“That’s crazy. The government doesn’t lie to people.”
Excellent quote.
Piggybacking off my commentary of Alien vs. Predator, monster movies are easier when your monster’s the focal point. Characters in monster novels, especially when thinking of the Godzilla chronicles, are generally typecast and easy to remove. This leaves the genre with a limited ceiling but success and enjoyment is still very much in play because we didn’t come for Joe, Andy and Beth. We came for the big, scary guy.
I think we all want more from our monster stories. As I said last post, character takes these fictions to another level and it’s a shame more of these storyboards don’t take that into account. As in every story, character matters.
The Alien franchise never delivered and AVP made no such shipments. If you expected different from Requiem, sorry.
Requiem is almost universally hated and for some fair reasons but I truly enjoyed it because I accepted it for what it was. It does watch like a fan film, likely a reason for some of the vitriol sent its way but I also feel it demonstrates a higher respect for the material than its former self ever did. It accelerates faster and certainly musters a higher top speed. It’s just an altogether better vehicle.
While the Strause brothers supplement a round of AVP with a character lineup reminiscent of a Scream remake, the roster provides more balance than Anderson’s rout, though perhaps just so. As with AVP, no dominant people were available for taping but the writing at some select points shows improvement. Since I introduced the quote opener to the blog posts, I feel I have an even keener sense for quality quips. AVP had none, minus the Italian phrase I included and “My experts tell me it’s a pyramid”, which is so painful I couldn’t find the strength to type it. Requiem, while still lacking in scripting, at least provides a few jabs of joy.
As is typical with many monster themes, underwritten, uninviting characters are aplenty in our second installment but with one significant difference: our monsters spend much more time on the catwalk.
This alleviates a lot of Requiem‘s problems. When you allow your monster to envelop your film, to dwarf everything around it, as it should, the fact the dwarves are meaningless matters little. No one screams about the Godzilla enterprise and says, “BUT THE CHARACTERS!” That criticism only rears its head when the monstrosity isn’t towering over our heads. No one complains about ants when something’s blocking out the sun.
Characters in enterprises like this are fluff. If you’re not making a sincere attempt, best not to bother. Anderson pretended. It did not go down the gullet smoothly. The Strause brothers knew better.
So while time spent on these papier mache characters is indeed a waste, much tape is stolen away from them and granted to the main attraction. Due to this, their frailty isn’t as noticeable. Many sequences involving our aliens and predator are interwoven with these stand-ins so you can’t press “skip” to the next chapter. Aliens and predator are always right behind pizza boy, convict and sheriff. This weaving strengthens character impact and prevents them from being fully discarded. No attachment or sincere care can be afforded to these people but we are stuck with them. Keeping these humans around affords our creatures the opportunity to inflict chaos and a lot of damage. While Anderson’s Alien vs. Predator had the chance at a slow kill in a remote location, a perfect setting for atmospherics, the Strause Brothers throw these demons into society and let them work. Lower ceiling, higher floor.
It’s a lower ceiling product because growing tension and uneasiness isn’t on the table. This is more a “go, go, go” movie, one that won’t attempt character building or lore manifestation. Stories without character can only go so high whilst leaning on visuals, cinematography and other side chicks.
Anderson’s AVP had a lower floor because if you fail to conjure that uneasiness or cajole viewers to frighten, your movie becomes lackluster and dull. If the potion you spend a considerable time mixing doesn’t work, everything falls apart like a new house built on shaky foundation.
If Anderson’s AVP was a botched visit to a gourmet restaurant (high ceiling, low floor), Requiem is your preferred fast food chain: not good for you but quick and easy.
This 2007 production offers more visual flare, universe gadgets (the liquid that instantly dissolves crime scenes/victims seems especially useful) and more quality time with our favorite fiends. Sometimes, that’s enough.
Once again, if you’re new to my blog, I’ve always ranked movies on a scale of 0-100 (I don’t know why, I just always have). Here’s the grading scale.
90-100 It’s a great movie and definitely one worth buying. (Batman Begins, The Matrix, L.A. Confidential, Her, Taken)
80-89 It was a pretty good movie and definitely one worth seeing but it doesn’t quite scratch my top ten percentile. (The Conjuring 2, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Dumb and Dumber, Pokemon Detective Pikachu, The Matrix Reloaded)
70-79 It’s okay but I’ve seen better. It has its moments but it has its flaws, too. (Solo: A Star Wars Story, The Matrix Revolutions, Triple Frontier, I am Legend, Ip Man 2)
60-69 It’s got plenty wrong with it but I still got enjoyment out of this one. (Mr. Right, Zathura: A Space Adventure, Battleship, The Rundown, 2 Fast 2 Furious)
50-59 This movie isn’t intolerable but it’s not blowing my mind either. I’m trying really hard to get some sort of enjoyment out of this. (Alien vs. Predator, Angel Has Fallen, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, XXX, The Silence)
40-49 This movie is just mediocre. It’s not doing anything other than the bare minimal, so morbidly boring that sometimes I’m actually angry I watched this. (Transporter 3, Doom, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Power Rangers)
30-39 Definitely worse than mediocre, the 30′s ironically define the 1930′s: full of depression, lack of accomplishments, poverty and hopelessness. (Bulletproof Monk, High-Rise, Most Likely to Die, Independence Day: Resurgence, The Crow: City of Angels)
20-29 What did I just watch? Cliches, stupidity, nothingness, did I mention stupidity? Just…wow. (XXX: State of the Union, The Snowman, Avalanche Sharks, Catwoman, The Gunman)
0-19 Watching this movie resulted in one or more of the following: seizure, loss of brain cells, falling asleep/unconsciousness, feel you wasted your time/day, accomplished nothing for you, left the movie knowing less about it than you did going into it, constantly asking yourself why you came to see this movie or near-death experience. In short, staring at a wall was just as entertaining as watching this movie. This movie deserved a sticker or a label that said, “WARNING: EXTREME AMOUNT OF SUCKAGE.” (The Extendables, The Coed and the Zombie Stoner, The Forbidden Dimensions, Cyborg, Outcast)
My score for Alien vs. Predator: Requiem: 75.
This grade won’t age well but Anderson’s Alien vs. Predator left such a gross taste the flavor of just about anything was welcomed. Requiem just happened to be the beneficiary.
wordsofwistim 