AVP: The Battle for Mediocrity

As I walked into the theatre, I didn’t expect much. Maybe 90 minutes of a campy horror film that builds suspense here and there, paints a few violently bloody deaths, and finishes with the possibility of another film. It’s the same thing I’d expect from a WWE pay-per-view or a modern day “Godzilla versus Janet Reno” flick. Sadly, “Alien versus Predator” failed to deliver on even these most basic horror film requirements.

Instead of creating suspense around humans trapped in an ancient pyramid 2000 feet under Antartica amidst a war between Predators and Aliens, Director Paul W.S. Anderson and studio execs delivered a buddy movie. Seriously. There was even a moment when I expected to see a slow-motion, hand-holding shot. Plus, Anderson and his cronies sliced and diced so much that the virtually blood-free, PG-13-rated horror film (yes, that is an oxymoron) offered only one or two clear, quick-cut shots of dimly lit Predator on Alien smackdown.

There’s none of the suspense from “Alien,” nor any of the survival against-the-odds thrills from “Predator.” And there aren’t nearly enough Predator on Alien, jumbo-sized cans of open whup ass. This should’ve had the epic feeling of Jet Li taking on Bruce Lee. Instead, it seemed a bit like Michael Jackson fighting Boy George for an eyebrow pencil. Sure, there was some decent make-up, but I’d much rather spend the afternoon setting myself on fire.

One and one-half Llamas (out of four).

Alex Ezell
August 26th, 2004 9:59 am

Man, I am sorry to hear this. I was looking forward to checking this out. We were discussing it at lunch yesterday and talking about all the cool possibilities. I guess I will wait and rent the flick later.

Was there any part of that was cool? Or was it just an overall bore? The PG-13 thing has to be the killer for this flick. Why would they make this movie unless it could be a strong R rating?

James
August 26th, 2004 3:32 pm

There was one part that I found really cool with the Predator and Alien fighting, and the pyramid itself was pretty cool. But beyond that, it really didn’t do too much for me.

I’d say more, but I don’t want to ruin it for you.

Mark Scholl
September 1st, 2004 10:00 pm

The concept was all wrong. Instead of trying to find some way to get us feeble humans involved, they should have taken an element from the original Predator to run with.

The Predator was a hunter. The Alien should have been his next attempted bounty. Plain and simple. It could have been full of stalking, creaping, and other good suspense.

James
September 2nd, 2004 8:43 am

I hate to ruin it for you, [SPOILERS AHEAD] but that actually was the plot. The humans were merely a plot device, in that they were a ‘cocoon’ for the development of the creatures the Predator wanted to hunt.