Alien vs. Predator

The first time I saw this movie, I absolutely hated it. The second time, I saw this "Unrated" cut, and suddenly I didn't mind it so much. In fact I kind of liked it. Maybe that had something to do with the fact that Jim Cameron himself said that he liked it, and I was under the influence of reading that.

Alien Vs. Predator is a sequel to the first two Predator movies, and a prequel to the Alien series. As such, it sets up how the Company from the Alien films first became aware of the Xenomorphs. The Company is represented by Lance Henriksen, playing the founder of the Weyland-Yutani Company, who later builds the Bishop android in Aliens, also played by Lance Henriksen. We can assume that the dude in Alien3, also played by Henriksen, is a generations-later relative of this character.

A lot of B-level actors have been selected for this film, most of whom I'd never seen before. Most notably is Ewen Bremner, the "other" Ewen from Trainspotting. While nobody in this cast (apart from Henriksen) is on a level with some of the supportors from the Alien or Predator series (such as Bill Duke, Jesse Ventura, Tom Skerrit, Bill Paxton, or Michael Beihn), none of them are that bad either. In fact they all have a sort of charisma, which is important since you're supposed to feel bad when they start getting slaughtered.

The script is the weakest point of this film. Many fans have pointed out many inconsistencies with the Alien series. While a little thinking can patch up most of these plot holes, some just gape wide open no matter how much duct tape you try to put over them.

The big two, which I can't fathom an explanation for, are as follows. First, the life cycle of the Xenomorphs has been hurried so that they now burst out of your chest after what seems like minutes. Yet this is even contradicted later in the film, when a Predator gets infected with one! Second, there appear to be more Xenomorphs in this film than there were human hosts. I don't get that. No explanations are attempted within the film.

Having said that, I think this movie is easier to swallow than Predator 2 with its cheesy gang members, or Alien Resurrection with its unbelievable cloning of Ellen Ripley and Queen.

Disc two is the real treasure here. I watched the pre-production and post-production segments absolutely mesmerized. Paul Anderson is a charismatic director with a clear passion for Alien movies (the good ones) and he clearly worships the ground that Jim Cameron walks on. As he and his crew walk us through the making of the movie, you really become infected with his enthusiasm. The fact that most of the movie was done with scale models with a minimun of CG just makes is so much cooler. It's much more fun watching guys blow up models than it is to watch some guy do it on his Mac.

Initially I bought this movie simply to have a complete Alien and Predator collection. After watching this cut, and the bonus material, I was hooked it. It's not as bad as I made it out to be the first time. It's a popcorn movie. While the original two Alien films and the first Predator film were more cerebral, I believe Alien Vs. Predator to be better than the later films of those franchises. I enjoyed it, and maybe you will too.

Sadly it was not. Now, I own and have seen every Alien and Predator movie and like them all for their various reasons. Remember the good ol' days like in Alien when the captian is frantically searching around his ships air vents with a flamethrower looking for the Aliean? And all that he could go by was this motion sensor that the crew was looking at to tell him where the creature was. Well there was aboslutely no music,and the only sounds heard was his terrified breathing and the sickening noises the air vent doors made when they closed. This scene was terrifying to me. With his only lightsource being the tip of the flame thrower and the ony indicator of the Alien's presence a haunting "beep" every feee seconds a truly tense situation was beautifully crafted. Sadly... AVP lacks this immensely. In fact, AVPY is not tense or scary or atmospheric at all. Also, the Alien's in AVP are pretty weak for some reason. The Predator's mow through a couple of them and so does our main heroin with what seems like ease. Which makes absolutely no sense at all because the Alien's are vicious, heartless, killing machines who are supposed to be extraordinarily fast and hard to kill. Yet in AVP I guess they felt it necessary to dumb them down and make them a less impossible force to kill. Same can be said with the Prdator's. Lets just say they start off as three but dont end up with all their numbers. These beasts are supposed to be nearly unbeatable yet one of them is killed off fairly qucikly and sadly easily. What a shame.

AVP is neither scary nor overly exciting at all. Its fairly predictable in who will or will not survive and both franchises cinematic legends are thoroughly wasted on CG wrestling matches between the titans. On top of this, everybody was speculating a bloodbath. And rightfull so. The Alien and Predator series are known for their atmospheric tension and horrifically entertaining deaths. You get none of that here. The human's deaths are qucik and viciously cut away for whereas they should have been gory and quick as there were plenty of characters for a body count in the crossfire of two monsters battling it out. Besides, the whole thing is set in the arctic... meaning... there is snow everywhere. White snow + red blood = disgusting beauty. But no, there was no blood. Nope, they had to make this PG-13 so elementary school kids could go see it on the weekend and pretend to be cool among their friends when monday rolled around.

Highlights: some great CG, the Queen Alien fight, purpose to the Aliens for the Predators revealed (though it was kinda obvious from the get go), and the little surpise at the ending (though not really a welcomed one at this rate). Thats... about... it...

All Time Lows: Teamming up a human with a Predator to be all buddy-buddy while trying to survive... doesnt make a lick of sense and completely goes against Predator mythos as far as I'm aware. Now I havent read the book (so if this is in the book then shame on the book as well), but a Predator would NEVER stoop himself to requesting the aid of a measely human. Humans are buck. Nothing more. They'd just blow themselves up with that explosive arm band instead. Seeing the main girl and Predator work togehter and "get along" like good ol' pals was painful actually. Then of course there is the pathetic PG-13 rating, weaker Alien's (as they seem to feel more like giant cockroaches in this film), severe lack of any form of tension or horror, and Alien vs Predator wrestling matches.

Overall, an enormous letdown. Instead the event of the decade for horror fans went, surprisingly for me, to Freddy vs Jason. Now THAT was a great use of liscence. This... was a wasted opportunity for something that could have been incredible. Sigh.

...this one has at least two good things that Hollywood seems utterly incapable of delivering these days: a perfectly attractive male & female lead (Raoul Bova & Sanaa Lathan) plus an action script with dialogue that does not make you cringe. I have given this film four stars because it accomplishes what it sets out to do: it captivates, it entertains, and it makes you go "eek!" and "oh no!" in all the right places. My only complaint - which could, in fact, be construed as a compliment - is that some of the main characters are developed a bit too much for their short lifespan...

I should qualify this review by saying that I liked Predator, but that the Aliens always grossed me out. Something about outer space, I think. So, I can appreciate that there might be hardcore Aliens-fans out there who might be disappointed with regards to the scare-o-meter reading. However, if you come to this film seeking entertaining action that won't make you lose your appetite, I am sure you won't be disappointed.