Alien vs. Predator Review

So many fans’ dream came true in 2004 when two of the most iconic alien killers faced off in Alien vs. Predator. The creatures had met in comics and video games, but never before in a live-action film, so a lot expectations were on the film’s director Paul W. S. Anderson. The film unfortunately fell short with what some fans were hoping for.

The story revolves around an expedition into an underground pyramid in a remote island off the cost of Antarctica found by a satellite. The people in the expedition are hired by Charles Bishop Weyland (Lance Henriksen). They reach the area and find that someone has already made their way to the pyramid, which is eventually revealed to be the Predators. During their journey through the pyramid they find themselves in the middle of a battle between the hunters and their dangerous prey bred by a captive Xenomorph queen.

The whole premise of the film isn’t a bad one. The predators come back to earth every hundred years to use humans to breed the aliens and fight them for sport to prove their worth. Although, this whole idea doesn’t connect to the Alien franchise at all. In those films, the goal is to keep the creatures from making it to earth. They have been on earth for thousands of years in this film. Plus you have Henriksen playing the role of Mr. Weyland and he already played human Bishop in Alien 3. A lot of people have taken it out of the continuity of the Predator or Alien franchise and look at the film having its own continuity. Another knock on the film if that fact that is rated PG-13. All the other films in both franchises were rated R so this film doesn’t provide the experience you would get with the other films. I think a big part of this was because they wanted to be able to market the film for a younger audience and make more money with selling toys for kids.

The acting isn’t bad but none of the characters have much of any depth to them. Sanaa Lathan is decent as Alexa Woods, the guide of the expedition. Both creatures don’t hold up to their original form. The predator’s face looks rubbery and fake. The predator’s  turn into the heroes at the end of the film, which some fans didn’t like. The Xenomorphs look better than the ones in Alien Resurrection, but that isn’t saying much. The film does have decent action and suspense, but not much of a horror factor. The look of the film is good and the cinematography is done well. The film works as a mindless popcorn movie but that’s pretty much it. It isn’t terrible but doesn’t measure up to the best of both franchises and what fans were expecting.

Rating- 2/5

Written by: James Howey