Reasonable, but great for kids

Rating: 7/10 (4 September 2004)

If you like action and thriller movies, I'd consider this worth the money. Its one of those movies that are probably better seen in a theater unless you have a state-of-the-art theater system at home because of its special affects. I don't recommend going there with expectations it'll knock the pants off any of the former Predator or Alien movies. Its more-or-less what you'd expect if you've seen the others. If you go there just to enjoy it, then I'm sure you will. I enjoyed it, and its pretty much average with other action/thriller/sci-fi movies I've seen.
The female, the chemical engineer, Italian archaeologist and the business owner (forgot their names, so forgive me) play their parts well. All the rest seem to be unimportant to the plot of the movie and more extras than characters. It perhaps would be nice to develop their characters more so we could feel sorry for them when they are killed. :-)
I think its a good movie for kids, not only because it'll probably be more exciting to kids who haven't seen this sort of thing too often, but because I could tell kids enjoyed it by what they said with each other when leaving the theater. For adrenalin junkies that have seen a lot of movies like the Alien and Predator movies, it probably won't be too shocking, but might keep you entertained. I don't really think its necessary to have seen Alien or Predator movies prior to seeing this one, but it might enhance your understanding a little, or alternately might spoil it a little... Depends on what you are looking for. If you are looking for a movie to portray a battle between alien and predator in the way you'd expect, than you probably won't be disappointed.
I agree with the previous reviewer that it took too long to get to the action, but it does serve the purpose of making people relaxed before the carnage starts, which might get their hearts going. Unfortunately, they could have developed this a little more and made the transition a little more pronounced, so it'd be like having someone blowing a horn in your face while you are meditating. They gave us a little too much warning. Adrenalin junkies might find a new roller coaster more scary and startling.
I think the supposed history of the Predator race and human civilization is plausible and interesting if you ignore that the scientific knowledge and puzzle solving skills of most of the characters in the movie seems to be contradictory -- sometimes brilliant, sometimes pathetic, sometimes wrong (like with the Mayan long count) or insulting our intelligence (like with the aurora). That's about all I can say without spoiling parts of the movie. I recommend not to pay too much attention to the scientific background of the movie, and simply enjoy the action. Another reason its probably better for kids who won't over-analyze the sketchy scientific and archaeological background.
So anyway, I think you'll enjoy it, but keep your expectations to the level of remembering you are going to see a combined sequel of two series that already have sequels and that there were already video games on this theme.