Alien vs. Predator

4 / 10

Franchise joint ventures are rarely a good idea and Paul W.S. Anderson’s Alien vs. Predator proves that with an adventure set in the Arctic in the search for ancient relics cobbled together with the horror signatures of the respective franchises. The whole scenario feels like a checklist in which Anderson nonchalantly ticks off one box after another to make the film title count. Because humans have to be in the mix to give the viewers some sort of orientation, we get to see an easy, predictable last-person-standing concept. But this approach bears amusing results with a tag team consisting of an explorer who carries less charisma than let’s say Danny Glover or Sigourney Weaver and gets joined by one predator to fight a resurrected xenomorph. The highlight from their cooperation is the predator’s hilarious gesture to signalize a planned explosion.

In a sense, the predators who arrive on Planet Earth, are curious about a mysterious power slumbering inside a pyramid and located deep below in the polar ice. They step into the shoes of the mercenary squad from the 1987 Predator and want to find out what strong force is hidden underneath this ice-cold territory and if it questions their dominance on the planet, so Anderson surprisingly took notes there. Combat minimalism or the clever use of the territory are barely there though given the advanced technology and location while the kills carried out by the Aliens are constructed in a similar fashion to Ridley Scott’s picture from 1979. It’s an entertaining clash of both franchises and only really works with the following simple question in mind: Who ultimately reigns over Planet Earth?

The exploration of the pyramid leads to an interesting flashback telling the long-lasting relationship between humans and the “godlike” predator folk with apparent rituals and sacrifices, but the deterioration of this tribute-dependent, protective relationship towards the general hunt and fight for the territory over a huge period of time isn’t explained. It’s definitely a well-intended mythology which just lacks coherence with the other Predator films.

During the finale, Dutch’s iconic line gets sampled for the sake of sampling – though it’s funny to see a speechless protagonist not calling the predator an ugly mf – and the joint venture caps off with an ending à la Predator 2 and a mind-boggling cliffhanger – definitely forced by executives at 20th Century Fox – which shows that every tradition and species with futuristic technology from anywhere in the universe can be bypassed through stupidity and carelessness. Alien vs. Predator is an acceptable film from an adventure point of view, but if you compare it to the landmark pictures of both franchises, it feels like a hastily realized idea coming from Toy Story’s Sid who dishes the human puppets aside, plays with a predator and alien toy and dumps them on the floor of the playroom shortly after; an impression which the sequel reinforces to a devastating degree.