It's PG-13 ... That Alone Says It All!

Rating: Null/10 (1 November 2014)

After reviewing both Alien & Predator franchises last month, I thought it wouldn't be fair to leave out the very picture that simply killed the validity of those two reputed series in one shot. More a spin-off than a sequel or prequel in my book, AVP: Alien vs. Predator was destined to surface ever since the alien skull was discovered in that Predator's ship in Predator 2 but I can't help but wish it hadn't.
Bringing together the two eponymous creatures of Alien & Predator series, the story of AVP: Alien vs. Predator is set in 2004 & follows a group of archaeologists assembled by Weyland for an expedition near the antarctic to investigate a mysterious heat signal where they discover an ancient pyramid buried beneath the ice. While exploring the pyramid, they find themselves caught in the middle of a battle between the two species.
Written & directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, this is the first film I've seen of his & well, I'm so not impressed. Why do humans even exist in this film? We could've simply had these two creatures battling their differences out on another planet without human intervention at all which sounds way cooler than having this dull set of undeveloped characters who bring the story down every time any of them appears on the screen at any given moment.
The technical aspects is overall nicely carried out but its job is to compliment the narrative in a more engaging & polished manner but since the groundwork in the storytelling department is already weak here, none of those elements play any relevant role. Camera-work is fluid, editing is choppy, visual effects are impressive actually, music is forgettable & the very same goes for the performances by every single one of its cast.
On an overall scale, AVP: Alien vs. Predator is an unnecessarily crafted movie that tries to keep the viewers interested in its premise by referencing the films that inspired it yet fails miserably. What's even more disappointing is that it doesn't even live up to its own name as the sequences depicting the two iconic species going against each other are too low in number & expectedly, those scenes are the only ones worth talking about to some extent, at least.