This movie got a raw deal

Rating: 8/10 (13 December 2007)

Maybe I'm the last one who passes a comment here about this movie. So I give it the good grade it deserves (i.m.o.). Seeing a movie is a very personal thing. You have some knowings, some anticipations, you have a background. I didn't anticipate anything special than an usual American action movie. I know the Alien movies, the Predator movies, the AvP2 game and all the Alien, Predator and AvP Comics.
So I SHOULD have been disappointed by the AvP movie, like many others here and around. But I was highly impressed. The atmosphere, the speed, the characters, even the plot, I was caught by it through the whole time the movie lasted. Note that I have some of the following most liked films in my background: Eraser Head, Brazil, La belle captive, Dark Star, Once upon a time in the West, Dr. Strangelove, Nosferatu (with K.Kinski), THX1138, Irezumi, Le clan des Siciliens, Needful Things, and so on. Now AvP is one of them. I liked the (simple, yes) storyline, I liked the nice girl, I liked the game, the Predators and the Aliens and their fights, and the fast and efficient cuts.
I liked poor Lance, and I liked the (triple) open end, where the Predalien hatches, the Queen sinks in the cold water (which should not kill her), and where the future of the heroine is unknown in an environment of usually minus 50° Celsius.
I liked the Idea of a situation where most of the humans are powerless, and the strongest of them is a compact sexy and brave woman. She is the only one who knows where to go. She is the only one who gets respect from the Predator. Maybe this is why so many of other (male ?) opinions here are nearly hateful against AvP; most of the men - when not all - are shown weak, a scarfaced mercenary is even the most fearful. This is against American habit.
The key scene is when she gives the final shot to her captured and Chestbuster bearing teammate, and the Predator is impressed. The Predators are someway careless, they believe too much in their strength than in teamwork strategy, and so they are overpowered in combat and the last of them is infested by a facehugger. The Aliens are also sympathetic for their strength and fighting skills - remember that they were born just a few hours ago.
Also the Queen and her wrath are amazingly shown. She has some sort of intelligence, so she calls her breed to release her with use of their acid blood. Who knows, for how long she is caught in the pyramid to serve Predator's game every 100 years.
I enjoyed every minute of the movie, and also I enjoyed reading later about mistakes and logical errors. AvP is illogical, and Aliens and Predators, too. The first Alien movie was outstanding, not merely because it was such an intelligent thing, or even deeply interpretable or whatsoever, but because it was an atmospherically horror premiere. And the first Predator movie - hmhmhm; greetings to Gov. A. from Graz.
Fortunately, AvP went its own way in the middle of the two main brands. The director leads us into a sporty hell where man is only needed as a host. It is easy for the Predators to activate man's greed, they know that someone will come freely and will feed the Aliens spawn (less freely). The Aliens are (if we go philosophical) the real victims, because they are only born for the thrill of the hunt.
There is no need to switch off the brain for AvP. This is a must, for example, if you see Ghost Rider. AvP is a fine B-Production with A-look-and-feel in some sequences. In my conclusion, AvP is one of the most intriguing movies of the last years, often underestimated and victimized. Whensoever Terminator 1 is now at a cult-like level, there is no reason for me why not AvP also. 8 stars only because of the many errors, otherwise it would have 9 stars (10 is only for Brazil and the others). And: Im definitively no employee of the producer's company.