A disappointment for true fans

Rating: 6/10 (14 August 2004)

I wanted so much to like this movie -- after all, fans of both the Aliens and Predator franchises had been waiting for over a decade for the two to clash on screen. While this movie might appeal to new fans, I doubt it will satisfy people who have been following the franchises since their inceptions. While the effects and creature designs were decent, this movie lacks one thing that makes some of the older films (most notably Alien, Aliens and the first Predator) fun to watch over and over -- the characters are, almost without exception, one-dimensional and unengaging. There isn't any really unique character in this one, like Ripley in Alien, Newt and Hicks in Aliens, or the triple threat played by Arnold, Jesse and Carl Weathers in predator. I honestly didn't care who lived or died.
Speaking of deaths, I know i wasn't the only one disappointed by the studio's decision to make this a PG-13 film. While some clever cinematography made it seem like you were seeing more explicit violence than actually was shown in frame, it lacked the stark, dark realism that was especially effective in the first Alien film. Add to that the incredibly short running time (well under 90 minutes if you were to remove the end credits) and you have a film that could have been, should have been able to do a lot more with a cool story concept than was the result. Hopefully, the inevitable special edition DVD will restore some sequences that were cut from the theater, help to flesh out the characters, and provide a bit more blood for hardcore fans of gore. Seeing how much Alien and Aliens were able to be improved by adding in cut footage, I haven't completely given up on this one yet, but I definitely won't be seeing it again before it hits the dollar theaters.