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'OK, here's the plan—we have to get out of here NOW!'

But there are moments in this film that are pretty cool; there is a fanboy inventiveness to certain fight scenes that is impossible not to admire, such as the one where a Predator cuts off the end of an Alien's tail and the Alien retaliates by swinging its tail and splashing everything in sight, including the Predator, with its acidic blood. And speaking as a fan of the first two Alien films, I must say that, given that the Alien franchise had become something of a joke by the time Alien Resurrection (1997) came along, and given that the original Predator (1987) was not all that different from the other gung-ho testosterone-pumped B-movies that Arnold Schwarzenegger churned out in the late 1980s, I think it's too late to complain that a film in either of these franchises cannot be taken all that seriously.

The real problem is that Lathan, as the woman who eventually bonds with the Predators, is pretty boring; she lacks Sigourney Weaver's strength and emotional complexity, and she lacks Schwarzenegger's vigorous charisma. She's easily outshone by Trainspotting's Ewen Bremner, who plays a bit of Alien bait who's always talking about his children, and by Henriksen, who is not the heartless jerk that businessmen tend to be in these films but is actually rather human. But the film never knows what to do with these characters, and it lets them go in a disappointing fashion. So in the end, we are left with a dull woman who is surrounded by puppets and voiceless actors covered in prosthetics—and it's never a good sign when the special effects give more memorable performances than the hero.

Talk About It

1. Why do you think the Predators treat some humans as prey while treating other humans as potential fellow hunters? How do you think Predators justify their inconsistent approach to what we might call "life issues"? Are there any parallels to this inconsistency in our own culture?
   
   
2. Some people would say there is a moral difference between Aliens, who are basically giant insects following their nature, and Predators, who are obviously intelligent creatures with some sort of moral, ethical or cultural code. Do you agree? Why or why not?
   
   
3. Is it possible that, if we found life on other planets (or if such life found us), those other species might bear the "image of God"? How would we tell?
   
   

The Family Corner

Alien vs. Predator is rated PG-13 "for violence, language, horror images, slime and gore." There is a fair bit of shooting and slashing, but most of the onscreen violence is between the space monsters (a Predator slashes an Alien's head in two, a baby Alien bursts from a Predator's chest, etc.), while the violence against humans tends to be suggested or kept offscreen. Similarly, most of the blood we see comes not from humans but from Aliens (and is therefore acidic) or Predators (and is therefore phosphorescent green). There is also some profanity, including one use of the F-word.

Photos © Copyright 20th Century Fox

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