Very quickly, the situation on Earth turns gruesome when a father and son, out on a hunting trip, get overtaken by the recently released alien facehuggers. Quickly, more humans, including homeless people and expecting mothers, are impregnated with alien spawn. Meanwhile, several side-stories involving two brothers(Pasquale, Lewis), two lovers(Lewis, Hager), a young family(Aylesworth, Gade) and a troubled sheriff(Ortiz), surface to attempt to make a plausible context for the film. All culminating, the film ends with epic battles between aliens and predators with humans grasping for explanations.

As a die-hard fan of the alien and predator franchises, I bring a critical eye to this film. Anyone who appreciates film knows that Alien and Aliens are two silver-screen legends. Pioneer films in the thriller and action genres, those films set the bar extremely high for all those that follow in their footsteps. Other films have failed miserably (Alien III) others have maintained respect for the series (Alien Resurrection). The Predator films were also highly regarded, although not as high quality as the alien films.

The first Alien vs. Predator stories arose in comic book form from Dark Horse comics. There were even several Alien vs. Predator vs. Terminator books which drew the stories out even farther. Every time though, humans were caught in the middle of these mortal enemies fighting to the death. Never has there been an Ellen Ripley to battle against both predators and aliens. The latest AvP films have always had a female protagonist (Sanaa Lathan and Reiko Aylesworth), but neither has had the commanding presence (or persistence) that Sigourney Weaver had.

As for Requiem, it excels as an action film; it follows in Aliens footsteps more than Alien. It quickly jumps to showing blood and gore, which it presents in spades. One of the highlights of the film is the new predator technology; highly concentrated acid, laser grids and advanced targeting systems. We even catch another glimpse of the predator home world which maintained a very Paul W.S. Anderson inspired styling. Aliens are present en mass as usual, with the predalien leading them as a pseudo-patriarch. Something I did not see coming was the predaliens ability to impregnate expecting human mothers orally. A quick make-out session with the predalien leads to her human child being replaced by 3 or 4 Aliens. Disturbing to say the least; could be a touch on the ‘downright-wrong’ side.

Sadly, humans are under-represented as a fighting force in the film. In the Aliens vs. Predator video games, humans act as the third player of the intergalactic war. In the film, we’re lumps of meat used to breed aliens and worship predators. This storyline is pulled from the first AvP movie, flaws and all. All past films (alien and predator)have placed humans as the dominant species with aliens and predators acting as a nemesis to a human warrior. In the latest film, humans are lambs for the slaughter against these foes; a National Guard team is obliterated by a few aliens. Talk about pathetic. Maybe only Marines are capable of fighting the aliens, who knows?

The only homage paid to any of the previous alien films comes at the end of Requiem. A military official presents the remnants of the predator’s shoulder cannon to Ms. Yutani(Yip); the co-founder of the legendary Weyland-Yutani Corporation (a.k.a. The Company). On the whole, I’ll say Requiem was a good action movie, but a bad step in the alien or predator series. I’ll continue to wait for the next Scott or Cameron to revive the franchise to it’s once great glory.

Neville has a natural immunity to the virus which he tries to use to create a way to reverse its horrific effects. Under constant danger of attack from the Infected, Neville maintains a strict daily regime to keep his sanity. Being the only man alive will take it’s toll on your psyche. Pressed for time, Neville knows that if the Infected don’t get him first, his own mind will destroy him.

It is hard for me to review I Am Legend without giving away too much of the story. Realistically, there isn’t a whole lot to the story beyond what I summarized above, and that is part of the charm. While the story is so simple, if you think about it, there is so much more that is left unsaid. While yes, Will Smith is on-screen by himself (Sam, his dog, is also there) for about 80 minutes of the film, it is 80 minutes well spent. Brief dream sequences tell the back story which is pleasant, not too much information, not too little.

For what it tries to convey, Legend out-performs expectations. The idea of what it would be like living as the last man on Earth is very convincingly portrayed by Smith. Simple things like, going to rent movies everyday or maintaining a daily schedule are impressively woven into the story. The idea of keeping a routine to ward off insanity is something that isn’t overt in the film, but it there if you know to look for it. Also, major life changes like hunting deer from a Ford Mustang to competing for food against lions are things you wouldn’t expect, but are present in the film.

In the end, this is a film that quickly shot to the top of my favorites list. If I could buy the DVD after walking out of the theatre, I would have. It’s that good.