Despite what you may read, this is a great sci-fi film

Rating: 8/10 (21 April 2013)

As usual, whether they are the "die-hard fans" of the ilk that must try to validate every detail (or themselves) or the couch critics who feel that "critic" means they have to be negative, the typical mass repetition of negative comments overshadows all the good in a HIGHLY ENTERTAINING FILM. Contrary to so many other reviews, the casting, acting, special effects, and even most of the story are quite good. Sanaa Lathan and Lance Henriksen are excellent in their characters. Both Predator films were excellent.
In the Alien series, the top film was clearly James Cameron's Aliens. The first film, while original, was, in my view, flawed by so much filming in dim light as well as some of the deleted scenes which would have added to the film. Unlike Aliens, it also suffered from the fact that you don't really find much to care about in most of the characters, who are just self-absorbed, crude workers, on board for a paycheck. Alien 3 managed to create another film with nearly a whole cast of characters for which you can generate little sympathy or interest. The 4th film, the worst, takes this to a new height--I wanted to kill most of them!
In AvP, despite the criticism for lack of fighting, the fight scenes are very good, and there is plenty of action within the well-paced film. Seeing the Predator weapons against the Aliens' natural defensive and offensive attributes, was well written and filmed with great effects. From the many tributes and ties to the earlier films in both series, to the makeup effects, behavior, and "purity" of both creatures' intensity of purpose, this was a true resurrection of Aliens and a great next installment for Predators. Considering the abysmal concept and execution of the sequel, and the almost as horrible "Predators", I can understand why there was an attempt to "restart" the Alien series with Prometheus. Unfortunately, they started this series with almost everyone being as loathsome as those in Alien Resurrection--even the humanoid. Hopefully the sequel to that film will be as good as Aliens.
As an example of my point, Star Trek II the Wrath of Kahn is considered one of the best movies in the series despite the many idiotic an inexplicable choices in props, wardrobe, and other areas (e.g., 4-beamed hand phasers, WWII sized communicators with giant red lights, enough material in their button-up uniforms to wear in the Arctic), but you look past these flaws and ENJOY THE FILM. Ricardo Montalban didn't "over-act"--he played the character to the hilt!
Watch the AvP movie. Have fun. And let the whiners concentrate on minutia and their inability to appreciate the actors and artists that created a great film. With all the horrible "remakes" and sequels that have been made, when a good one comes along (the latest "The Thing" for example-and Mary Elizabeth Winstead provided another great erformance)--try watching a film first or at least taking the negative early reviews with a grain of salt. Happy movie watching!