What happened here?

Rating: 2/10 (6 March 2005)

Well, Paul W. Anderson just killed two of my favorite movie franchises in one foul swoop. I'm sure AVP looked good on paper or even sounded sweet in theory, but in the end it just doesn't match.
There was so many continuity and plot problems, I'll just stick to the basics because there is a 1,000 word limit here. The plot was a bit of a stretch. Basically, Predators having been harvesting Aliens for centuries in a pyramid located in current Antartica. The Predators used humans as slaves and hosts for the Aliens, in which the Predators would hunt for skill every 100 years. Now, a group of scientists have discovered the pyramid as the Predators planned out, jump started the process too early and started an underground squabble with Aliens. Now, if Aliens have been the ultimate adversary for centuries, why were the Predators wasting their time with inferior humans in the previous two movies? And, since the Predators like to hunt, why are they harvesting Aliens and hunting them in a controlled environment?
Too put in bluntly, this movies was WAY rushed. It is barely 90 minutes, and by the time the action starts it ends. The action scenes were the least bit dramatic, completely relying on unrealistic CGI sequences. Since when do 300lb+ Predator preform spin moves in mid-air like an Olympic ice skater? There was also no suspense factor which makes up most of the previous Alien movies. An Alien stalking a Predator is just not that suspenseful. The continuity with the Aliens was a debacle. The first human host had an Alien bust out of her rib cage in 5 minutes and the Alien was full grown in 10 minutes. The previous movies took hours. Another problem was the fact that there was more Aliens than hosts. The Predators didn't seem all that prepared either, with the majority of their weapons melting from the Aliens acid like blood. These invisible, stalking Predators that have been battling these Aliens for decades and can travel at the speed of light and create a weapon that's acid proof? But, if you're not really picky, the last 10 minutes put the bow on this beautiful gift. The last Predator puts their differences aside with humans and teams up with a woman to conquer the Queen Alien hand and hand with a Alien tail for a spear and an Alien head for a shield (don't ask.) The idea of it was bad enough and now seeing it will probably give me nightmares. After all is said and done, you treated to a glimpse of a possible sequel with a half Predator and half Alien creature sprouting out his gullet.
What this movie needed was a better director, more plausible screenplay and a little bit more time put into to it. I would only recommend this film for die hard sci-fi action buffs.