Twenty years ago in 2004, an epic matchup most sci-fi fans wanted finally happened. Yet upon Alien vs. Predator’s (or AVP) initial release in 2004, the movie was met with mixed-to-negative reviews. But in the 20 years since AVP’s release, the critical tide has slowly turned. The campy, silly, and bombastic — which was scorned by viewers years ago — is now embraced and enjoyed, even relished.
Plus, compared to the absolute garbage that both the Predator and Alien franchises have put out in the last 20 years, AVP is now one of the better movies from both franchises. So, whether you want to hear it or not, I declare that Alien vs. Predator isn’t as bad as you remember. In fact, it’s actually pretty damn enjoyable. Here’s why.
It has a great setting that allows for cool action set pieces
One of AVP’s greatest strengths was its unique and awesome setting. The team of explorers finds themselves deep under the ice of a remote island in an ever-shifting temple. As the rooms open and close, the team finds themselves trapped in an impossible scenario. They have to escape both aliens and Predators, while also trying to find the exit and escape to the surface.
In many ways, AVP was mapped out like a horror movie. A group enters a space — which in this case is basically an underground arena — and then it becomes a last-man-standing battle to the finish. The temple’s ever-shifting layout also gives the Xenomorphs and Predators tons of places to hide, stalk, and pop out from.
Confining the film to a single setting also helped make it better. Because we spend 90% of the movie in the temple, the setting becomes way more immersive since we have the entire film to explore it.
Yes, the plot is simple … but it works
The confined setting of AVP also worked for another reason: It kept the plot simple. Humans enter the temple, they realize it’s actually a battleground, but it’s already too late and they’re now trapped in a death match between aliens and Predators. Sometimes simpler is better. Being stuck in an underground Predator-created death maze is a compelling story, and AVP knew that. There was no need to bog it down or complicate it.
Compare that to more recent movies like 2018’s The Predator, which involved the military and cover-ups, Predator-human hybrids, Predator-dog-alien things, a Predator-killing armored suit, and even a whole subplot about autism (who thought that was a good idea???). The Predator was all over the place. It’s like 10 screenwriters all competed to write the dumbest Predator script ever, and then the higher-ups at 20th Century Fox decided to just combine them all into one movie.
For most movies, more is never better. When you only have an hour and a half to play with, adding more characters and subplots means nothing ever gets enough time to be fully fleshed out. AVP’s simple “survive the deathmatch” plot kept the movie simple, grounded, and made everyone’s motives clear. 2022’s Prey also found success by staying simple, returning to the classic cat-and-mouse chase that made the original Predator so suspenseful and exciting.
Compared to modern action movies, AVP looks great
Unfortunately, The Predator isn’t the only newer Alien and Predator movie that sucked. It’s sadly just one of many. Compared to a vast majority of the more recent movies, AVP holds up pretty damn well.
First up was AVP’s own sequel, 2007’s AVP: Requiem. I saw this movie in theaters and was so bored I couldn’t wait for it to end. In fact, it’s so bad I hardly even remember the plot. The only things I can recall are a random scene in a high school swimming pool and that two-thirds of the movie was so dark I couldn’t tell what was going on. Based on its 12% Rotten Tomatoes rating, it’s clear I’m not the only one who hated the movie.
Then there’s 2010’s Predators, which follows a group of humans who are dropped into an alien forest. The shocking twist: It’s actually a Predator hunting ground, and they’re the prey. First off, that’s blatantly ripping off AVP. Secondly, Predators was an action movie that forgot the franchise’s suspenseful roots. Without the elements of suspense and horror, the Yautja are surprisingly dull antagonists, making Predators pretty snoozy.
Also on the junk list is 2017’s Alien: Covenant. After 2012’s Prometheus polarized critics and audiences because it strayed so far from a traditional Alien plotline, everyone was promised a return to form with Covenant. Instead, we got a movie about black goo and more of Michael Fassbender’s insufferably annoying android David.
Every single problem in Covenant was caused by the human crew’s stupidity. They literally do the wrong thing every. Single. Time. The humans are so stupid you can’t wait until they’re all dead. Oh, and we do finally see the classic Xenomorph again for a whole 15 minutes, but it’s all so rushed and sloppy that it’s not scary and feels more like an insult to the franchise.
I’m happy to see that Covenant’s Rotten Tomatoes audience score has dropped to 55%. Just as time has proven that AVP isn’t so bad, it’s also given Covenant the panning it so rightfully deserves. Compared to the slop that’s been released over the last 20 years, AVP just keeps looking better and better.
The movie has a solid female protagonist who wasn’t Ripley
Both Alien and Predator linger between genres. They’re sci-fi, but also suspenseful, and have horror elements, but also kinda feel like action movies. But the best Alien and Predator movies follow the horror format — the slasher format in particular — and they all give us a final girl (or guy).
Think about it, the movies follow the slasher pattern almost perfectly. A group finds themselves lost in an environment, and the bad guy stalks them, killing them off one by one until we have our hero. Alien gave us Ripley, Predator gave us Dutch, and Prey gave us Naru. AVP followed the same format, with the expedition crew dying off one by one until Alexa “Lex” Woods (Sanaa Lathan) remains as the lone survivor. After killing a Xenomorph, she officially proves herself as a warrior among the Predators and helps the last remaining Yautja escape the temple.
You can classify the movies however you want, but it’s clear that the films perform best when they follow the slasher format. When the movies try to be anything else, it always seems to ruin the experience. Nobody wants to see human-predator DNA meddling, this isn’t Jurassic Park, and nobody wants to see the Xenomorph’s backstory explored so fully that we’re left watching a movie about black goo. The mystery behind the Xenomorphs and the Predators is part of what makes them scary.
It gives the audience what it wants
AVP, despite its flaws, seemed to recognize that. People watch Alien and Predator movies to be scared by terrifying sci-fi monsters. And for AVP in particular, they want to watch the two juggernauts of sci-fi duke it out. AVP follows the format that works, it kept its plot simple, and the movie takes place in a fun and unique setting that makes you want to keep watching.
Is AVP silly and plagued with a few plot holes? Yes. Its director, Paul W.S. Anderson, is known for making B movies that are lowbrow, derivative, and somewhat stupid. But is it also tons of fun and feels like a real, proper part of the Alien and Predator universe? Yes. Ignore the old reviews and the bad reputation Alien vs. Predator has unfairly been given. It’s actually a really fun movie that you’ll enjoy, I promise.
Stream Alien vs. Predator on Hulu.
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