Biggest monster of all? The director.

Rating: 6/10 (21 August 2004)

All four Alien films, and even the first Predator film, were helmed by very talented filmmakers. Together, the Alien and Predator series have launched the careers of major talents, such as Ridley Scott, James Cameron, David Fincher, and John McTiernan. So who was the genius over at Twentieth Century Fox that decided to hand BOTH franchises over to writer/director Paul W.S. Anderson? Anderson's awful reputation as a music-video-style hack is not unwarranted. Anybody who actually saw Event Horizon, Soldier, Resident Evil, or any other previous efforts knows that this guy can make an unwatchable movie out of any decent script. To be fair, AVP begins promisingly- I actually really enjoyed the set-up in the underground Antarctic pyramid. And I was fairly pleased to see the filmmakers hold back on the CGI. However, the film really starts to lose its hold over a thinking audience when the titular monsters finally do face off- the first match-up is about halfway through the film. The editing becomes frantic, the story becomes silly, and the characters- well, they were unmemorable to begin with but these characters soon become absolutely unbelievable as well. I have a major problem with some pretty face of a heroine (Sanaa Lathan is NO Sigourney Weaver) making FRIENDS with a Predator. Blame Paul W. S. Anderson, who somehow got story, screenplay, and director roles on this long-awaited event film, for botching what could have been a great fight.