Z-Reviews || Movies || Review

With last year’s commercial success of Freddy vs. Jason it was only a matter of time until another pair of movie franchises would be put in the ring for yet another epic sparring match. Yes, this summer we are treated to a cage match of mammoth proportions which thrusts the green slimy Alien against the lethal cloaking Predator. The story starts out with a satellite discovering an underground pyramid located in Antarctica. A team of drillers, scientists, and archeologists are assembled in order to explore the pyramid and its secrets. However nobody realizes that the Predators use the temple as a training ground to hunt Aliens. And so the battle of Alien versus Predator begins.

Director Paul Anderson has decided to bring something new and old to the movie by including fresh faced Sanaa Lathan in the lead role of an expedition guide named Alexa Wood, and by bringing back Lance Henriksen, who played the Bishop android in Aliens and Alien3, as the millionaire who finances the whole operation and tags along on the trip. Sanaa does a decent job at playing the level headed heroine in the movie. She takes charge right from the beginning by telling everyone that it is either her way or the highway and once everything goes haywire in the temple she keeps the team focused on the task at hand. Raoul Bova and Ewen Bremner play supporting roles as an Italian and Scottish scientist. Both do a good job despite the fact that their characters were so poorly developed.

Hopefully, this is the part for that you came to see, because the acting and the story are just a setup for the battle between these two alien creatures. Paul Andersen stayed true to both monsters, leaving them “as is” from the previous movies. The Alien is quick with its sharp claws and spear like tail while the Predator has his stealth and super weapons including bombs, retractable spears, and a laser cannon on his shoulder. The battles are fast and furious with each creature never giving up and coming back when you think it should be dead. Due to the fact that the movie is rated PG-13 there is no human gore, however this does not prevent the Alien and Predator from spilling their green blood all over the place. Overall the graphics and CGI are fairly impressive.

By the look of the many other reviews out about this movie, it would appear that Alien vs. Predator is a terrible movie. However I would like to disagree with that opinion. While most critics examine the inadequacy of acting and a sensible plot, I’m looking at the pure entertainment value of the movie. Yes, the acting is just tolerable and the story is borderline believable, nevertheless the action is decently paced and the fighting sequences are worth the price of admission. The way I see it this sequel could have been much worse. I cannot believe some of the silly concepts that have been used to drive the story line of previous Alien and Predator sequels, so in comparison I would have to say that Alien vs. Predator is a worthy movie in this Alien/Predator series.