Alien vs. Predator (2004) Director: Paul W. S. Anderson

Following up on the surprising box office success of other campy genre crossover films like Freddy vs Jason (2003), 20^th Century Fox apparently decided to cancel plans for Alien 5 (which would have been directed by James Cameron and starred Sigourney Weaver), and instead they released Alien vs. Predator –a film no one ever asked for.

Cranked out over a rapid two-month shooting schedule, Alien vs. Predator is little more than a mediocre, empty-headed action flick –fun to watch in a college dorm room surrounded by friends, but otherwise this is nothing more than corporate content, a pure filler movie for the kids. In a parody of The Thing, a group of explorers, influenced by Aztec mythology and led by familiar Alien franchise billionaire Charles Weyland (Lance Henriksen) investigate a pyramid hidden 2,000 feet below the earth’s surface in Antarctica beneath an abandoned whaling colony. However, they quickly encounter a trio of violent Predators who have arrived from space. A cryo Xenomorph Queen is reanimated and begin producing facehuggers. Apparently, every 100 years the Predators have been visiting earth and battling the Xenomorphs as a rite of passage. The Xenomorphs are the ultimate prey as the Predators search for their hidden weaponry while the pyramid continues shifting its structure –the Predators also have the option of a self-destruct sequence if things get out of hand. The Predators also taught ancient humanity how to build the pyramids and, as such, they were worshipped as gods. At any rate, one member named Alexa (Sanaa Lathan) survives as she befriends a Predator and they battle a queen but in the end the Predator dies and an alien bursts forth from his chest.  

If you are looking for a vapid “shoot ’em up” crossover action flick in the vein of a John McTiernan movie, then Alien vs. Predator is for you.

Click here to return to my review of the Alien series.

Click here to return to my review of the Predator series.