More than four years ago, enterprising video game designers created a dream pairing for joystick jockeys, pitting creatures from the Alien films and two Predator flicks in a death struggle. Several sequels later, the Alien Vs. Predator series became so popular that a movie version was inevitable. Now it's here, although Twentieth Century Fox wouldn't allow advance screenings for critics' reviews. Go figure.
Anyway, the movie concerns an Antarctic expedition that discovers a huge pyramid under the ice, adorned with strange markings and body parts. Inside, the explorers discover a refuge for those face-hugging, gut-busting creatures that gave Sigourney Weaver fits through four Alien movies. Coincidentally, a group of teenage Predators (think Bob Marley with fangs and claws) arrive at the pyramid to slay aliens as a coming-of-age ritual.
The explorers, led by Lance Henriksen, Sanaa Lathan and Ewen Bremner, stay out of the way as much as possible while these two species battle for supremacy. The winner will take care of the human race later.
Alien Vs. Predator is written and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, a veteran of video game adaptations after Mortal Kombat and Resident Evil. Maybe he can explain how this new movie gets a PG-13 rating after the six previous films earned R ratings.
Has our threshold for violence and scary stuff been raised? Or has the desire to attract teenagers (and younger kids) to the box office effectively stripped Alien and Predator of their edge? Either way, as this film's tagline declares, we lose.
The return of Japanese anime
Some parents may prefer their children being exposed to Alien vs. Predator rather than the animated wallet-sucker Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Movie (PG). Like Pokemon, it's an imported Japanese television series that inspired card-carrying role-playing gamesmanship. Fans of the phenomenon are enthralled while the rest of us shake our heads.
The movie takes place after the series ended with Yugio Moto, a spike-haired teen warrior, defeating Seto Kaiba in the Battle City tournament. Now the ancient evil force Anubis has been awakened under Egyptian sands where it was trapped by Yugio's pharaoh ancestor. Anubis has something at its disposal called the Eighth Millennium Item, which it is using to destroy Yugio and command the world.
If none of this makes sense, don't even try to understand why some people care so deeply about it. The popularity of Japanese anime is certainly one factor, but even many of those aficionados cluck about the worldwide adoration of Yu-Gi-Oh!
