Merick(Rhys-Davies) the King’s personal advisor, and one of the last great mages, knows that the Krug are being led by his foe, Gallian(Liotta). Gallian is wooing Merick’s daughter, Muriella(Sobieski), and stealing her magic powers for his own use. Merick, knows of a secret that will unite the Kingdom when King Konreid dies. This secret also holds the key to destroying Gallian and ending the terror caused by the Krug.

This film is a testament to the fact that having name-brand actors in a film, does not mean it will be any good. With names like Statham, Perlman, Sobieski, Forlani, Liotta, and Reynolds, I venture director Uwe Boll believed he had a hit on his hands. Anyone who has seen the film, knows he was wrong. Really wrong. Heck, you only had to see the previews to know this film wasn’t going to be any good.

The characters were superficial; the idea that a character is named Farmer, because that’s what he does, is ridiculous. The dialog was unemotional and at all the wrong times, laughable. The action sequences and cinematography were stolen from other films; panning shots of marching hoards stolen from Lord of the Rings, great landscapes reminiscent of Chronicles of Narnia, and even sword fights that used Matrix-like stop-motion camera work.

I haven’t played any of the Dungeon Siege video games, but I’m going to assume they weren’t half bad. There have been two stand-alone games and an expansion pack, so 2K Games must be doing something right. The problem is, someone thought it would make a good movie. They were wrong. Video game fantasy is best left to just that, video games. There is something immersing about a video game that can not be portrayed in a 2 hour movie. Spend a little more money and time; go buy the games and skip the movie.

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.

After killing the double, and failing to kill the real Belicoff, 47 is public enemy number one. Hunted by Interpol agents and Russian FSB agents, 47 must unravel the mystery behind his failed job and the connection between his intended target and the beautiful Nika Boronina(Kurylenko).

When I first heard Hitman was coming out as a film-adaptation of the hit video game, I was expecting an experience similar to other games-to-movies such as Resident Evil(mediocre adaptation) or Doom(horrible adaptation). In preparation, I bought the Hitman games and played them through. The sheer difficulty and time-intensiveness of the Hitman games is the subject of another review, but suffice it to say, to play as Agent 47 you must be methodical.

Thankfully, the movie really delivered a superb interpretation of the game. Olyphant was perfect for the role, lending a cool exterior with a troubled personality buried deep by years of obedience. He created a character who isn’t so much a man but a creation wanting to be a man. In addition, the action sequences brought back memories of levels in the games. Stashing a weapon in a toilet tank is taken directly from the video game.

Of course, no modern film would be complete without a love interest, but the film was not poisoned by making Agent 47 turn into some sappy love-struck puppy near the end of the film. Kurylenko was absolutely stunning in her role, and would have had me in an instant, but true to character, Agent 47 maintained his ruthless killer instincts and didn’t fall into a ill-placed sex scene. The film ends with a cliffhanger, but this will be one show that deserves a sequel; as long as it maintains the current level of excellence. Hitman set the bar high for future films based on games.