Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this is a horrid movie (not horror movie). It will scare the pants off kids and make those older howl with laughter at how ridiculous it is. Still, the images are so gruesome and frightening that it's almost guaranteed to induce nightmares.
Families can talk about the difference between made-up creatures and reality. If your teens watch, you can talk about what makes a movie scary. Why do some succeed and some fail?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Sherrice Perry
AVP: ALIEN VS. PREDATOR is another failed attempt to create the ultimate horror flick. Even with advanced graphics and special effects on its side, AVP only manages to completely gross out adult audiences and make teen audiences chuckle with laughter as Lex (Sanaa Lathan) runs alongside the dreadlocked Predator near the end of movie.
While the battle between Alien and Predator has been in the works since the Alien skull appeared among the displayed trophies in the Predator space ship in Predator 2, no director has dared to initiate such an outrageous cockfight between the two creatures until Paul W.S. Anderson came along. Nevertheless, with the inability to gather the original cast or filmmakers of either flick, Anderson's brave attempt flopped.
The premise of the film itself, while daring, is more suitable for a comic book or video game, both of which were fairly successful with the Alien/Predator match. But, for a film, the idea that the Predator (known as the technically advanced hunter) bred the Aliens as prey thousands of years ago for no other purpose than for hunting, is simply unbelievable.
Moreover, the plot brings back the Weyland Corporation from the Alien trilogy. The film begins with a Weyland satellite detecting heat from a pyramid/temple-like structure hid deep within the Antarctic. Charles Weyland (an old, rich techy-explorer type guy) hires a team of drillers, scientists, and archeologists to find the pyramid-like structure that was built by humans to honor the Predators as gods years ago. It's this assembled team led by Lex that reveals the story of these undiscovered structures and consequently lands the team in the middle of a war.
Besides the creatures, the only aspects of this film that slightly resemble the original flicks are the Weyland Corporation and the fact that Lex is much like Sigourney Weaver's character in the Alien trilogy. Lex is not only the voice of reason and pure "common sense", but is also the one who figures out the core idea behind the Predator/Alien duel and, more importantly, how to survive it. While this movie displays incredible "girl power" by having a heroine, it simply falls short of a horror and/or thriller movie.
Rate It!
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ViolenceAcid-spitting aliens, gunfire, monsters bursting through stomach, decapitations. |
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LanguageMinor cursing. |
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Social BehaviorGirl power, after a fashion... |
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