Release Date: August 13, 2004
Starring: Sanaa Lathan, Lance Henriksen
Directed by: Paul W.S. Anderson
Written by: Paul W.S. Anderson
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox Films
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (violence, language, horror images, slime and gore)
The concept of pitting Aliens against Predators was actually possible as early as 1990’s Predator 2, when an Alien skull was seen in the trophy room of the Predator spaceship in one of the last scenes in that movie. Since then, there has existed a rivalry between the two vicious creatures in virtually every form of media except the movies, including comic books, video games, and even trading cards. It’s quite possibly the first film-inspired franchise to have firmly established itself outside of the film world, but now, finally, it’s on the big screen, thanks to writer-director Paul W.S. Anderson. Alien vs. Predator, though, is hardly what you’d call engaging -- a far cry from the first films in either franchise -- and its eventual betrayal of at least one of the original characters makes me think there may have been good reason to avoid a cinematic duel between these unfriendly extraterrestrials in the first place.
It’s important to say that the movie’s premise isn’t that bad. In fact, while Paul Anderson doesn’t exactly strive for a captivating plotline worthy of either existing series, he does manage to make the story at least mildly interesting and slightly more than senseless.
He has Alien vs. Predator set in the present day, as opposed to the distant future (like every Alien film was), and he creates a history between the creatures that boils down to this: A small group of Predators are sent to Antarctica every 100 years to breed Aliens and hunt them, as a sort of right of passage. Strangely enough, the Predators have a certain respect for humans, as we are apparently the only possible carriers for the Aliens as they reproduce as game. Therefore, as long as we cooperate, the Predators only make a select number of humans their victims, and leave the rest alone.
Because of this storyline, the Predators have already lost most of their mystique, as they are no longer those mysterious, merciless, vicious beings sent from who-knows-where that like to hunt every living creature for sport. To be sure, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character in the original Predator wouldn’t have tried to make peace with the creature he was up against, and that’s because the thing had no redeemable qualities. It gutted and strung its victims upside down, kept their skulls as prizes, and even had a defense mechanism that would destroy everything in its path should it actually lose a battle.
Now, thanks to Alien vs. Predator, the Predators turn out to be not so bad after all. I’m thinking that maybe all Arnold needed to do in that first Predator film was to hold up his hands and make nice with the ugly thing.
In Paul Anderson’s movie, the action starts when a group of unsuspecting archaeologists arrives at the very location where the Alien hunt will take place, because they have detected an inexplicable heat source beneath the ice. They’re led by an expert arctic explorer (Sanaa Lathan) and funded by a dying but ambitious (or possibly reckless) corporate tycoon (Lance Henriksen), but instead of uncovering an archaeological find, they’ve found themselves in an elaborate trap that will easily make them prey to whichever alien race gets to them first. Aside from not really caring what happens to anyone in the group, the first half of the story maintains the qualities of each creature that has made them popular -- the Aliens still pop through the rib cages of their human hosts and bleed acid when injured, and the Predators still kill for the sheer pride and pleasure of the hunt. It’s when you realize that the movie doesn’t really work without a human presence that things start to go south.
A certain twist involving Sanaa Lathan’s character will undoubtedly upset fans, especially those rooting for a particular side in the Alien/Predator matchup. While the movie’s action will likely satisfy their appetites -- there are a decent number of spiffy fight scenes between the monsters -- there isn’t enough to make the audience overlook the disappointing direction that the last act of the story takes. It’s this part of the movie that goes against the foundations already set by the separate Alien and Predator franchises (though, honestly, there are few other ways the plot of this movie could have worked).
Here’s another alternative, though: A movie called Alien vs. Predator shouldn’t have been made at all. As it stands, it was clearly produced solely for the die-hard fans, the ones who have been looking forward to it for over a decade, and no good movie is ever made that way.
-- Andy Zientek (zfilm@earthlink.net)