Aliens vs Predator: Requiem (Colin Strause/Greg Strause 2007)

Again, Our Earth Is Their Playground

The most significant discrepancy from the original AvP compare to this sequel is the added violence and gory elements. Also, we won’t have to suffer from the sight of the lead woman character and the Predator in AvP running together side by side in slow-motion. That scene show them sort of like "buddies" was plain pathetic, I mean what on earth are you thinking of, Mr Paul W.S. Anderson??! (of the original AvP’s director cum writer). By the time the predator show her how to use the Alien corpse’s head as a shoulder shield, I was about to cough green Predator blood.


Ok, let’s not dwell on the past, this time, Aliens Vs Predator: Requiem (abbreviation as AVPR), is no longer a pussified version, if you pardon my language. It’s full of violence and gore right from the beginning. The plot continue from the 1st movie where the Predator spaceship depart from earth to return to their planet, unknowingly to the Predators, their dead partner that they bring onboard was impregnated with Alien inside. Very soon a new hybrid species called PredAlien is born and burst from the corpse’s chest, start to kill off the Predator one by one. The spaceship is forced to crash onto a small town in Colorado, U.S. The dying Predator managed to send a distress S.O.S video call to his comrade in their distant home planet. The said comrade picked up the call and travelled all the way to our Earth to clean the mess by trying to stop the Alien infection which happens at an alarming rate.


Do you notice the movie title? The plural in Aliens and singular in Predator. It is refers to lots of Aliens who are slaughtered by the only one Predator. It was never meant to be a balance fight between these 2 creatures, Predator is the predominant species here, how about human characters, you may ask? Forget about them, I said. They are purely ornament in this fightfest. Anyone who is longing for extensive human characters’ development can look elsewhere.


The Predator is a kick-ass veteran warrior unlike in the first installment, 2 or 3 rookies Predators who took part in a rite of passage. He is affectionately named as The Wolf, as in Pulp Fiction, Harvey Keitel’s Winston “The Wolf” Wolfe. He is a 'cleaner', a specialist in cover up any extreme lethal threat. He needs to be relentless and often require quick thinking decision, although his target shooting rate leave a lot to be desired. He manage to kill a lots of Aliens but along the way, get rid of some stupid humans as well. With the aid from some magical blue liquid, he methodically carry out the task without leaving any trace. The new hybrid species, PredAlien plays the role of Mother Alien. Unlike the latter, it is capable of impregnated a host (human) to create its offspring without using facehuggers.


Basically, there are 4 things that I like about this movie:

- The violence and gore.
- The predator AKA The Wolf
- Earlier in the movie, we have the chance to catch the glimpse of what look like the original planet of predator.
- The cameo of Miss Yutani!! Nice to meet her at last and congratulate on her newly acquired extra terrestial technology. I dare you not to have a goosebump when you see her! If you don’t know what I am talking about, then I am wondering whether you should watch this movie in the first place.

If you ask me which AvP movies i like most, it will be like asking me which way I would prefer to die from, fall from 20 storey building head down? Or drown in the sea? I am reluctant to answer but for the sake of this blog, the answer is AVP:R by a nose. Although honestly i have read some home appliance DIY manual instructions that were far more entertaining than the dialogues in this movie, and the Dawson’s Creek-style subplot is a turn off for me too. But as a fan of both franchises, I felt AVP:R is still a serviceable movie compare to the awful first installment.