CGI used as it should be Paul!!! Casting next time...?

Rating: 8/10 (16 November 2004)

Being a FANATIC on both series and of the video game AVP2 (A WORK OF ART!), books, toys (Girl friend hates those!), Aliens the t-shirt, Predator the aftershave etc you would of thought that I would be easy to please. But hey, fanatics can also expect nothing less than perfection with there movie obsessions!
I've read most of the other critics comments on this site and haft to say some of your negative views are valid and some are complete train-spotter mush. Here are a few ones which kept coming up that are...well.....petty and annoying.
1." Why does the predator make friends with the woman?And whats with the tail sword and head shield! "
ANS - The predator SURVIVOR does not make buddies with the woman! He listens to her trying to communicate with him first as she then gives him his plasma castor back. This probably in his point of view is an unusual gesture but one he is perhaps beginning to understand. That understanding being that the 'hunt' as it were is now over and now its simply a battle for survival! Afterall the predator is not a suicide machine.The drones attack at this point and luckily the woman manages to impale one.The predator is know doubt impressed by this.A HUMAN killing a drone warrior!?! He then immediately has RESPECT for her kill (well almost kill.The predator finishes the drone off!) and decides to let her live. She has proved herself to him and they seem to share an understanding....a very basic understanding, ones which A PREDATOR would hold very close to him, these being HONOUR, RESPECT, RIVALRY, SURVIVAL etc.The basic warrior codes.On a beneficial side as well he is intelligent enough to know that with her tagging along his own personal chances of living through the 'HUNT WHICH WENT WRONG' may be increased! He will be able to come back with more buddys and turn it into 'THE HUNT WHICH WENT RIGHT'!
As far as the sword and shield thing goes what else could he give her, or would give her? " HERE YOU ARE.ITS NOT MUCH BUT, HEY..YA NOT HAVING MY DAM PLASMA CASTOR!!!" (well something like that).
I can not for the life of me understand why a lot of you find this sequence and concept cheesy.It works and is thought out.
In PREDATOR 2 for example at the end Danny Glover is given an old Pirate day pistol as a gift for being the victor in his fight.So this is not a new idea that paul has come up with just to annoy you.He has just extended upon it.(speaking of pred 2.why did it get put down so much?..No arnie?..well no but, still dam good fun)
DO YA RESEARCH BEFORE YOU COMMENT!!!
2." Doors closing, to many close-ups, carnt make things out etc "
ANS - I don't see this one.Paul although at times not getting it totally right has gone for claustrophobia in this movie.It's very confined filming up-close and personal.Chaotic! Ridley and Cameroon are the masters but, Anderson's is different.Better than Jean-Paul's weak attempts at action sequences any day!!!
Negatives??? YES the CASTING IS POOR. YES Lance H delivers a poor performance. YES just how does the lead role not even manage a shiver in her t-shirt at the end. YES there are holes in the plot. YES you don't feel anything for the human characters because they don't let them develop....the list does go on BUT, I tell you what when I look at some of the other COMPLETE TRASH thats out there at the moment I think to myself well...you know.
Watching AVP you get to a stage when you don't give a dam about the humans at all. Which I think is in a weird way a good thing? THIS FILM IS ALIENS VS PREDATOR not ALIENS VS THE HUMANS VS THE PREDATOR. The poor casting does help this of course.
AT THE END OF THE DAY THE MONSTERS ARE THE STARS IN THIS.THEY LOOK GREAT. ON PAR WITH THE FIRST TWO FILMS (which is what paul wanted)AND THE CGI IS BLENDED VERY WELL.THE ACTION FRANTIC, FAST AND FULL ON.STOP WHINGING AND UNTIL RIDLEY OR CAMERON MAKE ALIEN 5 (please god...anything) BE HAPPY WITH HORRIBLE CREATURES BEATING HELL OUT OF EACH OTHER!!!!