"We're in the middle of a war."

Rating: Null/10 (24 August 2004)

The ultimate question here is whether this film was a good idea or not. It all began in 1990 with the Dark Horse Comics publication of a five issue series called Aliens Vs. Predator. Additional series followed over the years including novels, video games, trading cards, and even a toy line. In a sense, the AVP concept had already crossed every medium years before the film was made. Various pitches and scripts were discussed since 1990, but nothing really resulted for the project. The closest the movie came was a script called THE HUNT (based on the original AVP comic book) written by Peter Briggs in 1991 which never came to fruition.
Some argue the project was never pursued because producers felt both franchises were already dead. PREDATOR 2 (1990) and ALIEN 3 (1992) both met with mixed results from the public, despite the fact the latter grossed more than ALIENS (1987) worldwide. Nevertheless, a fourth ALIEN film was released in 1997 around the same time that writer/director Robert Rodriguez was writing a script for a third PREDATOR installment.
The success of New Line Cinema's FREDDY VS JASON (2003) no doubt gave 20th Century Fox the idea to finally push AVP into production. Is it just coincidence that Fox announced AVP a mere month after the widely successful opening weekend of FREDDY VS. JASON? Fox's new found enthusiasm for the project raises some concern. Shooting started in October of 2003, a mere ten months before its scheduled release date. Isn't that rushing it a bit? This must be a cash-in.
After watching the film myself, I don't dismiss it as such. I feel it's a somewhat genuine effort and pretty fan-pleasing. I don't know where or how Paul W.S. Anderson (and his own script) came into the project, but he didn't destroy the picture too badly. His involvement was heavily debated in fan circles from the get-go. My only hope with Anderson directing was a return to his style in the largely neglected EVENT HORIZON (1997). Furthermore, Anderson spoke quite enthusiastically (to say the least) about the project. Read any Fangoria Magazine interview to see how much of a fan he is and how well-suited his intentions were while writing the script. Unfortunately, that doesn't translate exactly into the finished product.
In terms of the fan's desire and a sequel's purpose, AVP does moderately well. Anderson brings the xenomorphs to modern day earth and the deadly hunters to Antarctica. The two twists deliver quiet well for fans. It was such an incredible thrill to see the heat-driven predators in the arctic snow.
Anderson was also sure to add a few details to prove he had done his homework. The dark and claustrophobic tunnels from the ALIEN movies are here (triangular this time - which is amusingly fresh) and so is the predators' hunting code (one throws a human back for being too weak).
What AVP lacks is a solid narrative. There's a good story here, but Anderson seems to rush into things way to easily. His need for speed tragically diminishes the film's potential. He also seems to play to the twelve year old boys in the audience, or at least their mental equivalent. What he fails to notice is that you don't have to dumb things down for kids.
The overall pace of the film was horrible. The film's final running time is around the 84 minute mark. As I said, Anderson made it very fast. There's literally less than five minutes of screen time that passes between a face-hugger impregnation and the alien's birth. I understand that you have to have aliens in the picture for the predators to hunt, but that's ridiculous. And where did all the aliens come from? We only see six to ten humans get impregnated yet there seems to be an endless number of aliens running around. And why do we only get to see one predator fight one alien at a time? It would be so much more exciting to see a predator take on a swarm of aliens or at least two predators fighting together as a team. We finally got both creatures in the same movie, so let's make the best of it!
Another oddity of AVP is its PG-13 rating. This was a major shock to the fanbase considering that the aliens are born through violent chest-bursts and the predators skin their prey. Fortunately, AVP doesn't feel too PG-13 but there are a few moments where the film obviously cuts away from the violence.
I'd be able to deal with the ultra-fast pacing, bad dialogue, and lack of proper character development only if AVP hadn't made the predators so hokey looking. This was the biggest disappoint for me. Special effects technology has advanced since the original PREDATOR films, but apparently not for this one. I don't really understand what went wrong considering the effects were handled by Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff Jr. Fans know their reputation, so what happened?
Another disappoint is the general neglect of the aliens. They are hardly in this movie. Furthermore, the humans in this film do little but flee from both deadly species. We the audience may already know everything about the two creatures, but these characters don't yet. That should have been explored more.
Of course, I am a life-long fan of both franchises so I doubt any AVP film could live up to my expectations. Naturally, I felt let down by Paul W.S. Anderson's picture but it could have been a lot worse. Loyalists can damn me all to hell but I'll honestly admit that I enjoyed watching AVP. There weren't enough problems to make me truly hate it.
It might have been a mere `cash-in' for the producers, but I feel Paul W.S. Anderson gave an honest effort here. My criticisms of the film are just from a creative standpoint, really. I recommend AVP to fans, but the average movie-goer won't be able to appreciate it or even understand it.