AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004)

At first, it doesn't seem very "versus," because a team of humans are placed right smack dab in the middle. But later, it becomes clear that the humans are needed just for the Aliens to have something to face jump and chest-burst out of.

Predators are the ultimate hunters. They will hunt humans, yes, but maybe Aliens are more of a sporting challenge.

Alexa (Sanaa Lathan) is the smart human of the team. I don't know how much of a spoiler it is to note that she is the one that makes it out alive. None of the other humans are really all that developed as characters, and our focus is always mainly on Alexa... so I don't think it's a real spoiler.

What might be more of a spoiler is to note what kind of relationship she develops with the lead Predator. Alexa understands that the humans need to pick a side, and the side they need to be on is the Predators.

If you've seen a lot of Predator and Alien movies, you know this is the right move to make. Predators have ethics, for lack of a better word. Aliens, as far as we know, do not. Now, it's questionable just how far the Predator ethics go, but under specific circumstances, they won't kill you. And they do seem capable of some "human like" feelings and emotions. Aliens, not so much. They more "serpent" than human.

The movie ends with a sort of "cliff hanger," and I'm not sure that it's going to be addressed in the 2007 sequel. Without giving it all away, the Predator who dies killing the Queen Alien is brought onto the Predator ship...

Meanwhile, Alexa is coatless in Antarctica. How is she going to explain what happened? And how many stupid humans are going to want to go down and have a look at the Predator-built temple for themselves? But the ending doesn't focus on Alexa. It focuses on the dead Predator in the spaceship.

As I watched this movie, Sanaa Lathan looked generically familiar, but only after I finished the movie did I realize that she's Monica in Love & Basketball (2000), which is probably the role she's best known for. She's fine as Alexa, although a movie like this doesn't necessarily need an A-list actor.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised. The movie is slightly better than average, and definitely better than the last two Venom sequels I've recently watched.

Rating: 3/5 stars

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