Review of AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004) by Rowan C — 09 Jul 2011

The Alien and Predator franchises are back! And in the same movie! Action movie director Paul W.S. Anderson might not have created a great chapter in the franchises, but he did create one hell of a fun movie.

Charlse Bishop Weyland gathers a team of scientists and archeologists to find a pyramid that was recently detected below the ice in Antarctica. Though dangerous, the men and women agree and head out. But it appears someone already drilled a hole to the pyramid. Events get stranger and stranger as the team discovers the purpose for the pyramid that could wipe out humanity. My biggest beef with this movie would have to be that there were no real character developement, no relationships, no self-actualization. That is missing. But you know what? The actors do a good job, Lance Henriksen is back which is just awesome, and the story is very cool. The story incorperates the Alien and Predator franchises very well and has a lot of very cool action scenes and good quotable lines. And like all good W.S. Anderson movie, this movie incluses mystery and little twists in the story that makes it all worth while. Is Alien vs. Predator as well written as the ALien movies? Not really. Well written as the Predator movies? Definitely, if not better.

Paul W.S. Anderson's experience as a director grows even more in Alien vs. Predator. This movie is a strong action movie and is very well paced. It is entertaining through and through, and not even touching that side of being goofy. I would have liked to see this movie be more scarier. It doesn't really have strong thrills, but what thrills it does have are exciting enough. The sets are very cool though. The look of the pyramid is very well made. A big maze filled with symbols, triangles (which connects to the Predator's culture) and ever moving walls that seem to always fuck over one character in one way or another, even when it doesn't look like the room it leads to next doesn't have any other purpose but to fuck over someone. But the sets and props are very well detailed and designed. But lets get to the important thing: The look of the Predators and Aliens. The original look for both of them hasn't changed a bit, which is just awesome. And unlike expectations, the Aliens aren't even CGI the whole time. They are still full costumes, and the way they are filmed remind us very much of the classic Alien movies.

It's not a great achievement in writing, but Alien vs. Predator is a highly entertaining blast from the past that has good moments, good direction and good actors that makes this movie great for fans of the franchises.