Awesome movie! Worth the wait

Rating: 10/10 (13 August 2004)

I loved this movie! I just got out from the midnight showing on the 12th and i have to say that this thing was awesome! I've heard a lot of bad hype stirring before the movie was released, but I'm hear to tell you it was great! I got everything I was hoping for. Looking back I can see how they could get away with it being PG13 and still not rob you of anything. Quite simply it isn't as bad to show aliens / predators getting stabbed, cut, etc and green / acid blood vs humans. In other words the things that happen in the movie, had they happen to a person, would make it R rating. They were very smart about filming the people dying as to avoid the R rating. So believe me there's some decent gore. A director's cut might also be good, but there was certainly nothing lacking in this movie from that standpoint.
The movie flow was great, kind of built up until things started to explode. Also, certainly gives you a new found respect for the aliens, the predators too, but you could really see the strategic intelligence of the aliens as they are obviously natural born hunters too. Watch out for that tail! The acting was good enough and I wasn't displeased with the performances of any of the actors, alien or human. I did like the story line and how the sequence of events that led up to a bad situation for the humans and the predators, giving a starting advantage to the aliens. I'd love to talk about specifics, but I don't want to give anything away. The running time was somewhere around 100+ minutes. Also, I loved the very end.
I'm happy to report there was very little CGI or at least noticeable CGI in the movie at all. The aliens and the predators looked very real / believable and moved very well too. Hats off to the creature creators and special effects folks. The fight sequences were great too. What I liked best is that unlike movies involving Human fight scenes where its show off time, the aliens / predators don't mess around and simply go for the kill. The fight scenes are pretty quick, but awesome!
Only complaints I have (and they're only few minor ones). It took 20-30 minutes to build up and it could have been little longer overall, but in saying that the movie delivered enough. If anything it left you with that feeling of wanting more, which is usually a sign of a good movie, and in this case it is too. They didn't explain how the predators or aliens could keep warm in the cold as they kind of bypass the whole temperature concept for both the aliens / predators, no biggie. I'm still at a loss as to how Bishop fits in and the whole timeline concept connecting the various Bishops, or if it's the same guy, great great grandfather, who knows. Didn't matter too much and the movie could have survived with out him as he wasn't really a key player, just a familiar face. The sound effects were great, but there was no real theme song or lack of a good one. So there's no tune or song you can hum that would remind you of the movie. Again these are very weak complaints.
Overall I give this a 9.5 out of 10. There's very little I could think of to improve it to a 10, but the complaints are listed above. I'm glad I saw it opening night and will likely see it again in the theaters. Definitely one I'm going to buy when it hits DVD.