From 1990-2004 the “Predator” series was put to rest, and with only two movies prior, it seemed like a potentially great series was taken before it’s time. Then in 2004, the franchise was given a new chance under the direction of “Resident Evil” director Paul W.S. Anderson. I’ll admit, the only other film of his that I really liked was his 1995 picture “Mortal Kombat”, but I wasn’t on board with his other films like 1997’s “Event Horizon”.
Regardless, I was really excited to not only see Predators back on screen, but in a crossover with the “Alien” franchise titled “Alien vs. Predator”. The original AVP comics were already a huge hit from the “Dark Horse comics” company, there were several successful video game crossovers, and 1990’s “Predator 2” confirmed they were part of the same universe … so, this monster mashup was a long overdue. At the time of its release, I was in middle school, had only seen the first two Predator movies, and hadn’t experienced anything with Alien Xenomorph’s yet. As such, I can’t help but look back on this film fondly as a jumping off point to a larger universe.
The movie wisely drops continuity with the previous films and is a standalone adventure, but with holdover elements that make the experience feel at home with the series as a whole. Our story begins with the discovery of an ancient pyramid in Antarctica of all places and a team is sent in to investigate. At first, it seems like the discovery of a lifetime, but things go south once they discover it’s a breeding ground for the Alien Xenomorphs, along with their monstrous Queen, who’s been frozen in ice. Once they’re all released from the icy prison, a rite of passage begins for a group of young Predators to hunt them down in the ruins, all while the humans are caught amidst the fighting. As Michael Buffer would say before a big match … “Let’s get ready to rumble!”
Throughout the film, there’s a number of fun little easter eggs, and references that don’t go too overboard. One detail I appreciated was a scene in the opening, in which people are watching the 1943 picture “Frankenstein meets the Wolfman”, which was the first crossover monster movie ever made, and I always love callbacks to older genera films.
Speaking of callbacks, the most noteworthy actor in the film is Lance Henriksen, who previously stared as the android Bishop in “Aliens”, and the company leader in “Alien 3”. In “AVP” he’s playing an unrelated, but similar character named Charles Bishop Weyland and is definitely a bright spot in the film. Our new lead heroin named Lex is played by the beautiful Sanaa Lathan, who you may recognize from “Blade” or “Contagion”. She’s no Ripley, but a reasonably strong female lead in her own right. The rest of the characters are basic, but inoffensive, and are just likable enough.
My favorite character is actually the setting, which certainly has a personality all its own, and gives this movie an identity beyond being a creature mashup. Despite being on Earth, the setting of Antarctica still feels alien, with the pyramid itself being a suitably claustrophobic environment.
I also love that it frequently re-configures itself, making it even harder for our team of humans to find their way out. The sets and production design also look great and again help give the movie some character. We have a cool little flashback of the creation of this mysterious pyramid and discover that thousands of years ago, the Predators found Earth, taught humans how to build civilizations, temples, and the humans in turn began to warship them as Gods. It’s an interesting contrast to the first “Predator” film, in which the creatures were regarded by secluded cultures as demons, and now we have an ancient culture that viewed them as Gods.
It’s awesome to finally get more than one Predator on screen and their helmets, costumes and weapons are really awesome in this film. I especially love this one Predator that has a helmet which looks like “The Punisher”.
Also, the facial esthetics now manage to show more expression in the creature’s faces. The Predator spaceships also have some brief, but cool moments. One of the more mixed concepts of the film comes near the end, when the last predator makes a temporary alliance with the leading heroin. I can understand why this wouldn’t click with fans, but I personally enjoy the idea of a human achieving a warrior status, which our hunters can approve of. In general, I’ve always preferred Predators over Alien Xenomorph’s because they have a culture, an intellect, and even a warrior code to abide by … albeit a very aggressive and violent one. I’m also a sucker for visual storytelling, and I love seeing how the Preator and our female lead communicate without words.
As for our Alien Xenomorph’s, they all look great, with some terrific puppets and animatronics on display. The creatures and effects were brought to life by “Amalgamated Dynamics Inc.”, the same company that did the creature effects in “Starship Troopers” and 2002’s “Spider-Man”, and they don’t disappoint. I like that one Alien can be singled out with green scars on his head, so we can identify him as a pack leader … although I do wish they did more with him. The alien queen is awesome, and while nothing can top the climactic final battle with the Queen in 1986’s “Aliens”, this is easily the second-best appearance of this creature on film. Her final confrontation and chase with both our female lead and the Predator on the surface is a lot of fun and leaves me satisfied.
The battles in general are decent enough, with practical destruction effects on display, and a fair amount of slimy carnage for a PG-13 release.
The unrated cut of the film features a pinch more blood, but aside from smoother scene transitions and less choppy edits, there isn’t that much of a difference. The music was conducted by Harald Kloser, which is good, and helps give life to the action. I will admit, the delivery of seeing these two iconic monsters battle is hit and miss. The set-up is promising, and I like the action as it unfolds, but nothing remarkable really happens either. The first battle between the two is cool, but there’s not much variety to the action afterwords, and they all blend together in this one big chase through the pyramid. After the action concludes, our lead heroin is approached by the same elder predator from the ending of “Predator 2” and he gives her a staff, as if to say … “We honor you as our equal”, which is great. Things close with the birth of a strange new alien/predator hybrid, setting it up for a sequel, which I’ll talk about in another review.
When I first saw 2004’s “Alien vs Predator” during my youthful teenage years, I loved it, but I’ve gotten older, and looking back as an adult, the film is a little too safe, disposable, and never archives anything too impressive for such an exciting crossover.
With that said, I do still enjoy this movie for what it is, and I don’t think it’s nearly as bad as its reputation suggests. One thing this film can be credited for is bringing Predator back to the big screen and giving him a second chance to reignite his long dormant franchise. To that extent, there have been a number of Predator sequels sense … with varying levels of quality, but those will be covered in their own time. As for this first crossover, I'd say that between all the films of the lengthy Alien and Predator franchises, I feel the first “AVP” fits somewhere comfortable in the middle of the collection … not one of the best, but certainly not one of the worst.
Thanks for
reading my review of the 2004 crossover “Alien vs. Predator” … and
continue to enjoy the movies you Love!
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