I never thought I'd hate a movie called Alien VS. Predator. I loved the first two Alien movies and, to me, Predator is a classic. So how could you go wrong as a director or writer, given the opportunity to create one film featuring BOTH of these awesome licenses? Let me count the ways:

1) Setting the movie in the present, on planet Earth was SUCH a huge mistake. I would've set it in the not-too-distant future, on some remote planet, with the human characters lured there by a distress signal. And don't get me started on the flashback story about our human ancestors WORSHIPPING these Predators. My eyes rolled so much during this film, they still hurt.

2) Why cast Lance Henriksen, then not bother to explain why he looks EXACTLY like Bishop from Aliens? Or did I miss something?

3) Why stress the importance of bringing the female lead on the expedition (Alexa) when all they did was drive big snow tractors from the ship to the campsite? Yeah, she REALLY came in handy.

4) Why bring huge friggin' guns with green laser sights to a friggin' ARCHAELOGICAL EXPEDITION?

5) Aliens bleed acid, right? Well, according to this movie, sometimes they do, and sometimes they DON'T! Come on! At one point the Predator slices an Alien head in half... NO ACID!!!! We all know they bleed acid, yet Alexa is able to carry around a severed head as a shield?

6) This guy who is able to decipher ancient text so easily (like he's reading a storybook) deduces that everything takes place in multiples of 10: October 10 (10/10); the pyramid configuration shifts every 10 minutes. So then, why are the Predators returning in 2004? Couldn't they have just as easily set the movie in 2010?

7) Speaking of the shifting pyramid, it's a good thing everything went back to normal as the Predator's bomb goes off, so the hero, and her Predator love-interest can escape so easily. (by the way, I thought for SURE they were going to kiss at one point!)

8) Come on! The face hugger LEAPS, freezes in mid air, the camera rotates around it before it continues it's flight. Now where oh where have I seen this before? Is it me, or is it MUCH scarier when these things are scurrying around on the flloor?

9) In Alien, Aliens & Predator, I LIKED the human characters. I cared about what happened to them. In AVP, I couldn't care less what happened to the human characters. There was nothing interesting about any of them, including the female lead. And NONE of them seemed shocked or suprised by these amazing, fantastic creatures! Just once I would've liked to hear someone say, 'WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?????"

10) I can't help but think that when the writer(s) were assigned this project, they pulled out their DVD copies of Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, Tomb Raider, The Thing, The Matrix, and of course Alien, Aliens, and Predator (stealing lines DIRECTLY from those films), threw them all in a blender with a few Playstation games, and the end result was this mess that didn't have ONE original thought or concept.

I'm sure I left out a TON of other things, but those are the top 10 reasons why I hated a film I really wanted to love.

- Joe J.

I didn't dislike it as much as Joe but, I did think it was kind of a 'Yawner'. I've seen 'ALIEN' and 'ALIENS' and I've never seen a 'PREDATOR' movie before... And even though I really didn't know much about the one title character, I found the whole movie pretty predictable.

I gotta agree that a lot of the 'rules' were bent if not outright broken and the 'logic' left a lot to be desired, but as an escapist film it was at least entertaining. I saw it at the Drive-In last Friday night on a double bill with 'I, ROBOT'. Of the two movies I enjoyed watching 'I, ROBOT' more - which should tell you something about how poorly I rate AVP.

- GJS

I also wondered why the predator's wrist blades and net gun melted due to the alien's blood but not their killer frisbies, hand knifes or their spears? I wished they took the future approch instead of present day, something more like the Dark Horse comic version from the early 90's.

Tim

1) Setting the movie in the present, on planet Earth was SUCH a huge mistake. I would've set it in the not-too-distant future...

- Joe J.
Well, actually..... to be anal about it.... October 2004 IS the not too distant future. But, I get your meaning.

- GJS

"WHAT IS THAT?!"
Oh that's a predator. I have the DVD.
The actors forgot that they didn't know what it is.

Second weekend is down 60%. More than normal. There are threads all over the web on how many ways the fans hated it.

Still, the DVD is supposedly to have 1/2 more of R rated stuff that explains the plot holes. ( and they're filming the footage now, after reading the forums ). And so the fanboys will buy it anyway and then say how much the DVD sucks too.

Guess I won't bother seeing it. BTW, me and me better half are really, as in REALLY, looking forward to Serenity.

. . . I'm sure I left out a TON of other things, but those are the top 10 reasons why I hated a film I really wanted to love.

Thanks, Joe! You've saved me some trouble and disappointment. I reckon I'll wait until it shows up on cable.

BTW: from your description, it sounds like a typical Sci-Fi Channel movie:
monster created, monster kills, monster kills some more, can't escape from monster, create a big explosion from something very obvious, monster or part of monster still lives to come back another day and maybe kills again one more time before movie ends. :D

BTW: from your description, it sounds like a typical Sci-Fi Channel movie:
monster created, monster kills, monster kills some more, can't escape from monster, create a big explosion from something very obvious, monster or part of monster still lives to come back another day and maybe kills again one more time before movie ends. :D
That sounds pretty much like the movie I saw

- GJS