Bloodtype Online

    Very few genre series captured the imagination of the two franchises that make up this film.  In the late 70s "Alien" burst on the scene (no pun intended) to totally revolutionize the future of horror/sci-fi films forever.  Not only was it a extremely intense film that was one of the first to utilize the heroin in film, but it also made an icon out of the Alien character in the process.  Then as the 80s rolled on so did the franchise as the next was James Cameron's "Aliens".  "Aliens" was a sci-fi film of epic proportions and helped cement Cameron's career as a big time director and the franchise as one that had to be taken seriously.  As the Alien films went from there they were progressively weaker than the last, obviously watering down the series.  Although there was a lot less in the way of influence you can say that the two Predator films were something of value as well.  In the 1980s there were few names bigger at the box office than Arnold Schwarzenegger.  So when he starred in the 1987 film that kicked off the Predator films, it was only a matter of time before it became a big deal.  After the financial success of the first film they decided to do another one, only this time without the action star.  He was replaced by Danny Glover and the Predator was taken out of the jungle and into the inner city.  Although much weaker than the original I've always felt that Predator 2 was vastly underrated by fans and critics alike.  But then in 2004 it was finally time for the two iconic monsters to clash, or at least their brooding communities of Aliens and Predators.   The result was a very disappointing mash up of the two franchises that left fans angry and critics laughing. Although I don't feel that the movie is as bad as people say it is, I have to say that it's certainly nothing to write home about either.  So when I was aware that AVP-R was on the way, I can't say I was too excited about it.

    "AVP-R" is the story of a small Colorado town that happens to become the squared circle for two of the biggest baddies to ever roam the universe.  When a Predator ship crashes near the town, face hugger Aliens are released into the area.  Once the Predator gets the word that this is the case, it decides that it's time to take a visit to Earth also.  But when the locals realize that they couldn't handle this in a million years they decide to call in the National Guard for assistance.  Will the Alien or Predator destroy all of human kind during their epic battle, or will the humans do something more damaging to them all?

    Honestly going into this one I had no idea what to expect.  Although I think people give the first AVP a lot of crap, I've always felt that it didn't deserve it.  Now don't get me wrong, there was certainly a lot more that they could have done with the film, but it was good old stupid fun.  This time around though I wasn't even expecting that since I've figured out that the series is a guaranteed money maker and they don't really need to do anything that great to get people into the theatres to see them.  But I have to say that this one isn't great, but has moments of clarity that will either please you or frustrate you to all hell.  What I mean is that when watching the movie there are glimpses of what could have been.  We could have seen Aliens fighting Predators all over the Earth, destroying everything in their path.  But instead we get a lot of pointless bullshit thrown in so that they could keep the monsters off the screen. 

    The characters in the movie are completely unlikable and pointless even though you kind of need them here unless you want a full movie without dialog.  But that's not to say that there isn't things here to see, just nothing whatsoever involving the characters.  But lets not kid ourselves here, didn't we come to see the monsters go at it anyway?

    The one major positive in this one is the fact that shockingly it pulls no punches.  What you get here is a surprisingly nihilistic and violent movie that had me standing at attention while watching this one.  There is even a scene in the movie where a face hugger manages to attack a young boy.  Not only that but you get to see the aftermath in all it's chest bursting glory and I have to say that set a very good tone for the movie.  But that's not to say that the Aliens are the only ones having the fun here, since the Predator even gets down and dirty as well.  There are some really cool scenes in this one involving the Predator doing what they do so well, stalking.  These scenes manage to remain tense and interesting throughout which says a lot considering nobody is going to give a damn about any of the characters in the movie.

    Overall I have to say that I was rather pleasantly surprised with this one.  It's nowhere near the groundbreaking original two Alien films or even up to the level of either of the first two Predator flicks either.  But what you have is an interesting Horror/Sci-Fi mash up that manages to be a pretty fun, over the top flick which is more than I can say for the original. 

    The DVD also comes with two audio commentaries as well as a making of feature that fans will want to check out.  So if you are a hardcore AVP fan, then you will certainly want to add this one to your collection.  But if you were one of the people that were highly disappointed with the first AVP, you might want to at least rent this one.  You might be very surprised with the end result.

Rating - **1/2

-Ed Demko