- Adaptation Displacement: There are a good amount of people who are unaware that the movie was based on a comic book series. There are also those who are aware the comics exist, but assume that they were based around the Xenomorph skull easter egg in Predator 2 (the comic actually predates that film).
- Alternate Character Interpretation: Given that Predators neither talk nor emote very much, we don't know what Scar's thoughts were after being subdued and impregnated by a Facehugger. If he knew there was a Chestburster inside of him (which he should have known upon waking up, especially after finding the facehugger dead next to him), he might have been expecting to finish the hunt and reach his mothership in time to get it extracted, or he might have been playing straight the Zombie Infectee and denying it to himself or just pushing to postpone the inevitable outcome.
- Badass Decay: Contrary to popular belief, Predators and not Aliens are the ones that get watered down in this adaptation. Out of the three who appear in the movie, the first is killed without earning a single kill, while the second, although certainly gives an incredible fight, goes down against the same Alien. Even the third one, who gets to waste many, never wins a hand-to-hand fight except for one entirely reliant on a surprise chop. This is justified since they're Youngbloods conducting an initiation ritual, but it can still come across as unsatisfactory to their fans.
- Base-Breaking Character:
- Is Lex Woods a genuinely interesting female lead, or a cliched adventure film girl? One thing that makes her unique is being a non-white Action Girl protagonist with a basic attempt on a character arc even in an unambitious script, which was not that usual in the Turn of the Millennium (it was also the first time in either Alien or Predator and would not be done again until 2022). The most often heard complaint, barring that of not being Machiko Noguchi, is that she otherwise simply doesn't stand out too much nor is given much to do, especially in a film with Xenos and Yautjas facing off, where she has to be a believable action girl next to a badass space warrior several feet taller than her.
- Many fans were excited to see Lance Henriksen return to the franchise as Weyland, while others say his presence is pointless and just creates confusion over whether the film is meant to be in continuity with either franchise.
- Broken Base: Oh boy, just mention the never ending argument over the fact Xenomorph Grid killed two Predators, Chopper and Celtic, in a single scene and you will be stuck for hours. On one side, you have many who despise this decision as it severely undermines the Predators skill seen in the previous films as well as expanded material showcasing Predators single-handedly fighting off hordes of Xenos in worse situations. On the other side, there are those who don’t mind as it really plays up the threat the Xenomorphs pose in the film and the scene reminds you that one single Xeno is dangerous on it’s own. It also helps make the Xenomorphs a scary threat again after Aliens and post expanded material reduced them to mere cannon fodder. Many fans point out that both Predators are young-bloods who have no experience fighting Xenos as well as Celtic nearly winning the fight before he got cocky. Either way, it’s a hotly debated topic that still goes strong today.
- Critical Backlash: Many people feel this movie is actually a massively underrated product that only got buried by a controversial premise, a failure to live up to its enormous hype, and initial bad reviews followed by later viewers jumping on the bandwagon, which some think might have something to do with people in Hollywood losing jobs to European studios when director Anderson chose to shoot the film in the Czech Republic to save money. Notably, Doug Walker (who had already referenced the film in his Shining Mini-Series review as "decent") stated in his review that, while not perfect, the movie still did do a lot of things right and was very enjoyable, and even Andoni Garrido, who is typically ruthless with Anderson and his works, openly liked the film and considered it fairly entertaining and interesting. The fact that it was followed up with an even more controversial sequel only helped this general sentiment.
- Ensemble Dark Horse:
- The alien nicknamed "Grid" (because of the grid pattern on its head caused by a predator's net) has become very popular among viewers because it seems to be an exceptionally intelligent and formidable alien warrior. In its very first appearance, Grid kills two Predators on its own, immediately establishing itself as exceptional. It also manages to dodge being blasted by a Predator's shoulder-cannon, and it's seen leading other aliens into battle. The novelization even upgrades it from a normal, albeit skilled warrior to an "alpha" Xenomorph who is bigger and stronger than normal. Even people who didn't like the film admit that Grid was pretty damn cool.
- Celtic is a fan favorite Predator in the film. Thanks in large part to his beefy appearance and unique mask from the rest of his kind as well as being the de-facto alpha of the three young bloods. Not to mention, his fight scene with Grid is very memorable and he came so very close to winning if he didn’t get cocky.
- While most all of the humans are disliked, Adele Rousseau and Charles Weyland have fans thanks to Adele being the closest thing to a badass out of the secondary characters and Weyland for his Cool Old Guy personality (instead of the usual Corrupt Corporate Executive Asshole Victim the rest of the Weyland-Yutani representatives in the Alien films tend to be) and Lance Henriksen's performance.
- Graeme Miller is also a very well liked human character thanks in large part to his friendly and affable personality as well as his love for his children back at home. It’s also helped by the fact he nearly survived being face-hugged if only he wasn’t in a room full of them. Many hoped he would’ve survived and see his family again.
- Fanon Discontinuity: Even before Ridley Scott's similarly controversial prequels officially discontinued them, an offset of Alien fans prefers not to consider the AVP movies canon for the concept of Xenomorphs being already on Earth all along, because it cheapens Ellen Ripley's struggles and sacrifices to stop the alien from reaching Earth. Even with the Xenos getting wiped out at the end of both films there's still the Fridge Horror possibility of the Antarctic Queen surviving and freeing herself from the bottom of the ocean and that there could be more hidden Predator pyramids out there each containing a dormant Queen.
- Franchise Original Sin:
- The human characters of the film are often criticized for being bland, cliched and/or uninteresting. This complaint, however, goes back to the beginnings of the Alien franchise, as its human characters other than Ripley are typically a point of contempt even installments like the ever-loved Aliens (whose colonial marines often come across as grating due to being Too Dumb to Live) and the comparatively less liked Alien³ (where barely any character manages to be sympathetic or effectual in the first place).
- Mike Stoklasa, Jay Bauman and Rich Evans proposed
that in the early Alien films people had less of a problem with the human characters not having a lot of depth because at least Ridley Scott and James Cameron knew how to pick really charismatic actors that could spice things up to make their characters feel like they had more going on beneath the surface, whereas Paul W. S. Anderson's humans turned out like average Slasher Movie victims and the lead heroine has a lot of Dull Surprise moments. To say nothing about how beloved Dutch's team in the original Predator is despite those characters not being exceptionally deep on paper.
- Mike Stoklasa, Jay Bauman and Rich Evans proposed
- On another layer, the film is sometimes accused of containing too many cliches, even though the cliches used in this film are precisely the ones popularized by Alien itself, in particular the overarching "generic, MegaCorp-founded expedition members who happens to be epically ill-prepared for the aggressive alien lifeforms they encounter" plot. In fact, this premise is so representative of the Alien franchise that the latter's installments Prometheus and Alien: Covenant adhere to it even tighter.
- The human characters of the film are often criticized for being bland, cliched and/or uninteresting. This complaint, however, goes back to the beginnings of the Alien franchise, as its human characters other than Ripley are typically a point of contempt even installments like the ever-loved Aliens (whose colonial marines often come across as grating due to being Too Dumb to Live) and the comparatively less liked Alien³ (where barely any character manages to be sympathetic or effectual in the first place).
- Germans Love David Hasselhoff: The film was comparatively better received in several European countries.
- He's Just Hiding: Some people believe that the Alien Queen might have survived her fate, as it was simply being dragged to the bottom of the sea by a chain despite Alien Resurrection having established that Xenomorphs can adapt to underwater without any trouble.
- Improved by the Re-Cut: The Unrated Cut doesn't add much in the way of plot or character depth, but many fans prefer it over the bloodless theatrical cut due to the more graphic violence.
- Just Here for Godzilla: A lot of people who dislike the film tend to admit that the fights between Aliens and Predators were pretty cool, and they often watch the film specifically in order to see the creatures trashing each other.
- Mis-blamed: Sigourney Weaver and many fans believe the crossover killed the film franchise of Alien. Actually, the series was already a Franchise Zombie to begin with, with half of its installments having been mediocre at the best and outright panned at the worst, and clearly lacking a true plot direction beyond what wacky script could get adapted at the time. Even although Fox's intentions to make AvP did cause James Cameron and Ridley Scott to delay the prequel project that would be Prometheus, the latter eventually came to be a few years after the crossover and it wasn't particularly popular either (and its sequel, Alien: Covenant, even less). If anything, AvP might have actually rekindled the interest for its title franchises among younger audiences and/or in countries where there wasn't a great following.
- Narm: Some of the Xenomorph screeches sound an awful lot like pigs squealing, and it can take away the scare factor whenever they make that noise. Likewise the generic tiger roaring/growling SFX used for the Predators that makes them sound like the MGM lion can also feel distractingly cheap compared to the unique roars from the earlier Predator films.
- Narm Charm: Lex running side by side with Scar can look silly with how this smaller woman looks compared to the much taller alien warrior. However, there is still something awesome about them running together. Both lost their friends to the Xenos and now must stick together at all cost. For Lex, she had to keep up with Scar and prove herself worthy especially in this dangerous environment. It’s no wonder why she earns Scar’s respect.
- Older Than They Think: While one of the biggest complaints for the movie is often the film's PG-13 resulting in the movie being tame for franchises often rated R, however in terms of the Alien series, the first two movies are also fairly tame in regards for the violence despite their R rating. As both Alien and Aliens typically didn't fully show human characters being killed on-screen by the Xenomorphs (the chestburster being the exception) with characters either typically dragged away, scenes cutting away to a Gory Discretion Shot or having the actual wounds (mainly headbites) being a Freeze-Frame Bonus. Most of the more brutal deaths in the first two movies typically had androids or the Xenomorphs themselves on the receiving end.
- One-Scene Wonder: The Ancient Predator, especially for Predator fans.
- One True Pairing: Scar/Lex is probably the only ship with any significant number of fans to have emerged from the AvP movies. The producers even said they imagined Scar as a "romantic leading man", while the author of the novelization couldn't resist the temptation to introduce some jokes and teasing.
- Signature Scene:
- Nothing represents better this saga than the visual contraposition of a stern Predator mask and a slavering Alien head, which happens several times through the two movies. It was actually used for the first's poster.
- Scar's high-flying spinning spear attack to save Lex from the Alien Queen might be the most memorable stunt in the entire film.
- So Okay, It's Average: What the final consensus on the first film seems to be. Has enough cool Alien and Predator action to make it worth a watch, but considering the films that it was following and the strong concept of the very film, it should have been much, much better.
- Spiritual Adaptation: Even after the similarly controversial Prometheus came along, this movie is still possibly the closest to a film adaptation of H. P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness we have in modern cinema, with the Predators pretty much taking the role of the Elder Things (being the more human-behaving aliens, bleeding green blood) and the Xenomorphs that of the Shoggoth (eldritch monsters that can change appearance and rebelled against their masters). The novel was actually one of the inspirations behind this movie.
- Special Effect Failure:
- While the suit effects for Grid and the other Xenomorphs are up to the franchise's standards, those on Scar and his tribe look fairly cheap, with limited facial articulation and rubbery skin.
- Due to the film's Troubled Production, the CGI is extremely varied in quality, with some shots looking okay for the mid-2000s and others looking rushed and unfinished due to the short turnaround required for their completion. This affects the Xenomorphs greatly, as on top of the overall quality being uneven, their designs don't match with that of the suits, particularly around the legs.
- They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Adele Rousseau establishes herself early as a Properly Paranoid Action Girl by bringing a handgun with her into the pyramid. Sadly, she ends up as a Faux Action Girl because she's among the very first characters to die, and to make it worse never even got to see the Aliens or Predators which entered the pyramid right after her departure. Many viewers and critics responded with disappointment that she was robbed of a chance to do anything.
- They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
- In early stages of the script, after Scar is impaled by the Alien Queen, he tries to stab himself with his dagger to take the Chestburster inside of his body with him, while speaking for the first and last time to tell Lex her earlier line of "The enemy of my enemy is my friend", and in some stages he succeeded with Lex' help. It's unanimous that this would have been brilliant to see, with some believing it might have marked a significant difference in how the film ended up being received.
- People had a similar opinion on the final few minutes of the film as a whole, with the idea of a Predator and a human trying to survive in a Xenomorph-infested building, as it combined similar elements from both major franchises between the female lead rising to the occasion as a competent leader, the low-supplies guerilla warfare, and a commentary on how life is often commodified and thrown away for the sake of a select few's gain due to both why the building existed, and why the research team were investigating it.
- In early stages of the script, after Scar is impaled by the Alien Queen, he tries to stab himself with his dagger to take the Chestburster inside of his body with him, while speaking for the first and last time to tell Lex her earlier line of "The enemy of my enemy is my friend", and in some stages he succeeded with Lex' help. It's unanimous that this would have been brilliant to see, with some believing
- Too Cool to Live:
- The general opinion people have of Adele Rousseau, with most reviewers stating that she's the only character they liked. So of course she's one of the first to die.
- Scar, for somewhat obvious reasons.
- Uncertain Audience: After all the Executive Meddling that shaped its production, the movie turned out to be a product that no fanbase actually wanted to watch. Alien fans hated such a crossover to begin with, with James Cameron and Sigourney Weaver speaking heavily against it (although the former eventually came around on the movie after seeing it) and regular people decrying the concept as a disjointed freakshow; Predator lovers generally didn't care about it either, with few of them being fans of Alien to be interested in the faceoff; and the fans of the AvP comic books, who by all logic should have not failed to be hyped, were turned away too when it was revealed the film's story had nothing to do with the comics and took place on modern day Earth instead of the familiar space setting. At the end of the day, even with all the panning by critics and fans, it is a moral victory that the film still managed to be economically successful and gain a healthy Critical Backlash over the years.
- Vindicated by History:
- Much like how Alien³ and Resurrection got their cult fanbases, AvP is shaping up to gain its own after being lambasted on release and regarded as among the worst parts of both franchises for years, with opinion slowly improving, leaning more towards it simply being extremely front-loaded with all the worst things about it, and if you can muscle your way through the first half hour, the rest is worth it.
- Aside from the aforementioned flaws, the visual effects used to portray the Xenomorph Queen and the other aliens (which were actually done with practical puppetry and suit work recycled from Alien Resurrection, with a wise usage of the best CGI available whenever needed) are considered some of the best in the entire Alien franchise, especially in comparison to examples like Alien: Covenant's perceivedly weak CGI.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/YMMV/AlienVsPredator2004
Go To