AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004)
★★★ — AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004)
By 2004, both the Alien and Predator franchises had been running for the better part of two decades, each spawning sequels of diminishing returns and a shared mythology that had been quietly brewing in comics, novels and video games since the late 1980s. The idea of pitting the two iconic creatures against one another had been gestating in popular culture for years before it finally made it to the big screen, and when it did, it arrived courtesy of Paul W. S. Anderson, a director whose career has been defined by a particular brand of genre filmmaking: polished but unremarkable, crowd-pleasing rather than prestige. You can see his fingerprints across a string of franchise pictures, including several entries in the Resident Evil series (here's his Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010) and Death Race (2008), if you want a sense of the range). AVP is very much in that same wheelhouse: a film built around a concept rather than a script, produced with enough money to look presentable and enough ambition to at least try something with the material.
The production itself is a multinational affair, shot largely at Studio Babelsberg in Germany and making use of facilities in the Czech Republic, which was a popular destination for big-budget productions in that era (a film like Van Helsing (2004) went down a similar road that same year). The premise places a team of researchers and mercenaries on a remote Antarctic expedition, following a heat signal to a buried structure that turns out to be considerably older, and considerably more dangerous, than anyone anticipated. The screenplay draws loosely on ideas from the expanded universe material, though it transplants the action to Earth rather than the far-flung settings fans of that canon might have expected. Anderson also co-wrote the script, working from a story by Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett, the latter a credit that nods back to the original Alien's origins. The film runs a tight 101 minutes and carries the memorable tagline: whoever wins, we lose.
Leading the human cast is Sanaa Lathan as Alexa Woods, a guide and survival expert who becomes the film's reluctant protagonist. She brings a grounded physicality to the role that the script doesn't always reward. Lance Henriksen, no stranger to this corner of the science fiction universe, appears as Charles Bishop Weyland, a billionaire industrialist whose name will ring bells for anyone who spent time with the earlier Alien pictures. Ian Whyte takes on the physical demands of the lead Predator role, a performance conducted entirely through movement and costume. Raoul Bova and Ewen Bremner round out the supporting ensemble, though neither is given a great deal to work with beyond their function in the plot.
Alright, hear me out, it’s really not as bad as people make out. Sure, it’s no Aliens or Predator, and yeah, it’s been Hollywood-ised to hell with PG-13 sanitisation, but AVP does a decent job of expanding the lore. The idea of Predators using Xenomorphs for hunting rites is actually cool sci-fi world-building. The ancient pyramid, the timeline crossover, it all adds a bit of mythos to both franchises. The characters are paper-thin, the dialogue is ropey, and the CGI’s a bit dodgy in places, but the Predator-Xenomorph fights are very entertaining. And that human/Predator team-up toward the end is proper comic book nonsense in the best way. It’s nowhere near a masterpiece, but it’s a fun crossover with enough new ideas to warrant its place in the franchise. Underrated for what it is.
That said, I'll stand by this one as a decent Friday night watch rather than something to be embarrassed about. The crossover premise could have been a complete mess, and the fact that it holds together at all is worth something. For me, it sits comfortably alongside other mid-2000s blockbusters that never quite got their due, films built more on spectacle and invention than on craft or character. If you go in expecting lore expansion and creature action rather than a proper horror film, you'll get your money's worth. Sometimes that's enough.
Rating: ★★★ | Year: 2004 | Watched: 2025-04-10
Trailer
▶ Watch the official trailer for AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004) on YouTube
Where to watch
Watch in the UK
Stream: Disney Plus
Rent: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Buy: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi
Watch in the US
Rent: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Buy: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Physical: Amazon US
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Related on Movies With Macca
More from Paul W. S. Anderson: Resident Evil: Retribution (2012) · Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016) · Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010) · Death Race (2008)
More from Czech Republic: Van Helsing (2004) · The Kite (2019) · Underground (1995) · Aferim! (2015)
More from the 2000s: Kirikou and the Wild Beasts (2005) · Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) · Daredevil (2003) · Apocalypto (2006)
More adventure: Alice in Wonderland (1951) · The Eagle (1925) · Louisiana Story (1948) · The General (1926)
More science fiction: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) · Fantastic Planet (1973) · Nightmare City (1980) · The Long Walk (2025)
