Review of AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004) by Ky K — 23 Dec 2010

Diverting creature feature match-up is a fun watch thanks to a good cast, director Anderson's video-game inspired story-telling and an intriguing production design that give sets a cool stage for the Alien and Predator to beat the crap out of each other.

Anderson treats this movie more like an adaption of one of the AVP video game shooters, which is probably a wise move considering the inherently cheesy concept. Like classic monster mashes like Frankenstein Monster vs the Wolfman, there is little dignity on display for these iconic killer creatures; this is fan-fiction dressed up for the big screen.

The inclusion of Lance Henriksen is just more giddy fanwank for the fans to revel in. The pyramid sets are admittedly add a neat spin to the typical Alien and Predator action, as mostly they are found in either space-ship corridors or jungles.

The FX hold up pretty well and the only the look of the Predator slightly suffers (they trade in height for muscle). This movie could have been a horrible disaster (see AVP:R for that) but Anderson and crew deliver an entertaining diversion from the more serious main series of both titular characters.