As a longtime fan of comics, I of course am familiar with the series/miniseries on which the Alien vs. Predator franchise is based. I'll grant the first film was better than the sequel, but not by much in my opinion. It's not the concept that really bothered me (although, as with these and many other crossover comics, it always struck me as gimmicky). Take a minute and read the comments from these critics ⚠️ ↗ and you'll see what my major complaints are. The film overall was garish, not in the least bit suspenseful and ultimately forgettable, the character development was nigh zero, and plot was silly and contrived. And then there's the sequel . . . :)

The movie could have been better, no doubt, but compare it to the near-disasters that were Alien 3 (despite typically stellar performances by Sigourney Weaver and Charles Dutton) and Alien: Resurrection (despite being scripted by Joss Whedon and featuring some fun characters with great potential), and you see why I don't complain much about Alien vs. Predator. The movie fell short of what it could have been, no doubt, but did it outright suck? That I don't agree with.

As for its sequel, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, it certainly left much to be desired, as it shouldn't have continued from the rather silly ending of the first film like it did, and it was IMO put together a bit hastily to capitalize on the modest success of the first. Still, it was cool to see the xenomorphs rampaging around a modern small town on Earth rather than some unfamiliar setting as was always previously the case, and that single "Wolf" Predator who came to Earth to take the infestation down solo was pretty badass, much more so than the three teen rookie Predators from the first one. The Predalien was a nasty customer, and the only real threat to the "Wolf" Predator who waded through the standard xenomorphs with no more than minor difficulty, but it was still hardly a replacement for one of the xenomorph queens, who would have been a much greater challenge to the "Wolf" Predator. We also got a first ever glimpse of the Predator homeworld, so how cool was that? :-) Its ending also provided an important connection to the Alien mythos.

It was, IMO, a fun movie, despite how it, like the first one, could have been much better, though I agree it wasn't a great movie. However, it was still more fun to watch than Alien 3 (I will never forgive the screenwriters for doing what they did to Newt, Hicks, and Bishop before the initial title credits were finished due to simple expediency) and Alien: Resurrection (was Joss serious with that human/xenomorph hybrid who thought the Ripley clone was its mother?!), both of which had much more bad going for them than good due to studio interference in the original plans in both cases.

As much as I hate to admit it, from a purely filmmaking standpoint Alien 3 is actually a better film than both of the Alien vs. Predator films. However, as you point out, the film loses its humanity right off the bat by sacrificing Hicks, Bishop and especially Newt--who Ripley spent much of the Aliens film protecting and fighting for--for the sake of expediting and streamlining the plot. It was a huge slap in the face to fans of the series right off the bat, and it haunts the rest of the film. That was unforgivable. I might've cared about the secondary characters more if Hicks, Bishop and Newt had survived, but as it was there was little reason to invest emotionally in a planet full of criminals, who never really had an opportunity to display their humanity. This critic nails down everything that's bad about it. ⚠️ ↗

It was, IMO, a fun movie, despite how it, like the first one, could have been much better, though I agree it wasn't a great movie. However, it was still more fun to watch than Alien 3 (I will never forgive the screenwriters for doing what they did to Newt, Hicks, and Bishop before the initial title credits were finished due to simple expediency) and Alien: Resurrection (was Joss serious with that human/xenomorph hybrid who thought the Ripley clone was its mother?!), both of which had much more bad going for them than good due to studio interference in the original plans in both cases.

Yeah, that was just stupid.

Nevertheless, just as it was good for the Predator franchise to get back to its solo roots with the rather good Predators last year, it's great for the Alien franchise to do likewise, even if it is a film occurring in the same universe that does not focus on the xenomorphs (I am betting they make just a cameo near the end), as it will be great to get the skinny on the mysterious "Space Jockey" whose mummified remains we saw in the first Alien. I greatly look forward to Prometheus, and I would like you to review it after seeing it, if you are willing.

I think Prometheus is gonna be a great film, and though Ridley Scott's not saying as much, he has expressed interest before in making a film that explains the origin of the xenomorphs. Or maybe that was James Cameron. At any rate, I think we're going to get something like that. The title of the film (named after the main ship, I believe) also provides a bit of foreshadowing.