Review of AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004) by Santiagomakiina — 04 Jul 2012

What a cool movie. Seriously. West Anderson does cool. And not much else. If you look down the list of films he's participated in they are all "cool." The funny thing is when I saw this movie in the theater I had no idea who this guy was. I just wanted to watch Aliens and Predators kicking each other's ass. And I was hoping not to leave the theater wanting to shoot myself, as I did after Alien Resurrection.

This time around I was watching this on DVD and was well informed on the guy in charge. All the elements were there. Frankly, what better choice to film an ass kicking than the guy that dished it out in Resident Evil. Worse case scenario, he's gonna trade zombies for the creatures of choice and set the camera to his usual slow motion signature visuals. How bad can this be? ... It turns out, the movie is, as I said, pretty cool.

The plot is well threaded with a thriller atmosphere. The distant town in no man's land. The historic references to a prophecy of sorts. Digging up the inevitable past. The rich guy that has enough money to push things too far. And the always required character that warns everyone not to embark in the adventure but embarks in the adventure herself regardless. All the fun contradictions that make for a well designed action flick.

The events follow each other with just enough predictability to make you both anticipate and feel smart. Yet the repertoire remains fresh and exciting. The fights between Predators and Aliens are perfectly choreographed. In fact, I finished the movie wanting to see more. That's how an action movie is supposed to make you feel. Wanting to run back to the theater to see more of the same.

Looking back on the Alien anthology, WS Anderson would have been the perfect call for Alien Resurrection. After the heavy delivery of Alien 3, there was a much needed return to the action of Aliens, but with just enough emotional content to deliver a good action thriller. Perhaps we can call this movie the 4th installment in the series instead.