What I Think Of: Aliens Vs. Predator (2004)

I decided to finish off the week, as well as what little credibility I have, with a film that has the word Alien in it's title. Okay, it's technically Aliens, as was the first review this week, but we'll let that slide. As for my credibility being finished, well that's because I actually like this movie. Now, I'm not saying this is a great movie or that it can hold a candle to the first two Alien movies or the first Predator movie (sorry Danny Glover), but I got exactly what I wanted to see out of this movie, which was Aliens vs. Predator. That's all I was expecting. The plot didn't have to make too much sense, nor did the acting have to be all that great either. And it wasn't, on both counts. However, the scenes with the Aliens & Predators were very well done, and didn't rely heavily on CGI either.

Honestly, there are times where I think that CGI has taken some of the luster, the magic, and the glory out of films of any genre, especially the action, horror, and sci-fi genre. I mean, look at Aliens and then look at Alien: Resurrection. The Aliens in Aliens looked and felt more real than the CGI ones in Alien: Resurrection. Of course, that's also thanks to the genius of Special Effects wizard Stan Winston, who won an oscar for his work on Aliens. May he rest in peace. It's a shame that director Paul Anderson did not go to Stan to work on Aliens vs. Predator, since Stan created the Alien Queen & the Predator.

Back to the movie. As I said, it's not a very good movie, but it is a fun movie, if you want to see Aliens and Predators go at it, with foolish humans along for the ride. What I love is reading some reviewers who said that this film destroys the Aliens & Predator franchise, which is hilarious, being that the Aliens franchise was already butchered with Alien 3 & especially Alien: Resurrection, and the Predator franchise hasn't had a movie since Predator 2, which wasn't really good in the first place. The plot is acceptable and makes sense, which is really the best you can expect from this kind of movie. If only Transformers 2 plot made more sense, or any sense at all, I would've enjoyed it more. Needless to say, I enjoyed this film, as well as it's sequel.

-Greg