Got just about what I expected....

Rating: 7/10 (22 August 2004)

***SPOILERS BELOW***
I approached this film the same way I approached Freddy vs. Jason: don't expect any Oscar caliber, genre-defining stuff, just sit down and enjoy yourself. Fortunately, I was able to do that. I'm a BIG fan of the original Predator; I consider it one of the best action films of all time. I'm not really familiar with the Alien series, only seeing the first one about a month ago. Therefore I was fortunate to go into this film without too much of a bias....my only bias being that I'm a HUGE fan of the Predators and was rooting for them.
This film isn't as bad as I heard it was, and as IMDb would lead one to believe. It's not a terrible film by any means, but it could've been better. I thought the PG-13 rating would've really hurt AVP but it really doesn't, and I was relieved by that fact. It sounds very childish to hear so many people here bashing the movie because the Predators don't 'rip out any spines' from their prey....it's REALLY sad when people allow such gratuitous violence to dictate whether they 'enjoy' a movie. Believe me, I could appreciate blood and guts like the next man, but don't bash a movie because they chose not to have such violence....it's not essential to film, its just icing on the cake. The effect is still pretty much there. The Predators are so damn cool, but I must say I underestimated the Aliens. I didn't expect them to be as much competition for the Predators as they were. I could honestly say that I'm even more inclined to go and rent the two Alien sequels based on their showing in AVP.
My only real beef with the film is the ending. Seeing Sanaa Lathan running side by side with the Predator.....well it seemed very cheesy, and pretty unlikely for that matter. It just didn't seem right, granted that I vividly recall the Predator in the original picking off humans one by one...although the Aliens are the main prey here. Maybe because she had their plasma gun the Predator was less threatened by her. Besides, from what was told about their history, the Predators and humans did have a relationship all those years ago, albeit not an equal one since the Predators were looked at as gods. So maybe the makers of the film were playing on the 'human helping/serving their god angle. I guess I'll justify the cheesy aspect that way.
It was cool how they left the film open for a sequel. Although it may seem that they have a lot to work with, they really don't because I can't see any way that that 'hybrid' alien is gonna survive on that ship full of Predators. Anyhow, AVP overall is an enjoyable action/sci-fi film. Of course it could've been better, but it's not terrible at all.

*** out of **** stars.