Alien vs. Predator (2004) User Reviews

Is this a perfect movie? No, this premise had no chance of that. Is this worth viewing and entertaining? Absolutely

[kevin_robbins · 7/10 · 21 November 2021]

Alien vs. Predator (2004) is a movie in my DVD collection that I recently watched on Amazon Prime. The storyline follows a research expedition that recently was discovered miles under the ice. The research team doesn't know the pyramid was setup as a hunting playground for Predators to test their hunting skills against the ultimate beings...and we aren't talking about humans.

This movie is directed by Paul W. S. Anderson (Event Horizon) and stars Sanaa Lathan (Love & Basketball), Lance Henriksen (Pumpkinhead), Ewen Bremner (Rundown), Tommy Flanagan (Gladiator), Raoul Bova (Under the Tuscan Sun).

The storyline for this picture was actually okay and was a good setup for this premise. I enjoyed the settings and the cast. I'd never complain about Lathan and Henriksen movies. The special effects were awesome and the kill and action scenes were very good, loved the depiction of both the Aliens and Predators. The alien vs predator fights were excellent, including how the face huggers were mixed in.

Overall is this a perfect movie? No, this premise had no chance of that. Is this worth viewing and entertaining? Absolutely. I'd score this a 6.5-7/10 and strongly recommend seeing this.

Great set-design and action - terrible dialogue

[gogoschka-1 · 24 October 2013]

Just watched it again yesterday - it's striking how good the action is compared to the ridiculous dialogue. I completely understand why this movie got such terrible reviews; after all, it marked the first "let's make a quick buck" entry in the two beloved Alien and Predator franchises and was done by a director who many felt didn't treat the material with the respect it deserved. When I watched it yesterday I got angry at times because some of the dialogue - well, most of it, actually - is truly awful. It's hard to take characters or a story seriously when nearly every sentence spoken resembles lines from a parody of cheap science-fiction and horror movies from the fifties and sixties. But despite all those flaws I have to admit I enjoyed the movie from start to finish - because of the amazing set- and creature-design and the more than decent action sequences and special effects. Whoever designed those really scored and seems to have a great love for the art of Giger and the previous films. So if you can get past the silly characters and you're able to ignore the more obvious shortcomings (like the idiotic decision to make the film PG-13) you're in for a fun ride. My vote: 6.5 out of 10.

Favorite films: http://www.IMDb.com/list/mkjOKvqlSBs/

Lesser-known Masterpieces: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls070242495/

Favorite Low-Budget and B-Movies: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls054808375/

Favorite TV-Shows reviewed: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls075552387/

Good monster action flick.

[Fella_shibby · 7/10 · 31 December 2020]

I first saw in in a theatre in 2004. Revisited the 109 mins unrated version recently.

This is the first film installment of the Alien vs. Predator franchise, bringing together the creatures of the Alien and Predator series. In this one, scientists are caught in the crossfire of an ancient battle between Aliens and Predators as they attempt to escape a bygone pyramid. The film is fast paced with tons of action, aided by top notch special effects n amazing set design. Thankfully it doesnt have any shaky cam stuff, no flickering lights n none if the scene is shot in dark light. We can make out what is going on. Compared to most films where too much darkness takes away the fun, this one doesn't have bad lighting. They have toned down the human body count n reduced the gory moments. Nonetheless, it is a good monster action flick. Gore wise, it is nowhere close to the original Predator.

Unjustly panned by critics and fans

[amesmonde · 9 March 2010]

A team assembled by a billionaire investigate a heat signal that reveals a pyramid below the surface of a whaling station in Antarctic. However, the pyramid is a hunting ground for Predators who kill Aliens as a rite of passage and the team find themselves caught in the middle of their hunt.

It shouldn't have been mixed, Paul W.S. Anderson's AVP: Alien vs. Predator was more so unjustly panned by critics and fans due to the hype and anticipation. It has the feeling of an Alien film, a great premise, good cinematography, some amazing effects and a fine score.

Paul W.S. Anderson is successful in bringing the franchises together, respecting ideas from both Alien and Predator movies. I haven't seen a bad film that he's made and I'm not sure why there is such a geek gang hatred against the mans work. The ever-improving Uwe Boll he is not! The strong leads include Sanaa Lathan as the heroine and Raoul Bova. However, unfortunately actors Carsten Norgaard as Rusten Quinn and Tommy Flanagan as Mark Verheiden disappear far too early. Overall the acting is good, Lance Henrikson shows up as the 'real' Bishop but some of the characters lack development and the editing feels choppy in places.

The Predators and Aliens look great apart from some badly executed CGI. It not Ridley Scott or John McTiernan, but Paul Anderson pulls off the almost impossible task of putting these to aliens together on screen.

If there was not an Alien or Predator film prior to this it may have been haled as a science fiction adventure classic, but alas that's not the case.

Ahh, it could have been so good

[bowmanblue · 6/10 · 24 July 2014]

The 'Aliens versus Predator' storyline has been with us ever since the 'Predator 2' when Danny Glover huffed and puffed his way across what looked like an alien's skull in the Predator's trophy cabinet. This brief image sparked a storm among fans, whose dreams and wishes were subsequently realised by volumes of comics and graphic novels regarding the subject matter. And they were actually pretty good! Having read a fair few of them, it seemed no end to the possibilities of pitting two of the big screen's most famous monsters against each other. With so many ideas as to what could be done, how could they possibly lose?

The answer: they gave it to Paul W S Anderson. Now, Paul W S Anderson is a very competent director who can stylishly bring action scenes to life. However, his films' major flaws all are that they're 'almost great.' They're not bad. They're watchable. And that is their major crime. They leave you thinking that if you were given $60 million to make a film (in this case one starring the aliens and the Predator) then you could do better than him. And there's a reason for this - you could. And so could I.

Aliens vs Predator sports the tagline 'Whoever wins - we lose.' Isn't that the truth? The film gets its rating taken down from an 18 to a watery 12A, removing all gore and much of the suspense with it. Instead of brutal tough Predators we have a trio of young, inexperienced ones who are - quite frankly - a bit rubbish at killing aliens. Instead of the gun-totting Colonial Marines from Aliens, we have a team of bland, disposable scientists who are there simply to increase the body count. At least the aliens perform on camera, but the battles you may expect between the two races are few and far between. Also, if you saw the trailer and witnessed a million aliens tearing towards some Predators on top of an weird and wonderful pyramid, that's only a flashback. That's about the best bit of the film.

It sort of tries to tie into both the 'Aliens' and 'Predator' mythology, but fans really don't want it to. Like I say, it's not bad. I know I'm making it sound terrible, but it really isn't. It has action, special effects and, um, that's about it. It's perfect for your average sci-fi monster-munching movie. However, when you have either an Aliens film or a Predator film, people expect a little more than something that's 'just okay.'

At least it was more understandable than Prometheus I suppose.

http://thewrongtreemoviereviews.blogspot.co.uk/

Not sure why it got such a bad mark from most people

[Valkonian · 7/10 · 2 August 2009]

I went into this expecting a horrible movie. From all the reviews that I read I thought it would be HORRIBLE! I've seen many, many worse movies than this.

A previous comment stated the movie went a bit too fast in explaining things and developing the characters. While I can certainly agree on the former, the latter, well, you just know most of the people are going to get wasted so character development isn't that necessary. We came to see Predators hunt and fight with Aliens.

One thing I didn't like was the movie showed the Aliens more powerful than the Predators. I believe the canon shows the Predators are much more powerful than the Aliens. Regardless, I liked this movie.

This movie surprised me because there were many things I didn't expect. Were some scenes over the top? Absolutely, but this is Hollywood and we're talking Aliens V Predator here :) IF you are a fan of these genres you really should give this movie a chance.

Awesome showdown.

[cruise01 · 10/10 · 7 May 2020]

(5 out of 5 stars)

Awesome. AvP delivers an awesome, excitng, and action packed film. May not be scary like the Alien films. But they werent scary either. But does dive into the science fiction action. The plot is great. It gives a story of Predators and Aliens. And why they are fighting each other. The visual effects are great. Paul Anderson delivers the action. The fight sequences are fantastic.

Such an underrated movie

[derek-a-charette100 · 8/10 · 22 August 2021]

I don't understand the low rating. I see a review complaining about dialogue... considering the second half of the movie has nearly zero dialogue in it, I wonder if this person actually watched the whole movie, or maybe watched a different movie altogether... HOW MUCH ECCENTRIC AND INTELLECTUAL DIALOGUE SHOULD AN ACTION MOVIE HAVE? Looking back at the classic action movies, AVP is right on par with the dialogue of the others, and actually above average.

Everything about this movie is better than or far above the usual in every manner. The visuals are great, and in fact, being from 2004, the visuals are better than most action movies that have come out in the past decade.

The acting is great, the cast is great, the storyline is fantastic and actually makes sense and has substance to it.

Once the action starts, the rest of the movie is nonstop action and one really cool scene after another. There were actually some moments with the predator acting that were genius and so well done.

Such a good movie. Easily in the top 100 all time action movies.

Has its moments........

[owenpont-70803 · 6/10 · 30 June 2022]

I am a big Alien and Predator fan. So I was excited to watch this, but wow this was disappointing. First off, why would you make an Alien Vs Predator movie PG-13? Secondly there were way to many plots. And the character development was very poor. Even then, I wish they wouldn't make the human characters a main part of the film. You spend to much time with them before you even see the Alien or Predator start attacking anyone. I will say though, the film was not boring. There is lots of shut your brain off entertainment in this film. I thought the lore of it was neat. And the Alien and Predator action was fun. Overall its a film that is entertaining but has very clear faults and for a film like this, it shouldn't have to many faults.

Compared to recent genre movies, this is a Hall of Fame classic.

[AristarchosTheArchivist · 9/10 · 12 October 2022]

When I saw AvP back in the day, I found this movie to be inferior to the Alien franchise. When I rewatched it on Netflix, I was very surprised how this view changed.

I noticed a lot of things that made me change my mind.

First of all - the special effects are not CGI. We have become accustomed to the artificial look of computer generated images, which in my opinion is not a good development. Hands-on special effects had already become perfect in the 80s, at least in most bigger-budgeted films. Especially in creature features, these latex-and-animatronics artists managed to really create horrific scenes that looked real because they ARE real. Just think about masterpieces like "The Thing", "Aliens", or - already quite retro - "Blade II". How can anyone think that basically real creatures could be inferior to CGI? It's a new industry, and it seems it creates its own demand. In AvP, this leads to claustrophobic and really terrifying imagery that is quite underrated today.

Secondly, despite some flaws in dialogue and writing compared to "Aliens", AvP is very much above most of the recent Superhero craze movies. If you watched it, you will clearly notice. There are lots of great ideas and scenes in AvP that would not be done in most movies today.

If you like the Aliens franchise and have never seen AvP - go watch it despite its low rating. You will be surprised how good it actually is.

Great crossover

[foxtografo · 8/10 · 6 July 2019]

This is a great movie, I thought everything looks great, the story is quite solid for the excuse needed to see both monsters on the same movie, the characters were acceptable and the stages look amazing. Then, some fight between the Aliens and Predators felt a bit clumsy, the choreographs were not always the best, but it was good action overall. The characters (humans) again, maybe the weakest point, could have been more interesting, but no one annoyed me to the point of dislike or ruining the movie. Cinematography was very good, as it was the designs (stages over all), and the flashback scene was absolutely amazing!! I really don't understand why so low in rating, honesty, I sense some fanboy hate here, the movie is great fun to watch and is way better than other Aliens and Predator movies.

For some reason, everyone hates this, but I love it!

[jmanchak6 · 10/10 · 1 March 2010]

POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!!

I just like this movie because I saw it when I was younger, and when you're young, you just love any movie. I didn't see any of the Alien or Predator movies before I saw this, and maybe that's why I like it. I like to believe that the general audience (ie me) liked the movie, while the die-hard Alien and Predator fans hated it. So I started thinking about how they wouldn't like this. And I came up with these conclusions:

1) The fans were disappointed by the fact that this was only PG-13, not R. All of the previous films were R, so less violence in this, which ain't good.

2) There aren't a lot of scenes where aliens and predators are fighting. It contains more scenes of humans running away from aliens and predators, and once in a while, the aliens and predators get on each other's nerves.

3) Lance Henriksen was in the film, which basically messes up the continuity of the entire franchise. It's different if it was just a 10 second cameo, but they give him a huge role.

Why do I like this film? Because it gives me a great sense of nostalgia. I enjoyed the special effects, and I thought that the plot was great and fun. Plus it is pretty scary (if you're 8).

I don't know, just try the film out. That's all!

Really underated, one of my all time favorites. A mixture of two classic alien franchises in an action packed film. Highly recommend. ( A+ Movie) My Ratings 10/10

[THE-BEACON-OF-MOVIES-RAFA · 10/10 · 16 February 2020]

As a film is not something excelent. BUT, at those days back it was a dream to see on screen the battle between those two iconic vilains. And that film gave us the pleasure. Still, Henriksen is one of the most underated actors.

With its shameful rating, poor acting, awful writing and mediocre direction, 'AvP' disappoints the fans at every turn, and will probably leave non-fans feeling a little wishy-washy. Fox has taken two of thei

[MovieAddict2016 · 4/10 · 13 August 2004]

We don't go to see movies about dueling alien species for deep themes and intricate character development, but a little sympathy would be nice. I didn't feel any sympathy for the characters in 'Alien vs. Predator' because they were all unlikable clichés: The Heroine, The Hero, The Nerd, The Tomboy, The Gruff Leader, et al. These carbon cut out characters we've seen in hundreds of other films are all assembled together by Charles Bishop Weyland (Lance Henriksen) in 'AvP' to venture into the Antarctic, where they uncover an ancient pyramid recently discovered by Weyland's multi-million dollar satellites hovering about in space.

The movie is based, of course, upon the iconic 'Alien' and 'Predator' films – the rights to which are both owned by Fox Studios. The concept for the project originated with 'Predator 2' (1990), when a cop (played by Danny Glover) ventured into a Predator spaceship. There, in the 'trophy room,' was the distinct skull of an Alien.

This small in-joke reference (similar to that of Freddy Kruger's claw appearing in the 'Evil Dead' sequel) sparked a phenomenon of fans speculating as to the meaning behind the very brief big-screen insinuation. And due to strong requests, the two fictional species were finally united together for a string of comic books, videogames, novels and action figures in the early-'90s. By the year 2002, 'Alien vs. Predator' had become one of Fox's most profitable off-screen franchises. So, it was only reasonable to demand a film be made. By October 2003, production was underway, with sets in Prague being assembled.

And the film's director, Paul W. S. Anderson, has always excelled at set design. In 'Event Horizon' he perfectly captured the dark essence of the 'Alien' series; with 'Resident Evil' he managed to mimic the Gothic structure of all great zombie movies. But, to be honest, that's about it. He's never been any good at three other vital elements of film-making: story, characters and direction. 'Alien vs. Predator' –- a project that took 14 astonishing years to bring to the big screen (longer than 'Freddy vs. Jason') –- doesn't do much to change this.

Yes, his set design here is fantastic (it's no surprise that a great amount of pre-production work went into creating these enormous surroundings). The pyramid is buried deep within the wastelands of the Antarctic (2,000 feet, actually), which provides us with some great cinematography and stages.

The plot could have used extra work, though. After venturing deep into the pyramid, the team of scientists soon realizes that the pyramid is –- surprise, surprise! –- actually the home of an alien hive. And furthermore, a pack of teenaged Predators -- on an annual 'manhood' hunting ritual -- are there, too, and they begin to draw the humans into their fight, using them as bait.

The movie's cast is comprised of many newcomers and they are all unimpressive. Sanaa Lathan ('Out of Time'), as Alexa, the heroine, is rather annoying. Raoul Bova, playing the hero Sebastian, is the most likable of the characters, but even then, he's simply no Arnold.

Furthermore, the dialogue is completely lame. Sure, 'Predator' had lame dialogue too ('Knock, knock!') but at least it was funny and delivered with charisma. This movie unfortunately takes itself way too seriously. I've heard many people quote lines from 'Predator' over the years ('I ain't got time to bleed!' being a popular one). I can't imagine anyone ever *wanting* to quote dialogue from this film.

Even Henriksen seems like he's just in it for the paycheck. (His character, Charles 'Bishop' Weyland, is the billionaire who – according to 'Alien' mythology -- creates the Bishop androids seen in 'Aliens' and 'Alien 3,' which are modeled after his own image.) Is it any coincidence that the only returning cast member from either series of films happens to be the same actor whose career has devolved into straight-to-video duds recently?

However, kudos must be handed to "'AvP's' creature effects artists (mainly Tom Woodruff, Jr.). I had expected lots of CGI, but there are also many close-ups of the Predators and Aliens played by thankless actors in suits (and some good IL'-fashioned animatronics). Kevin Peter Hall (the original Predator) passed away shortly after the release of the film's sequel, but Anderson has comprised an acceptable team of replacements (most of the actors being some seven feet tall!).

That, and the set design, and one or two OK action sequences, makes 'AvP' adequate for 'regular' cinema-goers expecting nothing more. If you're just looking for the average Saturday night blow-'em-up action flick, you could certainly do worse. But, for any true die-hard fans of the films, this movie continually disappoints – and worst of all, due to its restrictive PG-13 rating, the fights (which take place all too often and rapidly become boring) are all over the place. We are not 'allowed' to see anything, which hinders the flow of the film. There was more violence than I had expected, but still not enough. (For the record, 'AvP' is the only film from either of the two series to ever receive an under-R rating.) After negative test screenings, Fox Studios decided to go against the will of the film's own director and brutally chop the movie apart so that it could fit into a more marketable age demographic. (So, the awkward flow in many of the sequences cannot be entirely contributed to Anderson's directing skills.) The day the official rating was released, fans across the world united online to protest it. I can't say I blame them.

I had personally been looking forward to seeing this movie for quite some time now, being a fan of both 'Alien' (1979) and 'Predator' (1987). Yet I tried to view 'AvP' unbiased, and judge it on its own terms, as a movie, and not particularly a sequel. It was a difficult task, but the truth of the matter is that the film – as a stand-alone project – is still not particularly enthralling. With its shameful rating, poor acting, awful writing and mediocre direction, 'AvP' disappoints the fans at every turn, and will probably leave non-fans feeling a little wishy-washy. Fox has taken two of their greatest franchises and turned them into a joke. 'AvP' is nothing more than typical action fare which, all considered, isn't much of a compliment at all.

2.5/5

It took 14 years...

[dee.reid · 7/10 · 14 August 2004]

...Before a possible showdown between the iconic monsters of "Alien" and "Predator" would occur, when they would cross paths on screen and battle to the death. There's a scene in "Predator 2" that occurs towards the end of the film, where Lt. Mike Harrigan (Danny Glover) ventures into the Predator spaceship and accidentally stumbles onto the alien hunter's trophy room, and neatly placed towards the back amongst the various awards, was an alien skull. Those 10 seconds of film spawned over a decade's worth of rumors that one day these titans were going to go at it head-to-head, and that whoever won, we'd lose.

As a fan of both the "Alien" and "Predator" franchises, I've been looking forward to "Alien Vs. Predator" for a long time, since that historic scene. I've admired the two monsters for years, collecting all kinds of memorabilia, including books and action figures; you name it, I've probably seen it.

With "Alien Vs. Predator," director Paul W.S. Anderson has achieved something of a mixed bag. Undoubtedly critics will balk early into the film. They'll pick apart its MTV-style editing, bad pacing, and lack of spirit of a genuine "Alien" or "Predator" film. Die-hards will balk at Anderson's direction and the fact that he was even allowed near the film.

I had fun watching it, despite some inconsistencies regarding our two iconic monsters who like to either use humans as hosts for more of their hideous offspring, or trophies which can be displayed in their intergalactic showroom of skulls.

The story is that a massive, ancient Aztec/Egyptian/Mayan temple has been discovered deep below the surface of the Antarctic, and Charles Bishop Weyland (Lance Henriksen of "Aliens") has assembled a team of the world's best archaeologists, which includes Alexa "Lex" Woods (Sanaa Lathan, who convincingly fills in the tough female role), Sebastian de Rosa (Raoul Bova) and Graeme Miller (Ewen Bremner) to accompany him in investigating it. But wouldn't you know it? They're not alone in this gargantuan maze of dark tunnels and ever-changing structures, and that a trio of Predators have come there to hunt rapidly reproducing Xenomorphs.

Well, I can tell anyone that the powers-that-be in Hollywood and at Twentieth Century Fox played heavily into the film's mixed bag treatment. If the movie fails, I'd blame constant executive and studio interference - the b*****ds in suits who decide they want to cater to teenage fanboys instead of the largely adult fan base that this film was originally built on. In doing so, they opt for action over story, more importantly, $$$ over artistic vision.

Anderson has remained faithful in preserving the essence of both the "Alien" and "Predator" franchises by casting no-name performers to combat the extraterrestrial foes, and by emphasizing ideas over action and special effects. On a sour, angrier note, the gorehounds will be sorely disappointed, since executives at Fox toned down the violence considerably as to release it with a "PG-13" rating, as to rake in every penny. Of course, that "PG-13" rating doesn't stop us from getting quick edits (read: no gore) of chestbursting sequences, facehuggings, and people being mercilessly slaughtered by the Predators.

I had faith that Paul W.S. Anderson wouldn't let me down long before I even saw the film; he doesn't, but I have a feeling that his film is destined for the same fate as David Fincher and his film "Alien 3" - that it will go down in infamy and only years after the director has disowned the film and controversy is still brewing, that the true vision of "Alien Vs. Predator" will surface and will finally earn the respect owed to it.

7/10

I love this movie

[DanteRiggs · 10/10 · 21 September 2020]

I think I watched this movie at least 4 times. I loved it as a kid and I love it now, as an adult. I don't get the hate, especially from the Alien/Predator fans. AVP is a fun action movie and a much anticipated crossover. If you liked Aliens and/or the Predator movies, how can you not like this?! 9.5/10

Paradoxial

[jaywolfenstien · 10 September 2004]

Most people going into this film want to see one thing: Aliens and Predators rip into each other. I suspect a great many geeks and lame individuals inhabiting message boards of every corner of the internet will complain that this film spends too much time with the humans when the name of the film is 'Alien versus Predator' and they couldn't care about the humans, and another sect will whine about how shallow the film is to jump right to the big fight as soon as it can possibly set it up.

The nice thing about the Freddy vs Jason premise is the fact that most of the Elm Street films and none of the Friday the 13th films had any substance to them, so throwing the two juggernauts into a battle rumble with each other with a side of useless characters and uninspired plot shouldn't have phased anyone but the most deluded of fans. I really liked FvsJ more so than all but the Craven-driven Elm Streets and the all the F13s.

Alien vs Predator is quite a bit different since I love Ridley Scott's Alien and James Cameron's Aliens, and though I don't hold Predator 1 & 2 on the same level, I'm still pretty fond of the original Predator film (been too long since I've seen Predator 2). The Alien series (and to a much lesser extent, the Predator series too) has always been about depth . . . so to just throw the two monsters at each other and let them rip into each other really does not do them any justice and strips away what makes their films so good to begin with.

So . . . AVP takes a middle path. It attempts to build up the characters to an extent, it attempts to give a valid reason for both the Aliens and Predators to be in the same location, and it attempts to do it as quickly as it can. How well does it succeed? I found myself wishing it would either slow down more or pick up the pace.

I'm very pleased to see the stylish Paul Anderson lead this tangled and difficult project. His nods to the original films, in jokes, and slower paced setup were much appreciated from me. Ninety minutes of guys in rubber suits cut with CG monsters fighting constantly just will not cut it. I felt Anderson rushed the setup (or the studio rushed him); but part of me did grow bored of the characters rather quickly, and I did want to see the Alien and Predators get together sooner than they did.

The lingering time between bouts did create more tension and anticipation for the coming fights, which I admired, and when the beasts finally sank claws and teeth into one another I found myself more or less satisfied. At first I felt somewhat let down by how seemingly easily a few Predators went down; however, then I remembered these things were fighting Aliens with bare fists and blades when Space Marines were getting slaughtered with state of the art artillery.

A classless director would have started with a bang, ended with a bang, and had a boring parade of bangs. When I want meaningless, yet entertaining, bangs I buy firecrackers and save myself both time and money. Paul Anderson strived for something more, and pretty much came through. While I did like the film and the idea of Aliens and Predators fighting it out, I couldn't help but compare it to the superior films that inspired it. As fun as AVP is, and as much as I like Paul Anderson . . . he is not Ridley Scott and this is not Alien.

I guess we're all winners here.

[GiraffeDoor · 7/10 · 4 September 2022]

I saw this before any other movie in either franchise and I thought it was a fun little actiony yarn. It's all kind of serious but not austere, being more of a movie you could make fun of in a group if you wanted to. And I like the protagonist. "BS! That's BS!". She had quite the mouth on her! So cool...

Special effects look good, it's not heavy on plot but I wouldn't want that anyway. In its own way it was weirdly touching.

It wasn't as scary as the marketing suggested but it makes a good more casual bit of viewing.

Not really made for the fans as indeed it shouldn't have been. Again, it's just a bit of fun.

Alien vs. Predator plays like a video game

[seaview1 · 12 August 2004]

Twentieth Century Fox has taken two of its most popular sci-fi franchises and paired them in a Super Bowl of monsters in Alien vs. Predator. The result is OK entertaining but ultimately a pale version of the original classics, Alien and Predator. It helps to get some useful perspective.

The concept, while intriguing, is not entirely new. Quite recently, Jason (Friday the 13th series) and Freddy (the Nightmare on Elm Street) did battle as studios attempted to milk every last drop of revenue from waning sequels. Three-quarters of a century ago, Universal pictures became what would be the greatest horror film studio with Frankenstein, Dracula, Wolfman, The Mummy, and Creature from the Black Lagoon among others. When it became apparent that each franchise was running its course, the natural thought was to pair their monsters in a showdown. Most prominent was Frankenstein Meets Wolfman. So it is no wonder that a clip from that very film shows up at the beginning of Alien vs. Predator.

Set on present day earth, a satellite detects a thermal event in Antarctica which triggers a hastily assembled scientific expedition financed by the Weyland Corporation. Its enigmatic head is Charles Bishop Weyland (Lance Henriksen) who wants to leave a legacy as his health begins to fail. Sanaa Lathan is the mountain climber/guide who leads the group to the thermal anomaly and discovers an ancient pyramid beneath the deep ice. Unfortunately, the explorers trigger a sequence of events including the birth of new Aliens via the dreaded facehuggers and the arrival of a group of Predator warriors ready for a new hunt. As the body count rises, the Aliens multiply in number and thus a battle royal is ready to commence. Will there be any humans left? How come nobody told the Nostromo crew in the first Alien movie about these critters? And what happened to the Henriksen character's namesake who reappears in the guise of Bishops 1 and 2 in later films? So many questions are left unanswered.

The plot does have plenty of holes and glosses quickly, almost too quickly through the story as characters we barely get to know or want to care about quickly perish. Fans of both film series will appreciate the multitude of references to the Alien life cycle and Predator code. There are a couple of inconsistencies which may nag the purists such as the rapid maturation of the Aliens from egg to adult in record time, and the ease with which the dwindling humans understand the whole scenario. In fact, not only do the humans quickly realize who the Aliens are, namely the ultimate quarry for the Predator hunter warriors, but that human beings have been used like cattle to perpetuate the Aliens every 100 years as game for the returning Predator race. Note that the film Predator 2 hinted at this very concept with a brief glimpse of an Alien skull inside a Predator spaceship. Alien vs. Predator also serves as a kind of prequel to the Alien films and a kind of sequel to the Predator films in its timeline.

Sanaa Lathan is actually good in the role of the guide and it is possible a better script and strong direction would have brought echoes of Ripley from the Alien films of old. The set design of the pyramid is fascinating though confusing with all of its ever changing mazes. The creature effects are not bad though reserved for the latter half of the movie. Director Paul W.S. Anderson (Event Horizon) does a serviceable job here and the PG 13 rating is designed for all those fans of the video games and comics featuring the Alien and Predator battles. Business should be brisk though limited to those loyalists who will find this installment diverting and certainly not the disappointment of Alien 3, or is it we've just lowered the bar a bit more?

AVP Is A Winner!

[damianphelps · 7/10 · 8 June 2022]

Its mega creative and does a fantastic and feasible job of merging the 2 classic film arcs together.

The most impressive aspect is that if you tore the films apart they would feel like either an Alien or a Predator film in their own right.

Has all the elements of classic sci-fi :)

Forget the naysayers, this film kicks butt!

[BrandtSponseller · 10/10 · 8 February 2005]

Series note: It is strongly recommended that viewers watch the Aliens and Predator films prior to watching this film. In order, the Predator films are Predator (1987) and Predator 2 (1990). The Alien films are Alien (1979), Aliens (1986), Alien 3 (1992) and Alien Resurrection (1997). While Alien vs. Predator isn't constructed as a chapter in a continuing story, watching the other films first will give you a more thorough grounding in the mythology behind the two series, bringing greater depth to this film.

Set in the early 21st Century (after the two Predator films to date, but before the four Alien films), the Weyland Corporation has discovered a pyramid buried under 2,000 feet of ice in Antarctica. They assemble a team of researchers and explorers to investigate, but when they arrive, they discover a tunnel already dug through the ice--a tunnel that wasn't there just 24 hours before. While exploring they uncover part of the history of the titular Aliens and Predators on the Earth, and may have just walked into the middle of a "war".

Despite my best attempts to avoid comments from the peanut gallery prior to finally watching Alien vs. Predator, I had heard a number of negative remarks. I can't for the life of me understand the negative reviews of this film. Often, disparaging remarks arise from the ranks of pimply, purist fan boys living in their parents' basement, who usually resemble the Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons. But in this case, I can't even imagine why the purists would not like this film. It's perfectly consistent with the mythologies presented so far in both series, and the mood, pacing, story, cast and so on are also consistent with the other films. I can only imagine that the naysayers had already created their own Alien vs. Predator films in their heads long ago, and when this one didn't match their Cartesian theatrical versions, they blew raspberries. How they'd have low enough IQs to expect other creative minds to match their personal constructions yet still be able to speak and write intelligibly remains a mystery.

In Alien vs. Predator, writer/director Paul W.S. Anderson has managed to create a fascinating extension to the mythos of both creatures' worlds (not to mention human history), while building a bridge between the two story lines, all in a wrapper combining the suspenseful action sequences that both series are known for and the traditionalist horror trappings that are often found in the Alien series. He presents a similar ragtag cast of characters as are found in every film in both series, and in the tradition of the Alien films, gives us a somewhat surprising woman as the smartest, strongest and most resourceful person at hand.

I loved the sets and locations--the beginning of the film was a quickly paced travelogue of exotic locales. The main action takes place not only in Antarctica, but far under the ice is what is essentially a traditional Mummy film setting. It most closely hearkens back to Alien 3, but with a much more conventional Gothic horror atmosphere than Alien 3's industrial dinginess. The sets were beautifully built, shot and lit, with incredible production design down to the smallest details. There are also excellent little nods to films as diverse as the Indiana Jones series (beginning with Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)), the Cube (1997) series, and the Stargate (1994) series. Some might be put off by such references, but they are traditional in the arts (not just in film), they're fun for genre fans, and they further deepen and cement an overarching mythos for many different films, all with a degree of pretense that they are set in the real world. If the alternate history presented here were true, then of course there would be similarities to the lock used on AVP's weapons-bearing sarcophagus and Stargate's portals--they stem from the same source, or similar sources).

I loved the creature designs here, and I thought the effects were among the best I've seen. The action sequences were exciting and suspenseful to me, the film was well paced throughout, and the cast was good to excellent (especially Lance Henriksen and Sanaa Lathan). I also loved the ending, with its opening for AVP2. I agree that I would have preferred the film to be a bit longer (I rarely think a film is too long) and I wouldn't have minded more gore, but neither of those facts actually affect the quality of the film in my opinion, they're too much personal preferences in my view to justify subtracting points for them.

If you've enjoyed any of the Alien and Predator films, forget the naysayers, Alien vs. Predator is comparable to the quality of the rest of the series. If you haven't liked most or many of the films in both series, ask yourself why you expected different with this one. If you haven't seen much of either franchise yet, get started!

Not as bad as some people make out

[shakermakerman · 6/10 · 9 September 2007]

Reading some of the harsh reviews I thought I would comment. The big disappointment for me in the movie was the lack of gore , fox did get it wrong to make it a pg13 even though they tried to substitute it with monster gore. All that being said this movie is a visual master-peace, the effects are top notch with very good fight scenes and creature effects with the best looking Alien Queen to hit the screens, The story is pretty cool and it gives more insight of the Predators, It takes a while for the introduction of the creatures but once the ball is rolling its none stop action. Not the horror feast we all wanted but fun.

Spectacular and decent Aliens/Predators movie set in Antarctica where a motley group takes on extraterrestrial monsters

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 1 October 2014]

During an archaeological expedition on Bouvetøya Island in Antarctica, a team of archaeologists led by Alexa Woods (Sanaa Lathan , several hundred actresses tested for the lead female, Sanaa was selected one week before filming began, and had to fly to Prague immediately) and Charles Bishop (Lance Henriksen who was first to be cast to maintain some kind of continuity with the previous films , he is the "ancestor" of the Bishop Android from Aliens (1986) and Alien 3 (1992), who were also played by him) and other scientists (Raoul Bova , Ewen Bremner , Tommy Flanagan , Joseph Rye) along with a military platoon (Colin Salmon) find themselves caught up in a battle between the two legends . Soon, the team realize that only one species can win. There they find some altars where victims were placed in the Chamber of Sacrifices of a pyramid (it is arranged identically to the hibernation pods in the original Alien , 1979)

Moving sequel with plenty of chills , twisted intrigue , disgusting special effects and lots of blood and gore . In fact , this is the first Alien film, and also the first Predator film, to get a rating other than R . This was a project that had floated around for about 10 years , it was only when director Paul W.S. Anderson did his verbal pitch to the suits at 20th Century Fox that anyone showed any real interest . This horrifying as well as heart-pounding movie contains shocks , stomach-churning violence , filled with action , thrills and results to be pretty entertaining . This nail-biting picture contains tension from start to finish , gory scenes aplenty , thrills , some strong scares , slime , emotion , entertainment and passable acting . It is a superb cinematic combination of Sci-Fi , monster movie and terror . This is a brutal , considerable violent and exciting sci-fi thriller that scales new heights of savagery even by the standards of the 70s , 80s , 90s and 2000s . The result is a throughly violent but undeniably thrilling action movie with a strong cast giving sweatily good value to their abrasive characters . Based on the comic books by writer Mark Verheiden, creator of the first Alien vs Predator comic series and the first story involving both species , contrary to popular belief, the comic was released prior to the infamous shot of the alien "skull" in Predator 2 (1990). The Alien vs. Predator story crossed over virtually all forms of media before becoming a feature film . There was a successful comic book series, toy line, multiple video games, soundtrack of the PC game and even a trading card series . Breathtaking as well as bloody slaughter sequences took long time to shoot and were extremely difficult to make . Magnificently designed creatures , originally created by the artist HR Giger . Top-notch special effects by SFX designers Tom Woodruff Jr and Alec Gillis , after the opening credits are shown, they have brief cameos as technicians who discover the heat bloom coming from the pyramid . The animatronic Queen was controlled by a motion-control rig which could save her movements digitally . The ending part is particularly exciting with Sanaa Lathan battling the malicious alien and with impressive scenes that took various weeks to film . The star and support cast are pretty good such as Sanaa Lathan , Raoul Bova , Lance Henriksen , Colin Salmon and Tommy Flannagan . The picture packs an original music by Harald Kloser , plenty of frightening and stirring sounds . Colorful and adequate cinematography by David Johnson . The motion picture was professionally directed by Paul W.S. Anderson , though Guillermo del Toro was offered the director's chair but opted to make Hellboy (2004) instead . Paul W.S. stepped down from directing Resident Evil 2: apocalypse (2004) and directing Mortal Kombat to write and direct this film. According to director , if they'd filmed in Hollywood, the sets would have cost them $20 million . In Prague, they only cost $2 million, an important factor in keeping the film's budget down below $50 million. This was he most commercially successful of both Alien and Predator movies, grossing over $172 million

There was seven years between the release of Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986), six between Aliens and Alien 3 (1992), and five between Alien³ and Alien resurrection (1997). The gaps between the four Alien films steadily decreased . The original and the best was ¨Alien¨ by Ridley Scott , it was starred by Sigourney Weaver as a great action woman similarly to Sanaa Lathan ; it is followed by ¨Aliens ¨, also visually astounding by James Cameron with Paul Reiser , Jenette Goldstein , Lance Henriksen ; and this Alien . All of them starred by the great Sigourney Weaver who performed one of the best female leads created in years followed by Sanaa Lathan . Furthermore, ¨Alien vs. Predator¨ (2004) that was first film in the "Alien" franchise to not feature Sigourney Weaver, who has said in interviews the idea of the crossover "sounded awful and ¨Aliens vs. Predator 2¨ (2007) by Strause Brothers with Steven Pasquale , Reiko Aylesworth , John Ortiz , Johnny Lewis and Robert Joy . The original and the best ¨Predator¨ (1987) by John McTiernan in which Arnold leads a team of CIA-hired mercenaries into the Central American jungles with Jesse Ventura , Bill Duke , R.G. Armstrong , Carl Weathers , Elpidia Carrillo who appears briefly in ¨Predators II¨ with Bill Paxton , Danny Glover , Ruben Blades and ¨Predators¨ (2010) by Nimród Antal with Adrien Brody , Topher Grace , Alice Braga and Walton Goggins

I came for the aliens

[elliotjeory · 5/10 · 11 June 2020]

Yes the film is a disappointment and the characters are terrible but to be honest I just like it for the predator and alien scenes. It's always fun to watch these aliens on the screen doing their thing. Check your brain at the door and watch some intergalactic gladiator battles.

Dumb fun

[briancham1994 · 6/10 · 5 June 2020]

This film has an interesting premise for a crossover - some of the biggest, baddest alien foes we've seen on cinema duking it out. The storyline is nothing special and in fact it throws off the continuity in many places, but it is all in service of the action. This is a true Paul W. S. Anderson style action film - it has more of the fanservice and sensationalism of the original franchises than any of the emotions or commentary, so it's exactly as advertised.