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Movie: Alien vs. Predator
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
Actors: Sanaa Lathan, Raoul Bova, Lance Henriksen, Ewen Bremner, Colin Salmon
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"They're not hunting us. We're in the middle of a war."
Where to begin? Guys, this will be a very personal review cause the original Alien and Predator films are very close to my heart. I have seen AVP twice before I wrote this review, I just wanted to give the movie a second chance… it didn't do any good though.
Let's start with director Paul W.S. Anderson, helmer of the okay sci-fi flick Event Horizon, it went downhill after that with Soldier and Resident Evil. Next challenge, to film the clash of the titans; Alien versus Predator. First a synopsis of the story.
The story in a nutshell:
A bunch of scientist discovers a mysterious pyramid in Antarctica. Right after they started their investigation, they find themselves in the middle of a war between Aliens and Predators.
AVP pisses me off, especially after seeing it twice. The movie has some interesting twists and ideas but writer-director Paul W.S. Anderson doesn't get it on track properly. The biggest mistake the director and/or the studio made was making the movie for a younger audience. Alien and Predator are hardcore horror/sci-fi/action flicks. I want to see gallons of blood, skinned carcasses, bursts chests, Predator ripping the spine out of human body, Alien that melts human flesh with its acid for blood. But noooo, this had to be toned down because of the new target audience. No gore but ultra fast irritating editing en lots of silhouette action to cover it up. You just can't see shit, come to think of it, even the language has been adjusted. The famous "you're an ugly motherfucker" line has been censored, the second part after "mother" has been silenced with the help of a soundeffect.
The unknown actors, besides Lance Henriksen, are badly cast and their characters are very two-dimensional so you absolutely don't give a shit when they're being slaughtered.
The good thing, the art direction, set pieces are incredible, as are the Predators, Aliens and Alien Queen. The monsters are scary and dangerous… until the Predator gets a corny Lassie-relation with one of the scientists. This could be an okay twist if it was presented in a good way, most of the time it's freakin' absurd. The movie has its cool moments though, the Alien-Predator fights are just fine, with a taste of Matrix.
Paul W.S. Anderson did his homework, he used all the good elements of the original movies and put it in his own AVP film. Alien versus Predator reminds you of the greatness of these movies, it also reminds you how Alien versus Predator fails to deliver.
Written by Reggy 03/11/04
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