos and teen non actors do not make for a REAL film, they make for a cheap flick, and Alien 1-3 and the Predator movies were good because they were produced above the concept (remember that the 1st Alien is a "B" movie done as an "A" movie) The Strause brothers really missed an opportunity, that could have been rectified by simply knowing their Alien+Predator roots: In both the Alien and Predator films we are introduced to characters that are part of a larger group (Alien: Refinery workers, Aliens: Marines, Alien 3: Convicts and in the Predator films we generally follow a main hero part of a unit; Predator, Arnold--Special forces, Predator 2: Danny Glover, Police) and it's easy to see where the filmmakers of both franchises started to go wrong: in Alien Ressurrection we have pirates...or something, AVP we have...explorers?...with guns?? and of course in AVP-R we have teen slasher clichés. What is there to identify with here? In concept the idea of a convict returning to a small town and a war vet returning seemed a set up for a First Blood type of action hero, but like many things it was never paid off.

The Film-making is equally devoid of rhyme of reason. There is no sense of forward momentum to the action, just small sequences that build the most minuscule levels of tension or interest only to cut away just when they're getting interesting...taking the audience out of the movie at every turn. The action scenes themselves, though much ballyhooed in the trailers, are so darkly lit, it is literally impossible to tell what is going on during the fight scenes when they finally occur. Basically, the movie is hindered from many levels. Bad actors combined with poor direction and an atrocious screenplay (which as a screenwriter myself I noticed, seemed to hit every wrong note and cliché that only the most untalented writer devoid of ideas could have hashed together) The WRITING, if it can be called that, is not even direct to video quality, nor does it demonstrate a shred of respect for the established lore of the previous entries in the series. Why does the Predalien all the sudden have the ability to shoot alien embryos down a pregnant woman's throat to use her as an incubator for chestbursters? More than likely because the brain dead screenwriter needed a way to have more aliens for the predator to fight (and given the accelerated growth time even more so than the first AVP: as quickly as possible. Why must meaningless small talk between cardboard cutouts on sticks (meaning the supposed characters)substitute for real character development? (Remember a character is defined by what they DO, not SAY). Why is the Sheriff leading civilians to a cache of guns? (isn't he an officer of the law?) How does the bimbo of all people know where they are? Why does the Predalien wait for the Predator to VERY SLOWLY remove his mask before it attacks? Why are the aliens still falling into that nasty series-post-Alien 3 habit of hissing all the time to let their prey know to run? How on Earth did this series devolve to a character saying "People are dying...we need guns!" (how this writer even works is beyond me, and reflects badly on Fox's already destroyed artistic reputation. It's like everyone involved in the making of this film suffered from a mental impairment or really are that inept at every level of the film-making process.

The EFFECTS are pretty lousy this time around. The Aliens look like men in suits and ADI is just getting lazy with their creature design. The Aliens look like modified leftovers from Alien Resurrection, with that same bulky musculature around the arms as if they did not learn from that movie that it was not a good design, nor a good one to recycle. Again, everything is shrouded in such a state of darkness not to create mystery or atmosphere, but simply to hide how bad the creatures look. And just like in AVP, Stan Winston is sorely missed when the fake looking Predator face is revealed.

There are too many faults to list so I will just say this: Do not waste your money on this movie. Fox is beyond caring about the fans, as this cheap and trashy film is clearly evidence of. I felt bad having taken my girlfriend to see it (though it was free) and apologized to her profusely after. This is one die-hard fan who is done with the franchise.

Note to Fox: What we really wanted wasn't a mindless slasher flick, it was a film adaptation of the original Darkhorse Comicbook, which was better than anything you've produced for this franchise post 1993.

Signing off.

OK Not as bad as people said but kinda rushed

[shaunmcculloch · 6/10 · 15 April 2010]

AVP2 Wasen't as bad as i had been told but there was still something lacking that made both AVP movies not live up to their original standards it felt as if two movies were kinda spliced together with the Alien vs Predator battles happening outside the town and near the ending happening in the town and watching the town people get on with their daily life it didn't feel like a alien or a predator movie but still i did like the fact that only one Predator could take on so many foe's and made it feel again the Predator is a one man army but the Predator is seen too much for my likening unlike in the 1st Predator movie were he is not scene fully to nearer the end and the main characters are really underdeveloped and give me little to no interest at all about their fate and it feels like the story was kinda rushed throughout but despite this not a bad movie to watch and get some friends round and watch with a few beers probably better to rent this movie rather than buy it and blu ray really makes a difference. but there's hope the new Predators movie makes up for the AVP Movies but still avp2 is worth a shot it could end up as it is to me a guilty pleasure as fury the film fan would say enjoy the show.

Brilliant, Mind-Bending Storytelling

[call_me_grudge · 2/10 · 31 December 2007]

From what I understand, Fox was embarrassed they released a PG-13 Alien/Predator movie not so long ago. It was not well received by any means.

Not exactly sure where to go next, seeing as they thought Anderson was the best director for the franchise and they had produced a true sci-fi gem, Fox turned to it's small, but knowledgeable group of monkeys for answers.

These monkeys were by no means veterans of writing sci-fi flicks, but had seen Burton's Planet of the Apes remake and House of the Dead.

Their first task: hire actors. Fox gave them a reasonable budget but the monkeys wanted to save the money. They hired fifteen TV actors shortly after.

Now, the script. The monkeys wanted to save more of the budget so they wrote the movie themselves. Leaving out important aspects of the two franchises was the easy part. Thinking of great new lines for the general audience to remember years down the line - that was more difficult. They butted heads awhile and came up with a truly award-winning screenplay equipped with cliché characters, idiotic decisions an gaping plot holes.

Fox was pleased thus far with the results but wanted to see what was to become of the centerpieces to the film - the aliens and predators. The monkeys again wanted to save money in the budget so they decided to trash the great robotics used in the otherwise terrible AvP original and go with the man-in-the-suit Alien seen in the old films. The actors playing the aliens had trouble fitting into the suits as they weren't properly sized by the monkeys so they jiggled their plastic heads throughout the film with honor. As for the predators, the monkeys decided one predator was enough this time around (again, saving budget) to fight the hordes of aliens that seemingly come out of nowhere.

But what about the effects, you ask? Come on now, people. They may be monkeys but they clearly knew CGI would play a key role in the film. Without diving into the budget, the monkeys used a standard Final Cut program and cut and pasted some very nice fire and spark effects throughout. Putting red and green filters over the camera lens provided some excellent Predator visions.

The setting was something the monkeys thought long and hard about. If this was to be on Earth, in Colorado of all places, they needed to make it realistic. This was where they admitted they might have made a mistake. See, the monkeys didn't have proper training in this department so they thought turning the lights off in the city and having the movie play out in the dead of night and in the rain was the right thing to do. They simply forgot people like to see the creatures instead of looking at shadows and rain the whole film. To add insult to injury, the monkeys accidentally filmed all the fight scenes incredibly close so no one could see what was fighting or who it was. But again, rookie mistake.

The rating. Fox told the monkeys to make the movie R-rated. That was easy. Without showing how many of the injuries or deaths actually happened, the monkeys made a habit of showing the carnage after the fact. It was simple: the viewers got the gore they desired and the monkeys didn't have to film the majority of action shots involving that violence.

Some of the actors originally had questions concerning the screenplay. Why does a blue liquid the Predator has endless amounts of magically disintegrate whatever he wants it to and nothing more than that? Why is an ex-convict driving around in a police car the entire movie? Why did the monkeys forget to show a full body shot of the Aliens? Why does a clock play a more memorable role than any of the main characters? The list of questions just kept growing but the monkeys ignored them and finished their masterpiece.

Fox was thrilled with their work. So thrilled that they opened the movie nationwide on Christmas Day and even spent a few bucks advertising it the week before it came out. The monkeys had successfully made another installment in these cherished franchises.

But some ask, what ever happened to the budget the monkeys forgot to use? They put it towards their next film: Aliens vs. Predator vs. Hulk Hogan. They knew the general public would be upset with the title but they have since released this statement:

"To the people- do not worry about our upcoming film. It will be rated R and will have violence."

And everyone lived happily ever after. The end.

All the usual problems but even the basic elements are damaged by the feckless murky cinematography/lighting

[bob the moo · 17 August 2008]

The predator ship is leaving Earth when the unwanted passenger on board makes itself known - an alien inside the predator itself. The infected causes the craft to crash back to the planet below, releasing a whole new breed of aliens into a forest community who are, to say the least, unprepared for such a creature. Meanwhile, far from Earth, the distress signal from the predator craft makes it back to the home planet where a cleaner is dispatched to tidy the mess up and dispose of all evidence. Stuck in the middle of this intergalactic battle are small bands of humans, just trying to survive the night.

A Requiem is a ceremony to pray for the dead and I suppose it is a word used in the title of this film because essentially the audience is praying for the death to begin as the film is all about monsters fighting one another and killing anything human that happens to get between them. Anyone who has come to see more than this will be disappointed and only have themselves to blame. It was the same with the first film to be fair - I remember thinking that, in regards men in suits punching one another it was acceptable even if it offers nothing else with it. AVPR got reviews even more snobbish and dismissive than the first film but I figured that if I knew what I was getting then maybe I can enjoy it as such. And in fairness there is a part of it that is enjoyable purely as a short of hybrid of the slasher movie (people picked off one at a time) and sci-fi.

Fortunately, as a normal person, I do not come to this film with the concerns over whether really one predator could take on so many aliens or who should win really - and the time I save by not wondering how Batman or Superman would fare in similar fights allows me to watch the film. Sadly though, even as a casual viewer I do have some requirements even from this film and few of these were met. It is to be expected that the script is poor and characters non-existent, this I suspected would be the cast and was pretty much ready for it, if not "happy" about it. What I was hoping for was a darker film than the original, something that is less an action buddy movie with a predator/human combo but more an exciting and thrilling sci-fi; not an unfair expectation since this is also what the Strause brothers said they wanted to make.

Unfortunately what this translated into was just the studio going for a higher rating in a way to tell fans that it is not the kids movie that the first one was perceived as. For me personally though it is not the gore and violence that makes for a good film and I was not just looking for something that was rated higher than the first film, but something that was actually better than the first film. The focus on the violence has distracted the makers from the fact that what was needed was more drama, more excitement and more thrills. All of these are in surprising short supply as the film routinely knocks off the human characters one after another in increasingly unpleasant ways. So far so as expected as this is what I came to see. It shows that the Krause brothers are effects men but they cannot direct and their supposed passion for the subject doesn't mean anything to me if they cannot deliver suspense or tension with it instead of just pushing the buttons that the fans want - violence, shots of home planets etc. All these failings are irritating but the action just plods along and is distracting enough to carry it but the thing is, with any visual media it always help to be actually able to SEE what is happening.

It has been said countless times before but for some reason someone decided that to make it more menacing and dark, the film itself needs to be dark - because, hey, the Alien movies in particular are all about what is in the shadows. Problem is that the makers forgot how well-lit those films were because shadows are only formed by the presence of light, otherwise it is just darkness. For some reason, music video cinematographer Pearl doesn't get this and the entire film is a murky dark light, with the shadows being the murkiest and the rest just being murky. I'm pretty sure it is the worse lighting/cinematography job I have seen in a major studio film release - can't think of any other film where the issue was so consistently a problem. Within this murky monster movie the cast simply run and die and scream - there is nothing else they can do because there is nothing the material for them other than this.

AVPR is a disappointing film that doesn't even really do the basic things that the target audience will demand from it. It does have violence and monsters hitting one another but it is lacking in almost every other aspect of deliver. Some of these are to be expected but some of them, specifically the murky presentation, are just killers, making this film more violent than the first one but a lot harder to watch.

waste your time and money on something else (spoilers)

[frich71-1 · 1/10 · 26 December 2007]

The review on the main page admits that the movie is horrible but that you should forgive it because it is nicely violent. No you shouldn't. There are spoilers at the end of this review but how I can "spoil" this rotten movie I have no idea. Even if you are a die hard Alien/Pred fan like I am wait for the DVD. It isn't worth a 3.99 rental either but you'll be much less inclined to truly hate this film if you pay that than 12 bucks or better per person plus concession purchases at a theater.

In the theater I watched AVPr there were exactly two laughs, both by a girl sitting next to me. Other than that there was total silence throughout. No ooohs, or "that was bad ass!", nothing. Imagine being a patient on an operating table and just being given the anesthetic. Now you know what you'll feel like in the theater after the opening scene of AVPr.

What was the budget on this movie? Like War of the Worlds, MI 3, and other f/x driven movies the director seems far more involved in what the CGI people can come up with than developing characters or a plot. Spielberg has tried and failed at this several times, usually with Tom Cruise. Sure the movies make money but should they? War of the Worlds and Minority Report had the budget to pay for a decent script, Tom Cruise et al, and SS himself but were still awful. I'm sure AVP wasted 90% of their budget on CG and had no choice but to hire any actor that would say yes even though the casting agent would have done better by going to the supermarket and picking actors at random.

There is no tension developed in any scene so we are never close to being surprised. Who cares who gets killed? We didn't know any of them, we all know what happens when the lil aliens make their corporeal exit, we all know the blood is acid. In Alien, Aliens, 3, Resurrection, and even AVP the directors make use of the fact that the Aliens can think, can hide and can lay traps. This director decided that the Ridley Scott, James Cameron, and others were idiots for developing characters you actually want to see either live or get killed. In this installment you will never care who lives or dies, not a kid, a parent, a pregnant woman. The characters serve only one purpose in this movie, to die. The opening scenes establish the fact that the movie is going to be a predictable joke. The character development scenes mix clichés, bad humor, and bad acting and numb the viewer to the point where we really don't care if they get killed so long as they die in never before seen ways. But they don't. The director tried to make something different from those who preceded him in the Alien franchise but only succeeded in discarding the good parts of the first films, the human protagonists, and stealing the rest from other recent sci-fi films.

There is not one original use of the either the Alien or Pred characters. The Pred actually has little trouble killing Aliens by the dozen even though the last movie led us to believe that Pred revered the Aliens as such a deadly foe that they used the killing of one as Rite of Passage. The AlienPred is never really developed as a fearsome creature. Its ability to inject parasites into a host is ripped from several different movies most recently probably was Hellboy where Samiel's dismembered tongue injected eggs into Hellboy or Doom where the mutated creatures would leave their tongues behind after they speared a victim's throat.

Simply put we aren't given reason to care about anything in this movie. There is violence but it doesn't shock or surprise and is nothing that hasn't been seen in any of a hundred slasher flicks. The CG is OK and both species of alien are made to look and move as they have in movies past. But since the characters are never developed and the acting is so bad we kind of hope that they all die. The little girl was probably the best actor of the bunch but sadly we aren't made to care whether or not kids, women, or anyone else lives or dies. We just want the movie to end. Eventually it does but not before another stolen plot line from Resident Evil 2 has a nuke aim Gunnison's way to wipe out the "infection". And not before yet another stupid scene that is supposed to open the door for further sequels but does it? In a movie filled with bad scenes the worst may have been saved for last.

Sorry for the repetition but everything bears repeating: bad script, no plot, unoriginal action scenes, uninspired direction, abysmal acting, decent f/x that were wasted because of the many flaws.

I don't mind going to an indie film and being disappointed. The actors and directors and crew are probably getting their careers going and working on a shoestring budget. For a movie with this type of budget and hype I feel cheated along with disappointed. This movie is a painfully boring waste of time from the opening scene to closing credits. Sad to say that a preview of Hellboy 2 was the best part of AVPr and HB2 didn't even look that good.

Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop making anymore now!!!

[luke-346 · 2/10 · 13 February 2008]

There was a time when the Alien series was a success with even the third installment, Alien 3, showing promise under the guild of a fresh and young David Fincher. The first Predator was a box office hit mainly due to its story, "in peak" star Arnold Schwarzenegger and director John McTiernan (Die Hard). The films Alien, Aliens, Alien 3 and Predator were all highly successful and created massive followings among general film fans and science fiction fans alike. Arguably Predator 2 and Alien Resurrection should have signaled the end for both franchises, but studios were undeterred and saw the opportunity to pander to the rumours among fans and combine the two. Step in Paul W.S Anderson, Alien Vs Predator, and now the Brothers Strauss (visual effects graduates, not even directors or writers). The problem was that by allowing such profound and revolutionary creations of the Sci-Fi genre to fall into the hands of firstly a mediocre director and now directorial newbie's has led to nothing more than profanity, epitomised by incompetence. Upon witnessing Alien Vs Predator Requiem (AVPR) die-hard fans will feel sick to their stomachs that this series could have got any worse.

One example of the cinematic deterioration of this franchise is in the opening scene and is likely to cause nausea among fans. The film begins with an Alien making its way onto the Predator ship, spurting from the predators chest, growing in to a full grown Predalien and bringing down the Predator craft (which now seems to have far less Predators on it than it did at the end of Alien Vs Predator) and all this occurs with the ship still in Earths atmosphere. Once the ship has crashed AVPR quickly resorts to cheap plot methods and basic narrative conventions, it makes no venture at utilizing any of the twists or subversions served up in the two original films. The wearisome plot progresses with tedious pace, punctuated only by the near rousing conflicts of Alien and Predator and when that runs the risk of boring us we are treated to either an alluring blonde in a bikini or rapid gunfire. AVPR is plagued by an endless array of continuity errors and plot holes with little or no narrative elucidation i.e. members of the public outwitting an elite military unit or the Predator not adhering to laws established in previous editions. This is a film that has a complete disregard for its predecessors, it breaks some of the most fundamental rules of a sequel and in doing so one gets the feeling that it is trying to set itself up as a stand alone feature. Independently the film has no heart, no conviction and no soul and with reference to the other films lacks even the most basic continuity. This is exemplified by the over arching narrative of the film as it undermines the basic premise of the first Alien. Because if the species had been encountered before then those in the first Alien film would have been more proficient and not so ill prepared when encountering them.

On a cinematic note the film is close to being dire, I felt urged at some points to shine a torch at the screen, the lighting was so bad. Through utilizing such gloomy and dark effects the audience may feel as though they are being cheated out of some the action – which is ironically its purpose and also indicates the films lack of budget. As with all science fiction one scene normally surfaces as being the most memorable, in this instance it is probably the hospital impregnation scene as it ever so tenuously draws on the themes of the original Alien by literalizing it. The directing is poor, performances weak and the script rotten. AVPR is the product of a conveyor belt system of film-making in which ideas and techniques are assembled by ineffective people and then the finished product distributed among cinemas. This is personified by the absence of gory death scenes and drawn out blood battles because the certification will not allow it – a lower certification achieving a larger target audience. AVPR was purely a business venture and nothing more.

Oh, come on! You have good puppets, good cgi, good kills... why the heck did you shoot the entire film in the dark?

[ianweech · 7/10 · 19 May 2021]

I honestly thought that this could've been a great movie, but all of it was shot in the dark! I want to enjoy the kills and the alien and predator costumes, but I couldn't see crap, so I had to Lower the rating. If I could see what was happening, this movie would get a 9.

Stay away, Brothers Strause.

[emerald_dark · 1/10 · 18 January 2008]

One of the worst films I have ever seen and a shameful abuse of one of the greatest movie monsters of all time. The Alien is no longer scary. Gone is the elegance. Gone is the menace and chilling patience. Made by people who know how to make FX but have no real idea about how to make a movie. I sometimes wondered if they were making fun of what had gone before, like a Zucker/Abrams flick as it seemed to veer into what could be construed as parody. Sadly, no.

Remember when you were a kid, playing with, oh let's see, some Star Wars figures? It would be some adventure not from the films but just your own kiddie imagination recreating certain feelings of excitement. And even if Han and Luke were stranded on some carpet planet, they might wind up saying some familiar lines, like "I have a bad feeling about this," or find themselves in a situation more than a bit like one from the films. Just your kid imagination putting together a story that pleases your own juvenile sense of what you feel it should be. And that's fine, because you're a kid and really shouldn't know any better. What's more, you're not getting paid to do it either.

Brother's Strause, go and buy some toys and never go near a film camera again.

What Did You Expect Would Happen?

[AaronCapenBanner · 7/10 · 27 August 2013]

If the Aliens ever got loose on Earth, I fully expect them to create the exact kind of havoc and destruction that they perform here, and some of it is gruesome indeed(the hospital for instance...) so since many fans wanted to see the Aliens on Earth, filmmakers granted them their wish, and what did they get back...lots of hate! I may be one of the few that liked this second(possibly last?!) AVP film, which picks up right where the previous film ended, with the Alien infested Predator ship crashing to Earth, unleashing Alien hordes on an unsuspecting and secluded Colorado town. A veteran Predator is then dispatched to Earth to clean up the mess, and cover up their involvement.

I admit that the cast of unknowns may not grab you, but they are still reasonably interesting, and come off realistically, with elements that parallel earlier films in the series. Lots of good action, and plenty of scares, though I admit it is(literally) too dark at times, but then it is set at night in the rain! Much better than believed, and an ending that gives a nice bit of continuity for the fans...

The fact this movie was a theatrical release astonishes me, as it is deserving of the direct to DVD category.

[littlejimmy835 · 2/10 · 27 December 2007]

Starting where the last AVP left off, an Alien "chestburster" emerges from a dead Predator on a Predator spaceship, and causes the Predator space ship to crash into modern day Gunnison Colorado, where it breeds several more Aliens which start to cause havoc. The Predator race sends down a lone highly experienced and armed Predator to "clean up the mess". Our human characters are caught in the middle of the intergalactic battle.

The biggest problem with this movie is the pacing. This movie moves along way too fast. The opening credits have only just rolled and already the Predator ship crashes into the Earth after the Alien grows to full hight, a hunter and son character are introduced but before we even get to learn their names they are both killed, then we see the Predator home-world and the lead Predator flies off to fight the Alien infestation, and all this happens within the first five minutes. This unnatural pace does not let up for the entire movie; the National Guard comes into town but within two minutes are all killed without even getting a good look at a single ones face, the manager of a pizza store gets one scene of character development only to be killed off the very next time we see him once again without even learning his name, random hobos, a coffee shop waitress and chef are killed again without learning their names. One moment our main characters are at home, the next running around town, the next in a gun store , the next in an APC, and this random set jumping over and over just doesn't ever let up leaving the audience no time to settle in leaving them grasping for straws.

Another problem is the settings and time frame. The movie is set in modern day Gunnison Colorado. Every other Alien and Predator movie was shot in enthralling settings, such as industrial space ships, guerrilla war zone rainforest's, alien planets, and underground labyrinths. Now comes along AVP-R, set in a small modern day American town, with set "highlights" including a sporting goods store, parking lots, Pizza Shops, and little girl's bedrooms. I mean, were they actually trying to make the movie look as dull, drab and uninteresting as possible?! It's hard to perceive these monsters as frightening creatures when they are standing next to a shelf full of Reeboks, or hiding in the bushes outside little girls bedrooms.

Continuity is a big issue with this film. The Alien series was set in the future, no human had even heard of an Alien before the first film, and the Aliens not only had never been to Earth, but if they ever did reach Earth, humanity would be destroyed. This movie ruins that entire concept by being set in modern day, with Average Joes seeing the Aliens all over the place, and by the end of the movie, humanity is not destroyed, not even suffering what could be considered minor losses. It pisses all over that entire concept of the other movies. Attempts to maintain continuity are made with massive Deus Ex Machina's. The Predator just happens to carry around a bottle of unlimited magic blue liquid that's just to melt away any bodies with just a single drop, the army at the end of the movie just happens to go to overly drastic measures and drop a nuclear warhead that just conveniently erases all evidence of the Aliens existence despite the fact there were many survivors of the incident who are witnesses, and many more bad attempts are made at filling up impossible to cover plot holes.

Also, for a "Verses" movie, it has unrelenting bias in favor of the Predators. For the majority of the film, a lone Predator manages to kill dozens if not tens of dozens of Aliens, all at mêlée range while barely gaining a single scratch, while the Aliens just get slaughtered left right and center like clay pigeons, merely waiting their turn to be killed by the Predator without putting forth any effort to defend their selves. This movie should not be called "Alien vs. Predator", as much as it should be "Predator massacres Aliens". I mean, how can you have two species battle it out with suspense and tension, when one is portrayed as being vastly superior to the other?

The characters in this film are amongst the biggest flaws. Not only do they pale in comparison to the characters from the previous Alien and Predator movies, but even as a stand alone movie they are bland, dreary, and even at times cringe worthy. The characters in this movie consist of I kid you not, horny couples wanting to get laid, pizza delivery boys, blonde bimbos, high school bullies, children, and a blatant copy and paste job ripping off Ripley and Newt; the worst and most cliché possible ideas for characters. Not only that, but all of the aforementioned characters are acted by teenagers. While the casting of teenagers is an obvious attempt to pull in younger audiences, its only effect is to make the movie look and feel like a typical teenybopper slasher-porn movie, with actors who are too young to have learned how to give a convincing performance, with them mostly having completely blank facial expressions delivering monotone dialog. Not only this, but these characters do some of the most cinematically retarded things ever, such as using Predator guns, commenting the powers out when it has been for hours, following dumb plans to get out of town rather than just walking out of town somewhat quickly, and just so many other idiocies that the movie actually had the audience in my theater sighing out of frustration.

In the end this movie is just a horrible B movie, something deserving of the direct to DVD category. The fact this movie was a theatrical release astonishes me, as every part of the movie just ranks of amateur work.

Nice Try, Next Time Switch the Lights On!

[Lebowskidoo · 8/10 · 2 July 2020]

This sequel to the original AVP ups the ante by going for that R-rating. There's a rapid succession of gory deaths, but the decision to film everything in darkness means we can almost never see anything too clearly.

It's not a terrible movie (sorry, I just love these movies) but the characters are very lacking in depth, and are never given any time to develop prior to being gouged or dismembered. This is one of the cruelest entries in either series if you consider some of the victims here. They now had that R-rating and were going for it! It's all edited in a way to confuse the viewer, the action moves too quickly at times. It's also the shortest movie of either series. A little more fleshing out ( no pun intended) of the characters and some lighting adjustments would have helped.

The Predalien was a brilliant idea, but I'm not sure I ever got a good look at it. I think the first AVP was better simply because the aliens were more bad ass than here, where they are less intimidating and are too easily dispatched. I guess this is the weakest link in the series overall, but I still liked most of it. I'm not that hard to please though, I'm a real ho for these movies!

not THAT bad

[movie-hero · 7/10 · 13 August 2010]

*Spoilers Ahead* Common people, yea this movie was not that good, it was too dark, the Pred-alien was stupid as was it's maternity ward "mission", and the aliens were more fake looking than in the first alien movie, but seriously, what did you expect? The bar was set so low from the first avp, it could only be better. In the first AVP, the whole lost temple with every ancient civilization in Antarctica idea was just flat out stupid. This at least has the believability of an Alien or Predator movie. This was totally about the carnage, and there was plenty of it. The thing that everyone complains about is the multiple predators in the first avp and the predators movie, this had one, ultra bad-ass predator. The people who survived to the end didn't kill or even hurt the predator, yea they got a few aliens but they always get killed by a human or two. I am in no way saying this was a great movie, but for what it's supposed to be, its pretty good. Did you really expect an Alien vs Predator movie on the same level as the Godfather, or Shawshank Redemption? I hope not, you have to expect cheesy dialogue, lots of cgi/make-up effects, and lots and lots of bodies. This movie delivered all of those things. It should have ended with the survivors at the helicopter, but Hollywood needs that potential sequel scene in case it makes money. Don't be so hard on this movie because it doesn't deserve to be put down on the level of the fist avp.

By the Numbers, Watch the Trailer Instead

[Joshy-3 · 2/10 · 25 December 2007]

I'm sorry to say that this movies was one of the biggest disappointments of the year. Following one of the biggest disappointments in movie monster match up history you would think that they would learn from the mistakes of the previous incarnation. The sequel falls into many of the same traps, the plot line was completely forced, the dialog was so bad that the film might be better on mute, and the action was contrived and far from the heart pounding brilliance of each monsters original films. The best part of AVP-Requiem is in fact the trailer, which as you go through the movie end up realizing that almost every single death and every really cool shot in the movie was already shown in the trailer which leaves little to be revealed and little to be excited about. I gave the movie an extra star for letting see the extra hot female in the almost nude. the movie played out like a color-by-number sci-fi monster fest which also played into the fact that nothing was a surprise when it happened, because you'd seen it a thousand times before. the main failing with both these movies is that the creators thought that setting the films in our time would make us be interested in the story more as if it may one day happen to us. but what drew people in when they released the arcade game back in the day was that it kinda took place within an over the top futuristic version of the ALIEN trilogy time line which allowed more of a suspension of disbelief. this is where the future movies need to draw inspiration from. because to be honest, seeing a waitress killed by the ALIEN we all have feared since childhood just really doesn't do it for us. lets take the series back to its roots. learn from the former masters and don't mess with a winning formula by trying to make a 'bold new vision' we liked the originals for a reason, we want to see that again. Lastly, the ending is the real WTF moment of the whole film, *SPOILER* after the big climax, the survivors are ambushed by Special-Ops soldiers who justify their horrific actions by saying 'we were following orders' and then turn on a dime and start acting all nice and are turned into saviors. then after the long pull back with one of the survivors looking ominously into the heavens, we cut to the most bizarre cliffhanger I've ever seen, with characters you never saw in the rest of the movie (Save the Government Dude) then with all the subtlety of a punch to the face they reveal that there will be yet another film with the hint of a plot line that would make a sci-fi channel original movie blush and turn up its nose. So, in summation, if you have to choose between this movie and doing any other activity on the face of the Earth, skip the movie and do the other thing instead.

Needs To Be Buried Alive With Whoever Green-Lighted It.

[CinemaClown · 1 November 2014]

What will it take to convince the idiots running the major Hollywood studios when to push the stop button? It's a strange time we're living in where even critically panned films are being warranted sequels now as the aim definitely seems to be making more franchises than stand- alone films & grab as much cash as possible by building on the (financial) success of the original.

Continuing the crossover of Alien & Predator series, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (also known as AVP:R) begins right where the first film of this newly established franchise signed off. Set in Gunnison Country where a Predator spaceship carrying a hybrid alien crashes, the film continues the war between the two iconic-but-now-turned-idiotic species with stupid humans caught in between.

Terribly directed by Brothers Strause, the movie marks a new low for any cinema that has featured either creatures so far and is an absolute trash from start to finish. Horribly written, badly photographed, tediously edited & full of dull characters (this time including the two creatures as well), there isn't one thing worth liking in this garbage throughout its runtime.

On an overall scale, continuing the recent tradition of making a mockery of all cinema classics by sequels, prequels, remakes, reboots or spin-offs, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem is one of the most boring orgy of mindless violence whose only improvement over its already pathetic predecessor comes in its upgrade from PG-13 to R-Rated. Needs to be buried alive with whoever green- lighted it.

Whoever wins...we lose...again

[Simmy41 · 1/10 · 2 February 2008]

When Paul W.S Anderson's atrocity that was AvP ended, it left us with the not so subtle hint of a possible sequel. Written by Shane Salerno, (unaccredited writer in the first one) the story tells how the little Predalien from AvP has all grown up, kills the crew of the Predator ship, causing it to crash in small town. The last surviving Predator launches a distress signal that alerts experienced hunter Wolf (names after Harvey Keitel in Pulp Fiction…seriously) who comes to earth to cover up the mess. He does this with the help of a blue liquid that evaporates what it touches, but you don't need a lot of it. Throw in some dull stereotypes (good guy with dark past, hot girl, bully) with about as much depth as a piece of paper and your on your way to the worst film ever. However that's irrelevant right? It's about the fight between two of the most fearsome creatures ever put to film. Unfortunately this is done so atrociously, it almost (but not quite) appreciate Anderson's effort. The lighting is shambolic, clouding everything in darkness you actually think that there may be something wrong with the film. Also, it's very clear that directors The Brothers Strause favour the Predator. Wolf is the ultimate warrior, tooled up to the max, taking on an army of Aliens. Which is fine in itself but this isn't a Predator film, though you may think that 's Predator propaganda with how badly handled the Aliens are. They're a far cry from the fearsome creatures presented to us by Scott or Cameron. Instead we get the true meaning of the term cannon fodder. Add in plot holes such as changes in acid blood concentration depending on how important the character is and their inability to leave the town. A homage is a good thing however when half you film is made out of it, it looks pretty silly. Constantly using shots from other films is not homage, it's lazy. Then we're left with a pretty lacklustre ending, that offers nothing but a reminder that, again, the fans of both franchises have been shafted once again by Fox. If you must insist on making these films, will you please hire someone with talent?

Aliens vs Predaturd

[tibetanpunk · 1/10 · 3 August 2008]

This film and the 1st AvP film both all over the whole Aliens and Predator franchise.

They are awful films, badly acted, badly scripted and terribly directed. They just seem like someones desperate attempt to make money off of the good name of the original aliens and predator films but instead of delivering a well thought out, quality production, they came up with the predaturd.

The original Alien/Aliens/Predator/Predator 2 films were great, they redefined the horror/thriller genre by inventing these insane (and yet still believable) creatures who took the role of the 'serial killer', as opposed to a human.

These films are just milking the franchise and do nothing but darken its name.

The Aliens vs Predator comic books were brilliant and had a great story. They were true to the Alien/Predator mythology, didn't crap all over the original stories etc... Why didn't they make the comic book into a great film? Because Hollywood are idiots, thats why.

Garbage!!!!

[SUNLION777 · 1/10 · 9 February 2008]

Ed Wood is rolling over in his grave. He could have made a hundred cult classics for the price of this waste-hole. The worst script in memory (it makes "X-Men 3" sparkle like "Citizen Kane"); the most amateur directing; pre-K cinematography; the cheesiest "special effects" (I'm talking about "Friday The 13th" sequel territory); and throw in a pointless, revolting, deeply disturbed, maternity ward sequence. The lack of any talent or sensibility that put this garbage on-screen is astounding. That the "industry" might reward anyone involved in this celluloid cess-pool with future projects ought to be cause for serious alarm.

Good fun but huge missed opportunity

[samtimoney-79758 · 7/10 · 17 February 2019]

Violence is great, still not enough for an alien and a predator film but still fun and entertaining, it's hard to see in the dark and could of been longer, also wish there wasn't so much Pervy camera angles on the skinny blonde girl, also wish it was a bit longer and had a bigger plot, I've seen this film 5-6 times now, I went in with high expectations for some reason when I first watched it, hated it then I had low expectations and an open mind and enjoyed it a lot more this time round. Don't watch this if your looking for a good movie. Just watch this if you want some senseless, storyless action.

Where's the suspense?

[pmaglinger · 1/10 · 29 December 2007]

This entry doesn't contain a spoiler. It doesn't have to. The movie is as predictable as the sunrise. The element in the first Alien movies was the suspense that something COULD happen. This was so in the first two Predator movies, though less prevalent. Requiem has totally removed the element of suspense and replaced it with blood and gore. You know people are going to die (well duh, it is a AvsP movie), but you know WHO is going to die and WHEN they are going to die, AND WHERE they are going to die before it happens. The directors should take a lesson from Hitchcock who said, "Suspense is not a time bomb going off under a table. Suspense is a bomb NOT going off under the table". What's the sense in going to a movie when you know exactly what is going to happen and when? If you really, really want to watch this movie, wait until it comes out on video and then RENT IT, but by no means would I ever buy it.

see the first one,,, then see this one .. you will like this one more!

[Andone117 · 7/10 · 2 February 2009]

I didn't have any hops about this movie when I went to see it but it turned out good, the first movie was a disappointment..

So this movie is not as bad as many people think and say it is, this movie has one bad-ass' predator as it should be and tons of Aliens and a "Boss" a hybrid made between a Predator and a Alien witch I am shore every Alien and predator fan always wonder how it would look like.

The movie is dir by the Strause brothers and the visual effects in the movie are great!

Sure it may be a thin story but how else can you make a sequel out of the first movie? P. Anderson literally destroyed the first Movie and every outer movie he has ever made so give this movie a break. It kicks the first movies ass by far.

This movie is a waste of time and money!

[mrforestranger · 1/10 · 28 December 2007]

My qualifications for this review? I own all the Alien and Predator movies & I have and have read almost all the books I can find that are related to this series.

I can safely say, this movie is a Stinker. Save your money & don't waste your time. If you like mindless action, mindless gore, no plot to speak of & like being taken by Hollywood, see the movie.

If you are a serious Alien series fan, send a message to the over stuffed, over paid suits in Hollywood & 20th Century Fox & don't give them a penny.

This movie has so many plot holes in it you could sieve pasta through it. Read the other negative reviews to get the big picture, it has all be said accurately, so I don't have to repeat them.

The characters in this movie are cardboard. You want them all dead. And, the movie doesn't disappoint, almost all of them die. Even the hot, bubble headed blond. Do you feel sorry for her? Nope. No plot, no character development....who cares. The Predators are now idiots too. They scan everything but their own dead warrior. They are suppose to be a high technology society, right? In the Predator movie, they scanned the soldiers and the girl to determine who was armed. Trophy kills. In AvP, they scanned Charles Weyland and let him go because he had Cancer. Major Plot hole!

Also, the R rating is because they have kids in the movie that get a face hugger, lots of gore and violence and there is one hospital scene where a very large pregnant women is injected with chest bursters. She is implanted by the Hybrid Alien with 4 or 5 eggs in a mouth-to-mouth love scene-orgy and they all hatch in, say, 30 seconds. Sensational gore a plenty, nothing more. These scenes are laughable, not serious. It is almost like the violence happens and the Alien looks at the camera and waits for applause, a thumbs up or a nod of some sort.

The Aliens in this movie are all on performance enhancing drugs. They develop fast and spread quickly all over the town, tons of them, everywhere in record spawn time. Pathetic because it does not stick to the series story line and adds nothing to the Aliens, Aliens Predator continuity.

I have noticed the positive reviews are written by people who love the gore. Laughable. As a movie, as a continuation of the Aliens franchise and the development of the Aliens vs Predator franchise, this movie is a cheesecake cliché at best. If you have faithfully followed this series, all the rules are broken and the Aliens and Predators are reduced to comic book characters.

There is not one fantastic, memorable action scene. There are almost no special effects worth remembering. There are no brand name actors. The plot is as thin as onion paper that ultimately ends with a, "We have two choices to get out of this mess...The Hospital or the center of town!". I just about wet myself. The center of town means everyone is going to get nuked by Big Brother who somehow knows the town has been infested because they have an AWAC in the air that can see the infestation on a radar screen in special effects Red Spots. I just about fell out of my chair. Special effects red spot alien radar on an AWAC over middle America. I am splitting my gut laughing.

Having to get to the Helicopter Pad made me choke on my popcorn. Has anyone played a game called ZOMBIES!? You have to get your playing pieces to the Helicopter Pad to win. I almost wet myself laughing.

The ending is enough to make you shake your head in wonderment. Who did 20th Century Fox hire to write this script!? OH, OH, ask me.... a Grade 5 student. There really can't be any other answer. Oh, yes there can be another answer... Low Budget Cheesecake Sci-Fi.

The ending? "Col. Stevens takes the Predator pulse rifle to Ms. Yutani (Francoise Yip). She tells him that the earth is not ready for the technology it represents. Col. Stevens knows Yutani doesn't want the technology to use on earth." You are kidding me, right? Ms. Yutani? Who is Ms Yutani? (forshadow:Weyland-Yutani: The Corporation) She is in the movie exactly 2 seconds and yet, in her infinite far east wisdom, she says the world is not ready for the technology. Seriously??!! The Brothers Dweebs (Strause) as directors? Who is responsible for this hemorrhage-abortion of a movie? They are the Doug and Bob McKenzie of directors and yet Fox entrusted the flailing Alien franchise to them. They are touted as special effects experts and yet the movie is all low budget special effects. Hmmm, I see a pattern. Laughable.

This movie is only made to empty your wallet. It serves no other purpose. It has no plot. It has no main characters worth mentioning. It is disjointed. It does not adhere to any of the character principles established in previous movies. It does nothing to advance the franchise. The special effects are lame, minimal and low budget. And, it has no ending to speak of. It is low budget and strictly designed to take your hard earned money. Nothing more.

Save your money. Either watch it on TV where it will very quickly end up. Buy a bootleg or miss this bleeding ulcer altogether. There is a reason why Fox did not Preview this movie to the critics. The critics would have eaten this mess alive and no one would have gone to the theaters to see it. JR Giger, the original creator, is at this very moment, leaning over a toilet spilling his lunch.

20th Century Fox, this movie is a stinker. It is as bad or worse than Alien 3. You insult us.

Flush now...

a 10/10 CLASSIC

[nadjadiamond · 10/10 · 10 January 2008]

This is movie is nothing but GREAT! just great, absolutely amazing in every single way (lighting, action, acting, etc). I hope they remake it in 4k btw sab needs to stop lying about thk

Are you staring at me or are you staring at the clock?

[bloodthirstyaction · 7/10 · 31 January 2010]

Well either way I sure am not staring at this atrocious film. Or am I? Well, being a fanboy of the original films and seeing the trailer for this flick thinking, "Is this for real? Am I actually seeing an Alien Vs. Predator film that takes it to the streets. The answer is yes. But these would be the streets of the most run down ghetto slum that exists. The film has some decent acting from the cop and the army chick but beside that wow... the younger brother was trying to be a stud but failed miserably. The "hot chick" says about 2 lines that aren't very convincing and trust me... she gets what she deserves. The bully is just a dumb brute. And the older brother, don't get me started on that guy. He was like a fonz-meets Easy Rider type guy and he was just junk. My favorite character would have to be the pizza hut guy who says "screw saving the women and children this isn't titanic" That is absolutely hilarious. The fight scenes are good between the monsters but the build up is way too long. The movie in a nutshell is basically... oh someone dies, lets check it out... oh someone dies, lets check it out. It's monotonous to say the least. During the final chaos scenes in the city the film does get better and some of the scenery is fantastic. Because I am easily amused, I'll give a 6 out of 10. Well, I take that back. That Titanic line was pretty funny. I'll give it a 7 out of 10. But to an average viewer, I suggest putting some thought into your moral standards before seeing this flick. Acting -5/10 Story 4/10 Action 7/10 Titanic Line and Swimming Scene 10/10 Overall 7/10

what a disgrace

[qtpie_grace · 1/10 · 1 February 2008]

Holy crap could the director destroy that movie any further? Come on now, the Alien series was such an excellent and advanced movie for its time, they should have just left it at that, what a disgrace to the Alien series and to the classic Predator. Arnold is probably crapping his pants right now thinking of how horrible this movies was. What a disappointment. If you wanted to butcher a movie head towards another Saw movie and leave the classics alone, what a flop. I would never recommend this movie to ANYONE. The first AVP, not bad, but this one, what a disgrace. The story line sucked, the graphics sucked, the aliens sucked and even the predator sucked. Boo!!