I just dug up My Copy of AVP and decided to watch it again after so many years and I got to say: I actually like it.
AVP has all the proper pacing of an alien or predator movie. It starts off slow and lets you get to know the characters a bit before they are killed off. Alexa woods was a good character, I don't care what anyone says. We got to know her profession, her strong and determined personality, a little background on her and her father. If that's not a well rounded character what the hell is? I know more about her than I ever did about Ripley. Charles Bishop Weyland was also a great character; His determination to leave his mark on the world was very compelling to me. One Complaint I can't stand from people is the one where people say Charles ruins continuity because he shows up in Alien 3. People who say this are retarded, never in Alien 3 does Bishop II ever say his name, he never said his name was Charles, so obviously he's Charles' descendent. The concept of Predators helping humans build pyramids didn't bother me at all, it's a well known theory that humans built the pyramids with alien help so I don't understand why predator fans are so offended by the idea, since it turns out the only reason they built the pyramids was so they could hunt Aliens. Unlike AVPR, the Aliens threat to the world was felt; you could feel the desperation in Sebastian as he says "They mustn't reach the surface." Paul Anderson knew that the greatest threat was the aliens reaching earth, so he didn't put them on earth; he put them 2000 feet beneath the earth, like a ticking time bomb ready to go off. People say the aliens being on earth ruins continuity, again, I don't know why. The aliens were 2000 feet beneath the arctic ice and then get blown to ashes, no evidence. So I don't get that complaint either. The strause brothers just dumped the aliens in any town U.S.A and guess what happens? NOTHING. The aliens just hang out in sewers and hide in bushes, whatever happened to spreading across the globe? The sets in AVP are really impressive and the whole film looks great, almost every shot in AVP is a money shot, where's the shots in AVPR look like a kid playing with his daddy's camera in the dark.
Now let's get to the biggest reason I like this movie: it lives up to its title: 'Alien vs. Predator'. Unlike 'Aliens Vs Predator: Requiem', which should have been called "Predator Slaughters Aliens: Retarded." I'd hate to turn this thread into another "Which creature got the short end of the stick?" thread. But let's be honest here, this is an Alien vs. Predator film, so logically, both sides are going to have to deal with losses. Both sides are going to fight each other, both sides are going to have their wins and both sides are going to have their losses. In all the years that I've been here I've never seen any Alien fan complain about the alien's treatment in AVP, when they have more of a right to be upset than the predator fans.
Let's look at the score board.
Alien humiliating moments:
1. Alien gets kicked into a pillar.
2. Alien gets his tail cut off.
3. Alien gets smashed into a pillar.
4. Alien gets swung around by his leg and smashed into more pillars and tossed across a room.
5. Alien gets caught in a net and smashes through the floor.
6. Alien gets his head cut off in a second.
7. Flashback of an Alien head on a predator spear.
8. 3 predators take out a dozen aliens.
9. Scar throws an alien into a statue.
10. Alien gets killed with a spear by a human.
11. Alien gets tuned into a shield and spear.
12. Alien gets its brains blown out by a human.
13. Scar kills 3 aliens in the hallway.
Predator humiliating moments:
1. Gill gets killed by an alien and then tossed aside.
2. Celtic gets tackled to the ground.
3. Celtic gets tripped by Grid.
4. Celtic gets killed after a long and brutal fight. (How is that humiliating?)
5. 3 predators get killed by a dozen aliens. (Again, how is that humiliating?)
6. Scar gets tackled by an Alien. (Which he immediately responds by tossing the alien into a statue. I wish the aliens in AVPR had that response time.)
7. Scar gets saved by Lex. (A favor he returns later on.)
And to this day, I still can't wrap my head around the fact that Predator fan boys still think Paul Anderson was a biased alien fan boy. Paul W.S Anderson gave us a fair and balanced movie and anyone who thinks otherwise is a selfish predator fan boy. I could make a list of all the humiliating moments for both creatures in AVPR but I think you all know that it would be completely pointless and one sided. Also, here's an interesting thing to think about: did a predator ever get killed by a human in AVP? No. Did an Alien? Twice. Think about that the next time you want to call Paul Anderson biased. It's just beyond me, why predator fans keep whining like they were delt a horrible injustice. Apparently, if you show any kind of respect to the aliens, you're an alien fan boy. This wasn't Predator 3 so stop acting like the predators needed to be treated better; Aliens need their moments of glory too.
AVPR is the worst movie in the series; it had absolutely nothing going for it, except, maybe, a nice predator suit.