Quote from: Corporal Hicks on Dec 09, 2014, 10:09:08 AM
So I re-watched AvP over the weekend with the Mrs. First time I've watched it for sometime and I watched some of the special features too.
I don't think it's a horrific film like Requiem is, but it's still a disappointing one.
Both are equally "horrific" in my opinion...albeit in different ways. I suspect if you have a strong attachment to the xenomorphs, watching Wolf butcher his way through them isn't a pleasant experience. However, the first film is equally flawed. It has a better setting and less powerful predators/more powerful xenomorphs, but aside from that, how is it better?
The acting is no better. The dialogue is no better. The team-up is absolutely cringe-worthy. I've always thought that the Grid vs. Celtic fight plays out like a WWE wrestling match...it's rather childish. The predators resemble Klingons more than the semi-primitive half-savages portrayed by P1 and P2. The predator aesthetic is different but not better. Big, bulky predators who look like they have to jog because they're too fat to run. The P2 ship's design is really unique and cool. The AvP ship design is more generic sci-fi. Furthermore, the ancient aliens angle is laughable. Predators taught us civilisation and how to build pyramids? I mean...really?! We worshipped predators? Please...
On top of that the film handicaps the novice predators with stolen shoulder cannons and random items of dissolving gear. Scar's shuriken, spear, and dagger are acid-proof but Celtic's dollar store wristblades dissolve almost instantly. Why? Do Blooded predators like to prank youths, is this the predator equivalent of hazing? Is the purpose of the scene simply to show off the potency of xenomorph acid? I dunno...
On the pros of the first film, I think (and most people agree) that the setting is better and the xenomorphs enjoy a more favourable portrayal.
AvP-R's action is less like WWE wrestling but more one-sided. It has a memorable predator with a cool design. I opposed the decision to set an AvP movie on modern Earth. That was a terrible decision. However, as a predator fan, I'm glad to have Wolf after Anderson's three clumsy adolescents with dissolving gear