So why exactly is AVP1 so bad?

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by Tiberius, Mar 26, 2013.

  1. Tiberius

    Tiberius Commodore Commodore

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    Okay, I know it's not a great movie. But it gets panned a lot, and I could never understand the reason why.

    The only things I don't like are that it's rated too low, so it loses out on the violence and swearing. It would be good to see how some of the characters were killed, and Lex's line, "You are one ugly motherf..." was cheesy in the way it was cut off before they could have the swearing. And the music was mediocre as well. But that isn't enough to make it a bad movie.

    So can anyone tell me exactly why it was so bad?
     
  2. Mr Light

    Mr Light Admiral Admiral

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    I don't think it's a bad movie, it's very serviceable, but it's just not a memorable classic.
     
  3. Pingfah

    Pingfah Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    It's Citizen Kane compared to the second one.

    Still pretty naff though.
     
  4. Reverend

    Reverend Admiral Admiral

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    I can't remember the name of a single character in that film, nor can I remember a single quote. Not bad from a technical perspective, just painfully unimaginative and extremely forgettable. But yeah, it was genius compared to the sequel.

    As to why it gets panned so much, I think part of that has to do with how it really cheapened the Alien franchise. Predator too I suppose, but I wouldn't call that IP much of a franchise in it's own right outside of the AVP books, comics, games etc. And yeah, Alien Resurrection didn't do Alien many favours either, but AVP was just a barefaced commercial cash-in monster movie. It couldn't have been worse if it was Godzilla vs. King Kong.
     
  5. Tosk

    Tosk Admiral Admiral

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    The story stinks, the characters are boring forgettable nothings, the Alien lifecycle gets shit on, the Predators are fat and crappy looking, the Aliens look like rubbery shit, and many of the smaller story details make absolutely no sense whatsoever. In short, it's a terrible movie that is worse than every single movie in the individual Alien and Predator franchises.

    And somehow AVP2 is ten times worse. :)
     
  6. bullethead

    bullethead Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    It sucked all the awesomeness of having the two creatures fight by spending so much time following humans and killing two out of the three Predators in five minutes.

    For all of AVP:R's flaws, it at least made the Predator competitive.
     
  7. Starkers

    Starkers Admiral Admiral

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    What's not to love about a film that has a personality alien in 'Netty'?

    As has been said it's infinitely better than AVPR, it's probably better than Ressurection and, let's be honest, it treads quite similar ground to Prometheus except it makes more sense and cost a fraction to make!

    None of which makes it good...just better than several other films in the franchise.
     
  8. Admiral2

    Admiral2 Admiral Admiral

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    Um, Ditto.

    I liked Sanaa Lathan in it, and of course Lance Henriksen is THE MAN.

    i can't really think of anything i outright hated about it.
     
  9. Shazam!

    Shazam! Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    It's one of the absolute shittest things in existence.
     
  10. The Wormhole

    The Wormhole Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I only saw it when it was in theatres. While not anything spectular, it was decent enough entertainment, even if most of that entertainment s simply the novelty of seeing Aliens and Predators on screen together.

    But that novelty worse off with the second one. Now that was terrible and complete shit.
     
  11. Kelthaz

    Kelthaz Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I haven't seen the film myself, but I'd say the hatred comes more from the wasted potential of the film rather than the lack of quality.
     
  12. DalekJim

    DalekJim Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    It's horribly dull which is a shame as I'm a huge fan of Anderson's ludicrously unfaithful and confused Resident Evil movie series.
     
  13. lurok

    lurok Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I hear you :). RE movies & games are my guilty pleasure.

    Like all of Anderson's oeuvre, it's a string of serviceable if unimaginative action setpieces in search of a plot, characterization and emotional depth.
     
  14. DonIago

    DonIago Vice Admiral Admiral

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    It didn't do the Predators any favors by having, as noted, 2/3 of them die as quickly as they did, nor the fact that while they've apparently dealt extensively with the Aliens, they can't (or don't bother to?) determine when one of their own has been impregnated.

    I suspect the movie was also hurt by the rating, though the gore factor isn't something I personally find appealling.

    I would have rather seen a movie that featured the two races fighting on roughly equal footing, as opposed to the Aliens consistently seeming to get one up on the Predators.
     
  15. Ar-Pharazon

    Ar-Pharazon Admiral Premium Member

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    I had it on DVD and now on blu-ray, both as unrated editions.

    My only disappointment was that it wasn't a lot bloodier.

    I like it, not as much as Freddy vs Jason, but well enough.
     
  16. DalekJim

    DalekJim Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I dunno if I even feel guilty over my love for the RE movies. I just have huge fondness for that gawdy, cheapo, John Carpenter/ Roger Corman vibe Paul WS Anderson gave those films. They're not very well made but they're more interesting to watch than a lot of critically acclaimed movies.

    Beautifully naff.
     
  17. lurok

    lurok Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    How dare you even mention Carpenter and Anderson in same breath! :lol: (yes, even Escape From LA ;))
     
  18. Tiberius

    Tiberius Commodore Commodore

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    Could you expand on each of these points? How is the alien lifecycle shit on, for example?
     
  19. Saul

    Saul Vice Admiral Admiral

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    He means it's shit because the Alien Life cycle is sped up and the creature grows to full size in a very short time.

    Why the movie is bad. Well just watch 'Alien' and see why. One is a movie, the other is a popcorn flick for kids. Now I knew going into AVP that this is what I was gonna see but the concept sounded fun at the very least. But even in regard to the fun aspect it wasn't all that enjoyable.
     
  20. Caligula

    Caligula Vice Admiral Admiral

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    They've been doing that since Alien 3, which also sucks, but I'd be more likely to watch that movie again than either of the AVP movies.