Ignore the 'naysayers', this is a good film!

Rating: 8/10 (27 May 2005)

Lots and lots of people are giving this film bad reviews for many reasons. What they fail to understand is... 1. The directing is superb 2. The CGI is surprisingly very realistic 3. The atmosphere and settings are great
Its true, this is a good. Finally after years of waiting, I cant say i'm disappointed, its a great face-off movie that truly shows what the Aliens and predators are like when there battling. What struck me first about this movie was the excellent CGI. In normal circumstances, were used to seeing poor effects in films these days, but the effects in this film are ultra realistic, and had to be used to make scenes where the Aliens and Predators get flung through walls!
The dark and dull setting of the Aztec Pryamid is great and builds up tension and suspense well, combined with the good directing that reveals where the Aliens are lurking around. I have to say though, its the Aliens that really make this movie. The props are make them look as though there real, and the close camera shots of its acid-dripping mouth are cleverly done, and taken from this first Alien film, as many other little scenes have been taken from Predator and Alien films. The lack of blood and gore is a straight notice as well - I guess the reason being because of the movie people wanted to keep the age limit down (tut tut), and this is a problem you have noticed with Terminator 3, a 12? What were they thinking? A 12 year old won't have seen the previous Terminator films!
The way the characters combine with the Aliens and Predators is great. I have to say though, it was strange at first to see (spoiler) Sanna being helped by the Predator later in the film, and it even makes you feel sorry for the Predator (uh oh) when it dies at the end. the film length was also a bit odd. The extended version, available on the basic DVD is just 1 hour 26 minutes long, so how long the normal version is I would worry about..
But with these niggles aside, its good entertainment - less blood and gore as in the films Predator and Aliens admittedly, but you don't need that to make a good film like this, which is what many people have failed to pick up. I would say watch it if you've seen the Alien and Predator saga's, and you'll be entertained.