Displaying all 2 Review

• A wasted opportunity — for AVP: Alien vs. Predator
  Written by cosmobrown on 01.06.2009

  "Whoever wins, we lose". This is the tag line to AVP: Alien Vs Predator. And while the results are not quite that dire, this wouldn't exactly qualify as a cinematic victory either. Based on the incredibly violent and gory comic books of the same name, this film had every potential to be great. However, that was before Paul W.S Andersen, the man behind the fairly awful Mortal Kombat and the terrible Resident Evil, signed on to write and direct. His writing leaves much to be desired. Little things like characterization go out of the window, desperate as he is to get to the action promptly. We're been introduced to the characters, and the next thing we know we're in the pyramid (a masterpiece of design, like a demented version of the Crystal Maze), 2000 feet below ice, so when these characters start to get picked off by the aliens and predators, we don't really give a shit.
  What we all came for though, was the acid-blooded xenomorphs tangling with the dread-locked Predators. Does it deliver? Well yes and no. Yes, in that the excitement factor of seeing these two iconic movie monsters beating the crap out of each is high. No, in that trying to achieve a 12 rating for the film, the fights lack the violence and terror that we have come to expect from the previous films (all rated 15 or higher). There also edited so frenetically, that sometimes its hard to see whats happening. It is good fun watching them fight though, and there plenty of invention and creativity on show, and the film is littered with references and in-jokes to the Alien and Predator series'. You will have a good time watching this film, but don't expect it to be memorable, and its not a patch on the first two Alien films, or even the indifferent third and fourth films, and the action isn't as good as in Predator or the Danny Glover-starring sequel.

• The most hated crossover - what went wrong here? — for AVP: Alien vs. Predator
  Written by connectiv on 01.06.2009

  Alien vs. Predator is a cross-over of 1979's classic horror movie "Alien" and its sequels and 1987's action-packed "Predator" and its sequel.

  To quickly wrap up the main story - we have three different parties in one place: A couple of young Predators seeking to become fully-fledged warriors through battle with the Aliens, who are vicious as ever, and an expedition of humans, who are caught up in the middle unexpectedly and have to fight for survival.

  Just having read the 1994 novel "Aliens vs. Predator: Prey", I could not help noting the many similarities. Basically, the film makers just changed the setting, simplified the story and added Lance Henriksen (Bishop) as a bait for Alien fans. It is interesting to note that while the movie is rather unpopular with most fans, the novel is not, despite the similarities (the much critisized human-predator alliance for example is a plot element that was taken from the novel).

  So, what is positive about AVP? It has lots of action. Especially the fights between aliens and predators are enjoyable. Also, any alien fan will like seeing as much as possible of his beloved hated monsters. The animations have a good feel to them, the aliens sleek and beautiful in all their horror, the predators menacing and powerful and with a certain coolness factor. The claustrophobic setting, an old underground Aztec temple, seems a good choice, too.

  Now, the negative points. The acting in the movie is really rather mediocre. The characters are for the most part standard and boring, too. It shouldn't bother too much since most of the human cast don't live long enough to seriously bother us with their performance anyway. Still, it wouldn't have hurt to have at least one memorable character. The story is just barely enough to make the crossover plausible, but gives us nothing else. They merely added enough story to explain how the three parties ended up in one place and that's that.

  Judging by this, one would think the movie pretty much fulfills what it was meant to be - cool action flick featuring aliens and predators. Not exactly thought-invoking, but entertaining.

  So why did the movie still fail to satisfy the fans?

  To put it in a nutshell, because of people's expectations. Most of the fans expected either another "Alien" or another "Predator". What they got was neither. AvP is nowhere near the class of the first two (even count the third in, if you will) Alien movies. It does not have the creepy atmosphere, its horrors do not seem as real, the tension isn't there. You can not identify with the characters as much, they too do not feel like real people. The film simply does not offer a "Ripley-figure". Ok, so they had Lance Henriksen - but really, he added little and one couldn't shake the feeling that he was only thrown in to make the fans happy. Are we that easy to satisfy? Apparently not. The lack of gore probably added a lot to the fans frustrations - AvP was made PG-13. Naturally, fans have been expecting differently, as all preceding Alien and Predator movies were very violent and gory. Predator fans were disappointed about the weak portrayal of their favourite monsters. While the movie does try to explain this, it's simply not what fans wanted. And of course the alliance between human and predator was deemed ridiculous at best. Where was the kick-ass lone and proud warrior alien we have been expecting?

  To come to a conclusion, this movie is ok for you if:

  - you want an entertaining, technically well done action flick
  - you like seeing aliens and predators in action
  - you can live with a somewhat weak story
  - you do not expect this to be in the same league as previous "Alien" or "Predator" films

  Personally, I thought the film was enjoyable, and I even kind of liked the human-predator alliance, questionable as it may be, simply because I view this film completely without connection to the older ones and don't let it muddy the memories of them.