Home > Chicago Movies > Movie Review > Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem

Following the events of their first smackdown, a spaceship carrying both aliens and predators crashes just outside a middle American small town. The intergalactic monsters continue their nasty feud, while generic residents—including a reformed bad boy (Steven Pasquale of “Rescue Me”) and a military officer (Reiko Aylesworth of “24”)—try to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.

Big question: Why?

Skip it: “Requiem” immediately separates itself from its PG-13-rated predecessor when a young boy becomes an alien incubator during a hunting trip with his father. Yet, despite what the harsher R-rating recommends, it's not really advisable that anyone over the age of 17 see this movie. The filmmakers seem to agree by continually staging the action in dimly lit sewers and during power outages—the better to obscure the sub-par special effects (or maybe just the zippers on the rubber suits). It’s no surprise that this sequel is bad, but the level of creative bankruptcy on display is as blatantly cynical as the movie’s Christmas day release date.

Catch it: If you think the film’s one laugh line, “That's crazy, the government doesn't lie to people!” counts as biting political commentary. You just might buy the rest of what the movie’s selling.

Bottom line: At the risk of spoiling the big showdown let's just say no one wins...least of all the audience.

Bonus: First time filmmakers “The Brothers Strause” operate the visual effects company Hydraulx, which has provided effects for “300,” “Fantastic Four” and other films better than “Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem.”

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