On Tuesday, Fox released their latest iconic monster-fest, Aliens versus Predator: Requiem, to DVD in three different versions, and I decided to pick up the Aliens versus Predator: Requiem - Unrated version. The next and final DVD version up, the Special Edition Unrated, features several short "making of" featurettes and a digital copy of the film that I simply couldn't justify an additional $4.00 for.
When I saw the film in theatres this past Christmas, I generally enjoyed it. It was simple gory fun that wasted no time in showing us idiot rednecks getting slaughtered by movie monsters, and that was certainly entertaining enough.
On a second viewing, however, I found the film a good bit less enjoyable. It seemed even cheesier than I remembered, with a few plot elements that really didn't make a lot of sense. Sure the gore was there and the characters were still just as one dimensional, but the lack of any real plot featured in Aliens vs Predator: Requiem really makes the simple set up of Alien vs. Predator look like stellar storytelling. Again, Aliens vs Predator: Requiem isn't a bad film _so long_ as you go in simply looking for a monster slaughter-fest.
Aliens vs Predator: Requiem - Unrated comes on one disc, and features 7 additional minutes of unrated content that was "too shocking for theatres." And you know what, Fox was right. It would have been way too shocking for theatres because most of it was extra character development moments of plain dialogue that wasn't any good at all, and really should have been left on the cutting room floor. Sure, you see one extra head get popped off and some slight extra gore, but this was 7 minutes of unimpressive, and one new scene even adds a slight plot hole in the habits of Wolf (the predator) himself.
Special feature wise, the disc comes with some commentary and the film's theatrical trailers, nothing special or anything to care about.
So is Aliens vs Predator: Requiem - Unrated worth it? If you're a huge fan of the franchise like myself and need to complete your collection with all 8 films, then yes, though you probably won't watch it too much. If not, and you only purchase that which you truly like, than you'll want to rent or pass this flick altogether.
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