Alien vs. Predator
Matinee
Straight up: this is a movie for fans of the first halves of these
series, to wit: Alien/Aliens and Predator (not Predator 2). It is as
chock full of stupid "oh jeez" moments as it is full of genuine
enjoyment for said fans. But if you are not a fan, the "oh jeez"
moments will far outweigh the enjoyment.
The off-putting preview seems to give away the story, in a
nonsensical combination of elements that directly contradict the
known mythology (first halves, people!) of the two series. To wit:
the Predator only comes when it's hottest and the Aliens have never
discovered Earth. Taking place in October 2004, they set themselves
some serious obstacles even before our butts are in the seats. My
companion and I were satisfied with the story as it ended up actually
unfolding, but I don't want to give it away. I am led to believe it
has little to no relation to the popular Dark Horse comic series from
the 1980's.
Myself, I root for the Aliens, and it seems they just are a better
movie device than the Predator. As a result, I noticed a million
small inside jokes put there just for us. Having re-watched Predator
the night before, and having seen no nudge nudge references to that
series in the film, I conclude that Aliens continue to be the
ass-kickingest critters this side of the Big Bang. The Queen, well,
she could tour as a rock band and sell out every time. She is simply
too cool for words.
Oh yes, your eyes will roll, you will clap your hands in amusement
and glee more than in sheer adrenaline, but these guys still have the
power to be scary and awesome, and so it's a perfect, perfect popcorn
movie. Familiar cast (including Aliens' Bishop, Lance Henrikson, in
a surprise role), well-rounded team of experts, familiar perils, a
killer setting, but actually wrapped up in a pretty nifty little
conceit. The information is parceled out bit by bit just enough to
keep you interested, even when you might think, "oh come on!" It is
precisely the kind of written-for-the-joy-of-the-idea that fans of
these sorts of movies have clamored for these 20 years. (Staggers at
the thought of 20 years) It's a modern day Dracula meets
Frankenstein - the impulse is always within us to pit two adversaries
that we love to scare us against each other. This time, the rules
change.
I'm serious! It was a fun ride of a movie, and the goofy parts were
well compensated for by the "oh that's a cool way to introduce that
information." As a bonus, we get a female hero, almost as good as
Ripley. Check it out, if it's your cup of tea. It's a great time.
--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
These reviews (c) 2004 Karina Montgomery. Please feel free to
forward but credit the reviewer in the text. Thanks. You can
check out previous reviews at:
http://www.cinerina.com and http://ofcs.rottentomatoes.com - the
Online Film Critics Society
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