AVP: Alien vs. Predator

Finally got around to watching this crossover between the two titular characters. It's pretty good! I'm not someone who has a keen interest in either franchise, though. I'm kinda surprised both have as many flicks made as they do and as many still on the way. I admittedly I do like all of the 'Alien' films, whereas I found 'Predator' to be rather uninteresting - until 'Prey' anyway, that's the only one from that series that I'd say I like. With all that, I wasn't too sure what to expect from 'AVP: Alien vs. Predator' - a movie that I've actually heard of since I was a kid, I remember people at my school referring to it quite often; I probably knew of this before I knew that they were a crossover from separate releases. Pleasingly, i did find the required enjoyment from this 2004 movie. None of the cast are particularly outstanding, though all work really nicely as a whole. Sanaa Lathan gives a good showing as the main human character, in what is my first real experience of seeing her onscreen. Same can be said for most of the acting talent, with only Ewen Bremner being someone I could say I recognised; and Lance Henriksen, only after thoroughly racking my brain from the original 'Alien' films though. That final scene leaves good intrigue ahead of the sequel. After viewing that, I can finally say I've seen all of this most abundant franchise. No mean feat, eh? At least there aren't any more coming any time soo... *Alien: Romulus releases in two days* ffs.

Did they actually make this!? Wait, did I actually buy this!?

If Paul WS Anderson had just taken a moment longer to look at the casting here, he might have had a decent property. A solid conflict between the ultimate ninja "Predator" and the ultimate killing machine from "Alien". Why didn't he? Instead, we find a truly C-list bunch of acting fodder exploring a temple wherein, aeons ago, these two titans of terror battled it out. On arrival in the sacrifice room, they inadvertently release some eggs, and some "Predator" creatures, and soon some of them are on the menu for both as a battle royal looms. The special effects are good, and the action elements work fine too. I even found myself taking sides - just not with the humans, who deserved every tortuous chewing, stabbing and nasty involuntary caesarians that they got. It's paced well, it looks eerie and sinister, and the ending is quite exciting - it's just a real shame the writing and the acting are really mediocre. Teed up for a sequel too - I can only hope it ups it's game for that!