Forget the naysayers, this film kicks butt!

Rating: 10/10 (8 February 2005)

Series note: It is strongly recommended that viewers watch the Aliens and Predator films prior to watching this film. In order, the Predator films are Predator (1987) and Predator 2 (1990). The Alien films are Alien (1979), Aliens (1986), Alien 3 (1992) and Alien Resurrection (1997). While Alien vs. Predator isn't constructed as a chapter in a continuing story, watching the other films first will give you a more thorough grounding in the mythology behind the two series, bringing greater depth to this film.
Set in the early 21st Century (after the two Predator films to date, but before the four Alien films), the Weyland Corporation has discovered a pyramid buried under 2,000 feet of ice in Antarctica. They assemble a team of researchers and explorers to investigate, but when they arrive, they discover a tunnel already dug through the ice--a tunnel that wasn't there just 24 hours before. While exploring they uncover part of the history of the titular Aliens and Predators on the Earth, and may have just walked into the middle of a "war".
Despite my best attempts to avoid comments from the peanut gallery prior to finally watching Alien vs. Predator, I had heard a number of negative remarks. I can't for the life of me understand the negative reviews of this film. Often, disparaging remarks arise from the ranks of pimply, purist fan boys living in their parents' basement, who usually resemble the Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons. But in this case, I can't even imagine why the purists would not like this film. It's perfectly consistent with the mythologies presented so far in both series, and the mood, pacing, story, cast and so on are also consistent with the other films. I can only imagine that the naysayers had already created their own Alien vs. Predator films in their heads long ago, and when this one didn't match their Cartesian theatrical versions, they blew raspberries. How they'd have low enough IQs to expect other creative minds to match their personal constructions yet still be able to speak and write intelligibly remains a mystery.
In Alien vs. Predator, writer/director Paul W.S. Anderson has managed to create a fascinating extension to the mythos of both creatures' worlds (not to mention human history), while building a bridge between the two story lines, all in a wrapper combining the suspenseful action sequences that both series are known for and the traditionalist horror trappings that are often found in the Alien series. He presents a similar ragtag cast of characters as are found in every film in both series, and in the tradition of the Alien films, gives us a somewhat surprising woman as the smartest, strongest and most resourceful person at hand.
I loved the sets and locations--the beginning of the film was a quickly paced travelogue of exotic locales. The main action takes place not only in Antarctica, but far under the ice is what is essentially a traditional Mummy film setting. It most closely hearkens back to Alien 3, but with a much more conventional Gothic horror atmosphere than Alien 3's industrial dinginess. The sets were beautifully built, shot and lit, with incredible production design down to the smallest details. There are also excellent little nods to films as diverse as the Indiana Jones series (beginning with Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)), the Cube (1997) series, and the Stargate (1994) series. Some might be put off by such references, but they are traditional in the arts (not just in film), they're fun for genre fans, and they further deepen and cement an overarching mythos for many different films, all with a degree of pretense that they are set in the real world. If the alternate history presented here were true, then of course there would be similarities to the lock used on AVP's weapons-bearing sarcophagus and Stargate's portals--they stem from the same source, or similar sources).
I loved the creature designs here, and I thought the effects were among the best I've seen. The action sequences were exciting and suspenseful to me, the film was well paced throughout, and the cast was good to excellent (especially Lance Henriksen and Sanaa Lathan). I also loved the ending, with its opening for AVP2. I agree that I would have preferred the film to be a bit longer (I rarely think a film is too long) and I wouldn't have minded more gore, but neither of those facts actually affect the quality of the film in my opinion, they're too much personal preferences in my view to justify subtracting points for them.
If you've enjoyed any of the Alien and Predator films, forget the naysayers, Alien vs. Predator is comparable to the quality of the rest of the series. If you haven't liked most or many of the films in both series, ask yourself why you expected different with this one. If you haven't seen much of either franchise yet, get started!