Alien vs. Predator

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Horrid horror. Not for kids. (Or anyone else...)
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Kids say

What parents need to know

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.

  • Girl power, after a fashion...
  • Acid-spitting aliens, gunfire, monsters bursting through stomach, decapitations.
  • Not applicable.

What's the story?

While daring, the premise of AVP: ALIEN VS. PREDATOR 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. The plot brings back the Weyland Corporation from the Alien trilogy, and 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 (Sanaa Lathan) that reveals the story of these undiscovered structures and consequently lands the team in the middle of a war.


Is it any good?

 

AVP is another failed attempt to create the ultimate horror flick. Even with advanced graphics and special effects on its side, it only manages to completely gross out adult audiences and make teen audiences chuckle with laughter as Lex 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.

 

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.


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What families can talk about

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?


This review was written by Sherrice Perry
Teen, 18 years old
August 29, 2010
 
Makes sequal look amazing
first off, avoid this. its not worth seeing. it was confusing, and pointless. there is some language (one f-word). And tiny tiny bits of blood. Overall, i don't know if its an action movie or a horror movie. Don't watch

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Teen, 17 years old
July 6, 2010
 
AAAAAAWWWWWSSSSOMMMMEEEEE
AWSOME MOVIE. Its a great movie for kids. Great movie for 9 year old.

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Teen, 14 years old
May 30, 2011
 
Don't bother seeing this. The first two "Alien"s were good (didn't see the other two), and I never saw any of the three "Predator" movies (but I hear they're good). This mashup is just awful.
My rating: R for pervasive alien violence, blood and gore, and for some strong language.

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Teen, 15 years old
April 26, 2011
 
Alien vs. Predator
good movie! great starter for teens just getting into the horror genre... the reviews saying the images and violence being overly graphic and gruesome is stupid (no ofence to some parents). To further explain my point... A predator slashes an alien and kills it, alien facehuggers get shot,sliced in half, and also cling to faces... but who cares if an ugly beetle looking creature gets sliced in half? I would say that anyone who is 14 and older and just getting into the "horror" genre then this is the BEST starter! notice: the dialogue sucks the action rocks! , slightly cheesy, but still awesome movie, only one f- word... great movie!

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Teen, 18 years old
February 2, 2011
 
Fun enough for most teens; most parents probably won't enjoy this one
AVP was a pretty good movie that started out like a B-movie and actually did develop SOME emotional base as it progressed. It can't possibly compare to Alien or Aliens of course, but for a fun (if not a bit gory) romp most teens should check out this movie. Some language and lots of Alien vs. Predator violence throughout.

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Kid, 12 years old
March 18, 2011
 
Iffy for 10+, but good for tweens and up.
Come on, people. I watched it and it's really good. Yeah, so it's violent, and? It's not as gruesome as some of the other movies and there's an impossible friendship inside between a human and a predator.

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Kid, 12 years old
September 8, 2010
 
only a couple scenes with blood f word once not that scary AWESOME MOVIE

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Kid, 11 years old
July 17, 2010
 
AVP:Alien vs. Predator

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Teen, 16 years old
May 29, 2011
 
Great movie
Fans of Alien and Predator will probably enjoy this movie. I'm 12 and I loved it. It was very violent and they hardly ever swear.

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Kid, 13 years old
March 7, 2011
 
Not too bad, just GREEN gore, and some vicous deaths (not much shown, usually off-screen) A quick scene when an alien burses through stomach, (very quick and doesnt show TOO much blood). One colourful F-words (sounded BAD, but its just 1 f-word i guess...)

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This review was written by Sherrice Perry
Studio:Twentieth Century Fox
Director:Paul W.S. Anderson
Cast:Lance Henriksen, Raoul Bova, Sanaa Lathan
Genre:Science Fiction
Run time:90 minutes
Theatrical release date:August 13, 2004
DVD release date:January 25, 2005
MPAA rating:PG-13
MPAA explanation:violence, language, horror images, slime and gore.

This review was written by Sherrice Perry
 

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

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