Alien vs. Predator

I was really looking forward to watching Alien vs. Predator, after all Aliens and Predators, fighting in a film, it's got to be brilliant? Well no, sorry it isn't, at all. With all the story lines they could have used (set in the future on an alien planet was a possibility), it makes you wonder who came up with the concept of an ancient frozen Predator game park under the Arctic circle. Whoever wrote the story, or okay-ed production should be shot. Avoid this film!

Alien vs. Predator - All 4 movies Alien, Aliens ....Alien 3, Alien 4 were good and with some possible future reality.

I will not write too long review. Generally, all 4 movies have some eeriness, secrecy, future curiosness, universe mystery, strange alien intelligence. You can see them several times.

Alien vs Predator crushed all these feelings!

The movie is about nothing. The idea to do these creatures together was absolutely stupid! The old pyramid environmet is stupid too.

So the Video/DVD release of Alien vs. Predator finally happened in the UK.

It's probably my own fault for having a 13-year-old son in my mid-fifties, and having had to endure over six months of anticipation relating to this movie. The promise to buy a copy on the release date was made many moons ago so I couldn't back out!

Blockbusters Video sold out in a matter of hours! WH Smith almost sold out, just managed to get one of the very last copies (phew!).

So there we all sat. Two fifty-somethings, one twenty year old and one thirteen year old, viewing a movie that seemed to have had bad press from its birth. I immediately start spotting cliches from other sci-fi movies and am told to be quiet and not to spoil things.

The acting of the 'human' cast is shallow and unconvincing and the script seems to be an ill-fitting jigsaw of bits and pieces from a whole lot of far better movies.

Then these guys, the Aliens and Predators start to engage in mortal combat with each other and the film elevates to a whole new level. What I am trying to say is that it becomes extraordinarily good. Suddenly I no longer feel a sucker for buying this DVD; I no longer resent my son's natural 13-year-old vulnerability.

Will this movie ever rank alongside "War of the Worlds" or "Close Encounters"? Of course not, - but it sure is a whole lot of fun.

Alien vs. Predator - Alien, the movie was first-rate, at bit claustrophobic maybe, but tense and truely frightening.

Aliens got rid of the claustrophobia to a degree and presented as a more accomplished film. One of my favorites actually.

Forget Alien, the Resurrection, as it didn't work too well.

But I had high hopes for AVP. That will teach me. It was diabolical. No it was worse than that. I had a job not running out in tears and making a scene at the ticket booth demanding my money back. You know what, I should never have bought the ticket but stayed outside and used the money to buy a pile of popcorn, some vile fizzy drink and gone home. It would have been more enjoyable.

What a sorry end to Alien...s . There were times when I was sure that the Special Effects people had said "you know what...all this programming is an awful bore. Lets take the code from the Veloceraptors in Jurassic Park and splice the image of an Alien on top...and voila."

An Alien is not supposed to move like a dinosaur! This negates the fear factor completely.

You know what, I wont even mention the acting, but if I were to say that the Predators and Aliens had the best lines....that should some things up pretty well.

I've seen Alien vs. Predator - it was okay but I think the plot was a bit lack-lustre (no surprise there though as action is what this movie is all about). The fight sequences were good and well made. Just think they could have a done a bit more with it.

Rumours have it that Ridley Scott wouldn't mind doing another Alien film. And Sigourney Weaver is also interested in one which explores the Aliens home planet. Be good to find out who the Space Jockey from the 1st film was. I hope they give the go ahead - I know Fox are waiting to see how well AvP does. I think the series needs a quality director to get it back on track.

Before I begin my review of the 5th Alien film, Alien vs. Predator - I have to give my rant on the Alien series. When the first movie, Alien was made - it was very scary. Just one alien, a lot of suspense, and a good story. Ten years later, the best film in the series was made: Aliens. It was after this point where the main character should have bowed out gracefully, that being Sigourney Weaver. The third movie was perfectly set up to have the three surviving members arrive back on Earth: Ripley (Sigourney), Corporal Hicks (Michael Biehn), and the little girl. Once back on Earth, Sigourney could have become some sort of governmental advisor on hunting down the aliens. Hicks could lead the charge, and the girl would blossom into some sort of alien fighting hottie to get revenge for her family's death. The plot was ready to go, but noooooooooooo!

Enter Sigourney Weaver's EGO. She had to be the star, even though she was approaching 50. She couldn't even carry the gun in the 2nd film, let alone be the action hero - past that film. Her time in the sun was done....No wonder no good producers would touch any of the Alien films. Sigourney had way too much control. I don't even think a nude scene from Winona Ryder would have saved Alien Resurrection, but it would have helped some. Sigourney not only ruined the franchise of Alien, but in my opinion cut short the career of Michael Biehn, the guy who played "Rock", and the little English girl. Selfish, selfish, selfish...

Alien vs. Predator has been talked about for a long time. The media has teased us about this movie way too long. They even came out with the video game before the film on this one. I think the idea was planted by the writers of Predator 2, as when you take a tour of the Predator ship, in his trophy case, was a skeleton of an alien. The idea was hatched.

Before Alien vs. Predator, or now known just as AvP, hit theaters - some bad publicity was already on the way. The actor who played the synthetic lifeform, "Bishop" in Aliens (Lance Henriksson) was brought on-board to play a totally different character in this film. Hello???? Like we aren't going to notice that it's the same guy??? How dumb do these movie makers think we are? Before you answer that, realize that Adam Sandler has released nothing but junk for the past 8 - 10 years, and his films average 80 million dollars total at the box office. I think his movie budgets are pizza for his friends, and a few cases of Old English.

This film starts out with a super wealthy guy (Bishop) rounding up all kinds of scientists around the world to bring them to a special meeting. He has recruited a team of 5 or 6 of the best scientists on the globe covering ice and snow experts, to experts on hieroglyphics. Turns out one of his satellites has found a pyramid of some kind in Antarctica, 2,000 feet below the surface.

He leads the team to Antarctica, despite the fact that he has a terminal disease, and must hit an inhaler every 20 minutes or so. He is so wealthy that they have all kinds of state-of-the-art equipment.

The plot of the movie is this. Many years ago, when man was just moving past the caveman role, the Predators found Earth. They taught the humans to build, and gave them tools and ideas. They built this special pyramid, that is actually a training ground for young Predators making their way to adulthood.

We also learn that the Predators found the Aliens at some point in their travels and found them to be the ultimate race to fight for sport. So, they kidnapped an Alien queen and shackled her to the basement of this training pyramid. They also have some technology that can put her in suspended animation. They need this, as they only come back to our planet every 100 years. At this point, they round up 8 humans and put them in the sacrificial chamber of the pyramid and let them be infected by Alien eggs. Within hours, these aliens hatch and grow up into full adults. They then send in a few young Predators to begin their hunt.

It was my opinion that since we only see a few Predators in any movie, and we usually see a lot of Aliens - that a one-on-one Pred vs. Alien would always end in a Pred win. That is not the case. In this film, they are pretty even up one-on-one. The Alien fighting style is like that of a scorpion. They can use their tails like swords, and it is fantastic to watch. The weapons of the Predators are also very top-notch. The one thing I still think is unfair is the cloaking device that the Predators use - that is just cheating.

One of the characters that provides comic relief in this film is the guy who played Spud in Trainspotting. He is funny as usual, although maybe it is just his accent that makes him funny?

Near the end of the film, the humans make an alliance with the Predators. The old theory, "the enemy of my enemy, becomes my friend." Part of the training exercise for the young Predators is to find their guns hidden somewhere within the pyramid. Without their guns, the Preds are even up with the Aliens. With their guns, it is slaughter time.

When a young Predator kills his first alien, it seems to be like a young human killing his first deer. The Pred doesn't drink its blood, like in "Red Dawn", but he does cut a finger off, and mark his forehead with the acidic tip to "baptize" himself as a warrior.

A cool scene is when a young Pred gets his first Alien kill. He looks down at the dead body, spear in hand, and gives himself the "double pump" to the chest. There was nobody else in the room to even appreciate it. I've done that before myself, solid! With the dreads, the Predators bear a certain resemblence to Ricky Williams, formerly of the Miami Dolphins.

The end makes a case for Alien vs. Predator 2, as you knew it would. This is not a great movie, but it is not a bad movie. Even with Bishop in it, I give it a 7/10. The film will become a staple on TNT, TBS, etc within 3 years. I also rate this film 3rd in the 5 Alien films. My rankings: Aliens, Alien, AvP, Alien Resurrection, and Alien 3.