Played out in a series of Dark Horse comic books, a video game series and hinted at the end of Predator 2; another "dare to dream" grudge match becomes reality (and we can thank the success of last year's Freddy Vs. Jason for that); and while it's not quite as downright awesome as it could've been with a higher classification rating (it's only PG-13 - here's hoping for an unrated DVD release) and a bit more of a tight story, director/scripter Paul W.S. Anderson still manages to bring us an entertaining time that plays out like a live-action video game.

The story goes as follows. Lance Henriksen (playing the original "Bishop" before his company cloned him into the androids in the sequels) is the head of a huge corporation who detect an Ancient pyramid buried two-thousand feet deep in the Arctic. So he recruits a group of scientists and "specialists" (that includes Sanaa Lathan; our "heroine" and expert on survival) who desend into the depths only to find that the temple is filled with traps and served as a battleground for Predators who've been breeding the Alien species for thousands of years to have their own hunting ground on Earth (using humans as the makeshift "incubators"). Of course this happens every one hundred years and, of course, it's time for it to happen. What follows is some moments of battle goodness between the titular creatures, lots of dopey plotting (I still can't buy the Predator's actions in the finale - and that "shield" still makes me shake my head), and a generally enjoyable 100 minutes.

Let's get it straight though, this is no Aliens and it's no Predator. And as a longtime fan of the series I can proclaim I am a little choked at 20th Century Fox for "toning" down what could be the greatest "Vs." movie EVER by giving it a PG-13 rating to pull in the teenage crowd who probably aren't overly knowledgeable about the two series it's been taken from. Also, there's too much that doesn't sit well with me, including the fact the Predators (who are superior beings with lots of awesome toys) are taken care of too easily by Aliens (who are really just mindless creatures for the most part).

Overall this is an alright team-up - but if you're a longtime fan of both then it's a tad disappointing. But regardless of what I say, you're still going to see it. (Chris Hartley, 8/15/04)

Directed By: Paul W.S. Anderson.
Written By: Paul W.S. Anderson.

Starring: Sanaa Lathan, Raoul Bova, Lance Henriksen, Ewen Bremner.