AVP 2 (movie review)

Like I'm working my way down the marquee here, and could've just as well skipped this ho hummer of a horror flick were I not so into walking my talk.

But having linked Alien Versus Predator, perversely some say, to the Quakers' Alternatives to Violence Program (same initials), I felt somewhat obliged to check it out.

To find a film like this cathartic, you need to accept the premise that humans are not in control, and so what becomes of them is not really your doing (the purpose of hell in some authorized fantasies).

Then build up a vengeful grudge against this or that character, and enjoy seeing him getting his just deserts, and then some. Sometimes the punishment is just for being too stupid (like for going into a darkened cave in a horror film context, I mean come on).

One might empathize with the "wrong people" sometimes, like in this case I was rooting more for Jesse than for pizza boy Ricky and his ex-conner bro. I found her "hire and fire" talk boldly feminine, plus she just wanted a little more honesty in her life (can't say I blame her).

But I've experienced enough of this culture to know she was being set up as a target, so no big surprise there. We all saw it coming.

To the Quakers I'd say: notice how these people resort so easily and unthinkingly to violence in their everyday lives, thereby unleashing these more powerful unconscious forces with strong independent momenta.

In AVP trainings, we recognize these unconscious powers, but learn to channel them more intelligently, to actually get some real work done for a change.

The Predator seems to be the only one actually enjoying himself in this flick or at least I presume he hunts for the sheer fun of it. Nothing else would seem to explain his apparent eagerness for more combat.

I found myself not caring much though, about motives, about winners and losers. The government seemed to have the right attitude: let's just wipe the slate clean.

The surviving cast members seemed overly confident at the end of the day, given the highly reproductive nature of these aliens. AVP 3 looks all but inevitable.