Pays homage to both "Alien" and "Aliens", but falls short of great cinema

Rating: 6/10 (9 July 2006)

As a big fan of the movies Alien and Aliens, I was compelled to watch the so-called 5th Alien move, Alien vs Predator. AVP was not bad, it was fun. But, I had never seen Predator and wanted to see the back-fill. Now that I have, I cannot say that Predator is a bad piece of cinema.
However, the accolades I've seen for it on IMDb are astonishing and unwarranted. This movie was neither Arnold's best, nor a superior sci-fi or action film. It was only mildly entertaining. I did not find myself drawn in by it, or caught up in the suspense.
This is perhaps because I saw AVP ahead of time, or am completely jaded by the awesome movies that clearly inspired Predator: Alien and Aliens. Maybe I am disappointed that the set and setting were not other-worldly. To Predator's credit though, it pays homage to both Alien and Aliens while adding a fresh touch all it's own with the main characters' special effects.
But c'mon guys... even if you first saw this when you were 15 years old, can you not recognize now that it is formulaic and mediocre? The story is unoriginal and the build-up is poor. Suspension of disbelief is shattered toward the end. Where did Dutch get all that stuff anyhow?
If you like a good shoot-em-up, go ahead and watch it. The action sequences, for the most part, are easier to follow than average. But overall, I think I would have been happier spending my time re-watching the films that I believe are the inspiration for this picture. A rating of 6/10 for Predator is generous.