Just try not to think too hard about the implication of the Predator/Xenomorph hybrid.
It may not rise above that goal, but if you’re looking for a movie where chest-bursters burst and Predators are dangerous AF, AvPdelivers the goods. It’s a movie that knows its audience and gives us exactly what we want. In fact, in terms of pure enjoyment, AvP is probably a more satisfying film than Prometheus, Alien: Covenant, or 2018’s The Predator. This isn’t to say AvP holds up to that scrutiny in every single way, but it’s much better than you might think. The critical view of sci-fi fantasy movies in 2004 hadn’t yet transformed into the kind of mainstream scrutiny these films receive now. Predator simply wasn’t taken as seriously as it may have been taken even ten years later. This may sound odd but, back in 2004, a film like Alien Vs. Within all of this, actress Sanaa Lathan’s performance as Alexa Woods is actually fairly badass, and one of those interesting moments in which a sci-fi action star should have been born but for whatever reason wasn’t. Obviously the connections between the Predators and the Xenomorphs are contrived, but to reach the point at which the script needs both sets of monsters to do battle, almost anything goes. To be clear, the plots are fairly different, but if you squint, AvP is as if the crew in Prometheus took a ride to Antarctica instead of a distant planet. Both Prometheus and AvP feature manipulative 21st-century moguls of the Weyland Corporation thrust into their main action, and both films also posit that the Xenomorphs are tied up in various aspects of Earth’s pre-history. In Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, Charles Bishop Weyland was overwritten by Guy Pearce’s Peter Weyland, but the similarities between the two are interesting.
In AvP, this guy is played by Lance Henriksen, who more famously played the android Bishop in Aliens. Both films attempt to reconcile the origins of the Weyland Corporation by introducing its CEO, Charles Bishop Weyland. Fox How AvP predicted PrometheusĪlthough the canonicity of AvP relative to either the Alien or Predator franchises is highly questionable, the basic setup of AvP bears some striking similarities to that of Prometheus. The original Bishop (Lance Henriksen) versus one of the titular Predators. That may sound like a joke, but if you like these kinds of movies, it’s actually a huge compliment. So, yes, as these kinds of movies go, AvP is great, and it’s certainly better than Frankenstein Meets the Wolf-Man. Godzilla in 1963, you had Frankenstein Meets the Wolf-Man in 1943 monster mashes are inherently retro, and if you’re not down with the basic coolness of two monsters fighting for contrived reasons, then you’ve essentially misunderstood the reason this subgenre exists. (If you missed Batman Versus Predator in 1993 or Superman Versus Aliens in 1997, you missed a very special time in comic-book history.)īasically, the novelty concept of having two monsters fight each other wasn’t invented by this film, nor was it pioneered by ‘90s comics.
But relative to Aliens (1986) or the first Predator (1987), AvP will scan as exactly what it looks like: an attempt to cash in on vague early-aughts nostalgia for both franchises while simultaneously emulating a comic-book trend in which Aliens and Predators are always fighting everyone. Relative to its borderline-unwatchable sequel, AvP: Requiem, this movie is a masterpiece. Saying AvP is a “good” movie is a statement that exists on a sliding scale, given the quality of other films in their loosely connected franchises. The second ship rolled and started firing a heavy plasma cannon, vast flaming stars streaming toward the station's heart.
It was followed by three sequels: Predator 2 (starring Danny Glover and Gary Busey), Predators (with Adrien brody, Alice Braga and Walton Goggins) and The Predator (starring Boyd Holbrook).It’s exactly what you think it is: A Predator versus an Alien! Fox Is Alien Vs. The original Predator movie starred Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers and Jesse Ventura, and was released in 1987. Set in the world of the Comanche Nation 300 years ago (specifically, the year 1719), the action-thriller from 20th Century Studios follows Naru (played by Roswell, New Mexico‘s Amber Midthunder), a skilled warrior who fiercely protects her tribe against a highly evolved alien predator.ĭan Trachtenberg ( 10 Cloverfield Lane) is the director. On Friday morning as part of Disney+ Day, which marks the second anniversary of the streaming service, it was announced that Prey, an all-new entry in the Predator movie franchise, is on track for a Summer 2022 Hulu premiere. History of the World, Part II Ordered at Huluĭid anyone have this on their Disney+ Day bingo card…?