VIDEO GAMES IN A NUTSHELL: Aliens vs. Predator (2010)

By Peanut

The newest incarnation of AvP brings a twist to the multiplayer first person shooter. Rather than customize your soldier with specific guns or explosives, as in Modern Warfare 2, you take on the role of one of three very different killing machines. As Alien, you sprint across walls and ceilings, lay in hiding for your prey, and strike with your deadly tail, claws, or protruding jaws. As Predator, you become invisible, switch between various vision modes (infrared, "alien-detecting"), and deploy high-tech weaponry like throwing stars. Finally, as Colonial Marine, you use your motion tracker to identify threats, lay down suppressive fire to keep aliens at bay, and hope the predators are more concerned about roving xenomorphs than they are about you.

The three modes of combat, especially the Alien and Predator, provide a unique experience from standard military-style video games. That being said, the Alien proves difficult to navigate at first, and you'll need to master the maps if you want your Predator to find any weapons other than the default retractable wrist blades. I haven't had a chance to try the single-player campaigns yet, so stay tuned for an update. 2 PB Jars

AVP-R = All Very Predictable-Regrettably

Anyone who knows me knows how much I wanted to love Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem. I didn't have great expectations when it comes to dialogue or acting. I just wanted to see some crazy alien-on-alien violence, with unwitting humans caught in the crossfire.

Unfortunately, the poor dialogue/acting steal more screen time than the P vs. A grudge match. With a cast of TV second-fiddles, I shouldn't have been surprised; Steven Pasquale (aka Sean Garrity on "Rescue Me"), Reiko Aylesworth (aka Michelle Dessler on "24"), and Johnny Lewis (aka Marissa's surfer friend Chili on "The OC") round out the list of D-list "headliners". I don't think these are horrible actors in their respective shows, but this screenplay certainly did them no favors.

The action sequences, though decent, were not much more intense than the fight/death scenes in the first AVP. The producers ratcheted up the MPAA rating without a proportional ratcheting up of the action and violence.

What does AVP:R have going for it?

1. A good premise. Even if the execution was less than stellar, the movie's storyline was intriguing. AVP:R picks up immediately after the previous film, opens with a bang, and makes the Predator a more interesting character. As the directors have revealed in interviews, the Predator of AVP:R is loosely based on Harvey Keitel's "Wolf" character in Pulp Fiction. He's a cleaner, sent to mop up a disgusting mess, and he's damn good at his job. The humans in this film are in the mold of the hapless Quentin Tarantino character. Knowing the cinematic inspiration for the Predator's character made watching the movie at least slightly mentally stimulating.

2. A tip of the hat (in fact, several) to the fans.
The new movie certainly honors its roots, while taking some steps to extend the AVP mythology. We get a look at the Predator home planet when the "Wolf" Predator takes off on his mission. We are introduced to the newest Alien form, the Predator-like "Predalien", and we soon discover that it has a unique method of procreation. In terms of story, the writer-directors unabashedly combine the plots of the original Predator and Aliens movies, as illustrated by their frequent homages to the previous films: "Hold on!" (as Aylesworth's Ripley-inspired character prepares to accelerate the military vehicle), "Get to the chopper!", etc. Seeing scrawny Steven Pasquale utter this line while trying to channel his inner Arnold Schwarzenegger was (unintentionally) hilarious.

Here are several things that still confuse me about AVP:R (don't worry - these aren't spoilers):

1. Is it just me, or does fandango.com list this movie as "Alien [singular] vs. Predator: Requiem"? The opening title of the film most definitely reads "AlienS", and the movie's website confirms that this is the correct title. Seems strange that no one corrected fandango. Did no one notice? Did no one care...?

2. Wasn't Shareeka Epps supposed to be in this movie? She was listed AVP:R's imdb page within a month of the movie's opening. I was hoping the young co-star of Half Nelson would bring a little credibility to this film. Not so much...

3. (Ok, this one could be a SPOILER, but I won't be too specific) Why are the deaths in this movie so freaking random? It seems like the two directors ("the Brothers Strause", as they tout themselves in the credits) just sort of had fun randomly killing off characters, often without much fanfare. The trailer definitely gave away some of the flashier deaths. This could be one reason I left this movie feeling unfulfilled. But honestly, if they were going to put all of the great parts in the trailer, then why did I have to pay $10 for this in the first place?

Aliens vs. Predator: Reqiuem, 1.5 PB Jars

December TOTM: Predalien > Rambo

I'm not gonna lie: I'm a big fan of the unofficial Rambo trailer. However, since we're on the subject of unusually gory movie previews, I humbly submit the "red band trailer" (for restricted audiences only) for Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (coming 12/25/07):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaqldqBKCZU

It looks like the Alien/Predator series is returning to its hardcore, R-rated action roots. (AVP was a disappointing PG-13.) If the trailer is any indication, this will surely be the best installment since James Cameron's Aliens and the original Predator. Can't wait to see the hybrid "Predalien" do some serious damage in Middle America.

I also love the second trailer that was released for AVP:R. If I had seen this in a theater, I would have guessed after the first minute that it was a preview for a sappy drama or something:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvVwRKHIkeA&feature=related