Alien VS Predator by Steve Rudd

Whoever came up with the bright idea of violently pitting Alien against Predator sure deserves a pat on the back and a raucous round of applause, for this big-budget movie scores on many levels. Whereas the bulk of the Alien franchise has long relied on atmospheric tension rather than all-out action for its thrills, the excitement of the Predator movies is perfectly suited to Alien Vs. Predator, which pretty much pivots on breathtakingly relentless action set-pieces for its entirety.

Coming on like a manic cross between Tomb Raider, The Mummy and Sphere, if you are claustrophobic you might want to stay away from this, as the majority of it is set in an elaborate and gigantic pyramid that a bunch of scientists discover under an iceberg just off the edge of the Antarctic icesheet. Mineral deposit entrepreneur Lance Henrikson rounds up experts from as far afield as Nepal and Mexico and has them escorted to the mysterious pyramid.

Once on the iceberg, the team coincidentally discovers a chute down from the ice to the pyramid. Unprepared for foul play of an alien sort, it's bad enough running into a bunch of Aliens down there, let alone a group of Predators which have the ability to make themselves invisible. For once, us humans aren't really meant to be involved in the ensuing violence, as the Predators are fighting the Aliens. See, these Predators are meant to have been ruling mankind for centuries and - just like in Stargate - the ancient pyramid structures found in Egypt and Mexico (for example) are actually of alien origin, designed by the Predators.

Obviously the humans get in the way of the battle down below and many of them naturally wind up dead, due primarily to baby aliens giving them the kiss of death. As the end of the movie - and battle for survival - approaches, the sole surviving Predator actually teams up with the sole surviving human for a bit of bizarre bonding, and there is one scene in which the dread-locked beast takes off its mask as though it intends to kiss the one remaining woman. But that would have been taking things too far, so they just have sex instead. Only joking! The Predator merely reveals to her what it really looks like... and, trust me, its face is a sickening sight to behold.

Alien Vs. Predator must have truly cost a fortune to make. It's visually stunning like few other movies - and the special effects are fab. The Predator race ultimately triumphs over that of the other Alien one, and there really is no wonder: the Predator is perfectly suited for war what with its Spiderman-esque ability to fling lethal restraining nets onto its enemy, whilst being able to call upon a hugely effective and sharp boomerang that can behead an Alien before you can say Duck, Donald Duck!!! if needs be. And if neither of those neat little tricks works, there is always the mega rocket launcher that's conveniently strapped to the Predators' shoulder. Yep, if the Predator got beat he'd be a right old laughing stock, I tell you.

Oh, and just wait for the rather quite sentimental ending when the last remaining Predator (having successfully killed off all of the Aliens) is picked up by its mothership in a classy ET-styled moment of disbelief... especially since his mates actually stretcher the half-dead Predator aboard due to its injuries. Still, the final scene virtually guarantees that this Alien Vs. Predator movie is simply the first in a line of such movies, because what do you know - an Alien manages to worm its way onto the Predator's space-ship. Typical, eh?

But if any sequel that may materialise in the near future is even half as action-packed and as cool as this movie, I - for one - can't wait.

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