If the folks at 20th Century Fox made films as good as their trailers, they'd be churning out some of the coolest movies ever made. Case in point, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, the much-anticipated follow-up to 2004's clash of the movie monster titans. After leaving fans disappointed the first time around, AVP-R's ads seemed to promise that this latest rumble between the titular creatures would be bigger, better, and bloodier. Instead, the film ends up as a different sort of "B" movie -- "B" for boring.

AVP-R picks up immediately where the previous film left off, with a spaceship piloted by those intergalactic hunters known as Predators crash-landing in a forest outside of the small town of Gunnison. Let loose into our world are not only numerous alien "facehuggers" (named so after how they impregnate victims with their vicious offspring) but also the Predalien, a beastly hybrid of the two species. It's not long before the rapidly-growing beasties cause all hell to break loose in Gunnison, leaving a dwindling band of surviving townspeople, including the sheriff (John Ortiz) and a returning soldier (Reiko Aylesworth), to try and fight off their increasing hordes. Also making its way into town is a Predator, called from its homeworld to clean up this mess once and for all, resulting in as much of a threat to the people of Gunnison as the Predalien and its minions.

For all intents and purposes, the first AVP wasn't a totally bad movie. Sure, after all those years shared between the franchises, it didn't exactly live up to all of the fans' demands, but it did come across as a slick, well-designed, and cheesily entertaining monster mash (even with a PG-13 rating). In any respect, AVP-R certainly looked like it would up the ante in every way possible, but it wastes even more potential instead. Fans have been clamoring for ages to see the eponymous sci-fi icons go toe-to-toe in our world. However, to give you an idea of what little AVP-R does with this juicy premise, imagine if Warner Bros. made Ocean's Fourteen and set it in a bathroom at the Bellagio. Rather than taking advantage of the situation they've created, filmmaking brothers Colin and Greg Strause do little more than throw in fake-out scares, rehash tired horror cliches, and have characters slowly sneak around dark places.

SPOILER ALERT 

Yes, there are a few moments where AVP-R unleashes a darker, more extreme side than some might expect. Shane Salerno's script pulls a daring move by actually killing off a youngster, something you'd have to go back to the '80s version of The Blob to see happen, and the Predalien's method of spawning more monsters is an icky upgrade from that of the facehuggers. Still, other than these moments, not to mention a go-for-broke climax where the Aliens, the Predator, and the humans make their last stands, AVP-R seems strangely devoid of real excitement or atmosphere. Somehow, the Predator seems too darn slow-moving to feel threatening, and the Aliens are relegated to slinking around in the shadows, occasionally popping out for an "OOGAH-BOOGAH!" scare or two.

As far as the human characters go here, their collective plights and subplots combine to form what feels like a particularly violent episode of "Dawson's Creek," serving up a slate of forgettable faces, save for Aylesworth's character, who tries to pull off her best Sigourney Weaver impression. 

"Requiem" means  "a dirge for the repose of the dead." Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem must have a lot of stock invested in moviegoers' concern for its slew of slain characters, but it's all for naught. The only death knell this movie sounds is for the franchise's ability to turn out a wholly entertaining movie anytime soon.

(Released by 20th Century Fox and rated "R" for violence, gore and language.)

MY RATING: ** (out of ****)