Disjointed Digression

AVP!
When I saw the first trailer for this, I thought it was going to be horrible. When I saw the second trailer I thought it had potential and figured I’d see it. But when I bought the new special edition version of the original Predator movie and it came with a free ticket to AVP, I knew I was going to go see it. I have seen all 6 of the previous movies that lead up to AVP. For those playing the home game that’s Alien, Aliens, Predator, Predator 2, Alien 3, and Alien Resurrection. All R rated movies, by the way, whereas AVP was PG13, something I didn’t notice until I got the tickets at the cinema.
If I had to choose which species I liked more than the other, I think I would have to say the Predators. I like the Aliens too, but I think that I dig the Predators a little more. Anyway, I went into the movie with somewhat low expectations because it is set in modern day, but that is explained away by drawing on the some Predator mythos from the Predator 2. I really had to suspend my disbelief at the start of the film, when it was just humans on the screen, I thought it was kinda cheesy. Once the monsters showed up, I was hooked! The fight scenes kick major ass! A few times I caught myself saying “OoooH!” and “Damn!” and “COOL!” The special effects were good, and there were only a few “matrix” shots (where time “freezes” and the camera swings around a central point showing it from all sides) and they were used to great effect, in my opinion.
There were quite a few homages to previous films, including one to the whole monster vs. monster genre (in the beginning of the film someone is watching Frankenstein vs. Wolfman on TV). Lance Henriksen who played Bishop in Aliens and Alien 3, returns as Mr Weyland (who is the the co-founder of the company Ripley and crew works for in Alien) which I thought was a kinda cool inclusion to the mythos. There is a part with Lance Henriksen at the beginning of the movie that made me giggle, when you see the movie and if you remember Aliens you’ll catch it. There are other homages to the previous films “You’re one ugly Mother…” is said at one point. I won’t mention others, because I don’t want to spoil the movie for anyone.
I’d say that if you like the Predator and/or Aliens series check it out, I’d even say its worth full price!
If you just want an action flick, check it out as a matinee.

Oh yeah, the girl who sat next to me was a hottie!

This entry was posted on Friday, August 13th, 2004 at 5:46 pm and is filed under Movie Review. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.