ALIEN VS. PREDATOR: REQUIEM

An "Alien" squares off with a "Predator"

ALIEN VS. PREDATOR: REQUIEM aka AVP: Requiem and AVPR (2007). Director: The Brothers Strause (Colin/Greg).

The two ugly alien races referred to as "Aliens" and "Predators" wage war in a small 21st century Colorado town and the body count -- of both humans and aliens -- grows higher and higher. Dallas (Steven Pasquale), a "bad boy" just out of jail -- and apparently no relation to the "Dallas" of the original Alien -- and his younger brother, Ricky (Johnny Lewis); a lady soldier named Kelly (Reiko Aylesworth); and a sheriff named Eddie (John Ortiz) try to stay alive while killing off as many of the nasty creatures as they can. AVPR completely lacks the elements that made the first Alien vs. Predator film so successful and comes off more like a bad teen slasher flick with too many uninteresting characters running around to little effect. Believe it or not, there's no one in the cast who has the presence of Sigourney Weaver. Some of the actors aren't bad but this is not the kind of picture that builds careers. What has already been established as to how the Aliens reproduce is amended just so the filmmakers can include a tasteless sequence in which an Alien forces eggs down into the throat of a terrified woman about to give birth. The picture is so under-lit that at times its difficult to tell if the monster is an Alien or a Predator. AVPR is basically a big, dull, noisy mess that is far, far below the level of the other films in the franchise.

Verdict: The last -- and least -- of the Alien films. **.