Oh, there's an Alien vs. Predator 2 movie out?

I know some people were excited about the trailer for AvP2.  Seeing the two beasties battling it out on Earth, in America, in the present... it at least sounded like a better plot.  Plus, it was clearly going to be an R-rated movie, as the previous film should have been.  Still, it was curious that there wasn't a lot more publicity for the sequel than a red-banded trailer released online. 

That smell?  That's the smell of a studio dumping a turd of a movie near the holidays in hopes of scooping up cash from the people who are just hanging out a theater looking for something to watch.  The movie is doing terribly in the reviews, though it did manage to garner some $10 million on its Christmas Day opening.  My guess is that word of mouth will ensure that the film doesn't make too much beyond the opening day take.

I think the big problem is the lack of humans we care about.  Alien means little without Ripley’s character in it, which is why Alien is all the poorer in these post-Ripley films.  Predator was all about Arnold, not the Predator; the main problem with Predator 2 was that the good ensemble cast was headed up by Danny Glover.

What the AVP films needed, and what any future (fingers crossed) Predator film needs is a bankable star that people care about playing a likable character. Heck, put Keanu Reeves and Drew Barrymore up against a Predator and I’d go see it. (Yes, so would all the people who hate them…in hopes that they lose.)