Nice way to tie in both worlds.

Rating: 8/10 (24 November 2004)

I honestly do not understand all the bad reviews I have been reading about this movie.
It is true that when I heard they where making Alien Vs. Predator, I did not expect very much, because of the economic connotations the whole idea implies: taking two money-making franchises and getting more money out of it. Basically I think that is what the comics did when they first appeared, though, for all fairness, I haven't read them, so I can't say if they succeed on the same level that this movie does.
The surprising part is then, that this movies is not just a battle between the two races set in a place somewhere in space, "just 'cause", but it is nicely tied in to human history and mythology, where the result is a plausible story, at least in sci-fi terms.
Another thing I liked is that the story is seen from the humans' perspective who unknowingly walk straight towards the gates of hell. We (the viewer) know what these people (who do not even carry guns except for one guard who does have a pistol) are up against, and this creates a sense of doom around all of the characters. The movie is realistic in this sense, as in fact, they do not stand a chance. We wonder how any of them will survive once the the massacre starts.
The action scenes are well shot, and quite refreshing for the darkness and grittiness, and the under-use of CGI in favor of well-done animatronics and models.
Whereas the movie is not as scary as the Aliens movies, it is faithful to both Aliens and Predator movies in the mood it creates, without catering too much to either one.
So, all in all, a worthy successor to both movies, which I will get on DVD and recommend to all fans of sci-fi movies.