Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (R, 2007)

ALIENS VS. PREDATOR: REQUIEM begins where the previous film ended, as the Predators' ship heads home with Alien lab samples. An Alien bursts through a Predator's chest, producing a hybrid version that kills all the Predators aboard, sending the ship crashing into Colorado. Here the fast-multiplying intruders wreak their usual havoc -- the face-huggers infect, screechy little Aliens explode from chests, and big Aliens kill everything. Then one Predator arrives from Predator Planet to hunt the Aliens and save Earth -- though he's more than willing to kill, skin, and de-spine any humans who approach him with weapons. The human characters that survive long enough to have names include townie sheriff Eddie (John Ortiz), returning Iraq war veteran Kelly (Reiko Aylesworth) and her young daughter (Ariel Glade), just-released ex-con Dallas (Steven Pasquale), and his pizza delivery-boy brother (Johnny Lewis). They don't know that their fate is entwined with that of the Predator, who means to "clean up" the Aliens (indicated by his use of a blue liquid that dissolves all evidence). Neither do they imagine that their own government isn't exactly looking out for them.

Without Sanaa Lathan, the sequel to Alien vs. Predator lacks a crucial emotional center. Instead, it delivers lots of gore and several flimsy main characters, none of whom ever quite understands what they're up against.

Requiem not only lifts themes from the Alien and Predator series, it actually steals well-known scenes from its parent franchises, from the Alien's drippy jaw to the Predator's removal of his high-tech helmet for the big showdown. As usual, the Aliens are slapdash in their rampaging, and the Predator is relatively moral, holding to strict rules of hunting. Unfortunately, the humans are also rather slack, providing cardboardy background for the main action -- which is consistently dark-shadowed, loud, and gooey.

Studio: Twentieth Century Fox
Director: Colin Strause, Greg Strause
Cast: Reiko Aylesworth, Shareeka Epps, Steven Pasquale
Genre: Science Fiction
Run time: 86 minutes
Theatrical release: December 25, 2007
DVD release: April 14, 2008
MPAA Rating: R
MPAA explanation: violence, gore and language.