BEFORE: I think this was originally based on a Dark Horse comic book - at least, that's where the idea to merge these 2 film franchises came from. Often I'll go into the comic-book store (yes, they still exist...) and find two teen geeks in a corner, debating, "Who would win in a fight, Batman or Spider-Man?" or maybe it's Superman vs. Hulk, or Wonder Woman vs. Thor...
One time I even heard kids debating whether Big Bird or Barney the Dinosaur would win in a fight - now THAT'S getting creative. I left the store and found myself thinking how much of a wuss Barney is, with all that "I love you, you love me..." baloney, and recalling how Big Bird lives on the street (Sesame Street, but still, it's a NYC street). Barney may be a dinosaur, but he's got those stubby little dinosaur forearms - and Big Bird's got some reach, even though one arm is useless (think about it...) he can peck, and kick with those big feet. Yes, definitely putting my money on Big Bird. Oh, wait, tonight's movie...
THE PLOT: During an archaeological expedition in the Antarctic, a team of archaeologists and scientists find themselves caught up in a battle between two legends.
AFTER: As stated, this was something of a left-turn for the "Alien" movies. They could have easily continued the story of the Ripley clone on Earth, just have 1 single alien survive the destruction of the last film - then you've got an Alien loose on Earth, and that story pretty much writes itself...
Instead, simultaneously, they found a way to both acknowledge AND ruin the "Alien" films continuity at the same time... At least the "Predator" movies hinted that the Predators had been visiting Earth for centuries. But to suggest that the Predators maintain some kind of underground, pyramid-shaped training facility on Earth, where their teenage warriors battle the Alien creatures, in order to hone their skills - does this make any sense?
Why would the Predators travel across the stars, just to get in some training exercises? Can't they do that at home, before they go on their first official hunt? It would be like a person traveling to France to learn how to paint. Yeah, you might benefit from being close to the works in the Louvre, but you can also learn to paint at home, it's easier and cheaper.
Plus, the whole point of the "Alien" films so far was to keep the aliens from coming to Earth, where the Company wanted to study them. This movie takes place in 2004, and suggests that the Aliens have been on Earth for centuries! So why did the Company need to try and bring one to Earth in the future? They were already THERE!
OK, so once again the films' directors didn't work together or compare notes... Aside from that, one of the main problems here is that neither alien species talks (OK, the Predators talk a little, but as we've seen it's mostly cuss words...) so for long stretches of this movie, there are loud, noisy action sequences with no dialogue exchanged!
So we see most of the film from the P.O.V. of the group of scientists + explorers. One of them is played by Lance Henriksen, who played androids in both "Aliens" and "Aliens 3" - the implication seems to be that his character here, a multi-millionaire corporate executive, is the inspiration for the "Bishop"-model robots seen in the previous films (which take place several hundred years later) - anyway, it's a nice touch, an inside joke for the hardcore fans.
I didn't recognize any of the other actors, except for Ewen Bremner, who was in "Trainspotting" and "Snatch". Anyway, the focus was on the alien nasties here, and rightfully so.
One of the ways I judge a movie is based on how many times I accidentally fall asleep during the film, and am forced to rewind back to where I dozed off. I know that it's not always the movie's fault, since I usually start watching my movies after midnight, and if I've had a busy day or went out for a couple drinks, then the chances of dozing are much greater. Still, a great movie should hold my attention and keep me from nodding off. I had a major nap about halfway through this film (a bad sign for an action film...) and then had to wake up and finish the film - it shouldn't take me 3 hours to watch a 90-minute film!
I don't know, this was a tough one for me to judge. It just seemed like there was too much emphasis on the killing, which actually was double the normal death-rate, since both title characters ended up being a threat to the humans. And why would I want to watch a film that only seems interested in portraying death and destruction? What's the message here, you know, for the kids?
This will lead me into comic-book/superhero movies, though - so I'm looking forward to some more upbeat, heroic storylines.
RATING: 3 out of 10 hieroglyphics
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