More Sci-Fi. No Sub-Plot Required..

Thats exactly what should be said about the new Aliens Vs. Predator Movie: AVP-R. ( I think the R stand for RATING, since the last stinker of this series was Rated PG-13).

We've come for your daughter, Chuck.

The movie picks up where the last AVP movie left off, with the Predator comrades recovering their fallen warrior from Earth, only to find out that he is carrying a "Hybrid Pred-Alien", that wreaks havoc on the ship, and forces the Predator ship to crash land in a Mid-Western town in the US.

Sticking with the usual formula of the Sci-Fi/Horror meld, we have our usual cast of cannon fodder living in the town, mired in a sorry subplot, which of course caused my wife and I to ask every 2 minutes of dialogue "Will something please kill this person?"

Of course, the facehuggers from the downed ship get out and loose, and start attacking the town folk, getting them prepped for their "stomach popping" event. Meanwhile, the Predator ship has sent out a distress beacon, and a lone Predator warrior travels to Earth to dispatch the Alien infestation.


N-n-n-n- Nice Kitty!

Now, not to ruin the movie for you (Cause, well you can rent it if you choose..) I'll point out the good parts (if any) and the bad parts (LOTS!):

Good Parts: Predator fight(s) with the Aliens. Yes indeed, the Predator brought his bag of goodies along, which provided some extra firepower against the Alien swarm. From spinners (hello Krull reference..), to Laser Mesh Fences, he brought them all out to play. I think the personal favorite was his little tank of Blue liquid.. which dissolved anything it touched. Comes in handy when cleaning up that unwanted pet dropping.

Bad Parts: Horrible acting, Horrible Sub-plot/romance crap (why do they PUT that stuff in there?!), the substitute for the Alien Queen (I guess they had to do something.. but I've read better Dark Horse comics than what the screenwriters developed as a plot in this flick..), and it was just too damned dark!

Lastly we have the glorious sub-titles for the movie.
Now this is not a slight against the hearing impaired. I personally like the subtitles on during the movie, in case I mishear what the actors said (which my wife says I do a lot..). However, this movie goes TOTALLY overboard with its notation for subtitle events in the movie. From "rhythmic ominous theme" to "Whooshing Sound", this flick has got em all! I am not sure how much you want to convey to the audience, but I found it to be a bit TOO much.

I also noticed that this movie made an attempt to incorporate every memorable line from the previous movies.. From "Get to the Chopper!" to "Stay close to me Molly", I couldn't help but laugh!

Overall, the movie turned out to be a bit of a gore-fest (though I have seen better), and should be treated as such. If you get the urge to waste some money, go stop by and rent it.



AVP-R

By Mo Alexander
4/17/2008