I just got back from seeing Alien Vs. Predator. I had read some of the reviews before the movie and I thought I would be a little disappointed. Not true! While I don’t think there are any Oscars coming out of this movie, it did have all the elements that make up a good Alien movie.
Alien Vs. Predator is more like the Alien series than it is like the Predator series. The cinematography was similar to all of the other Alien movies. The acting was similar in both series, so there is nothing to compare. You could see more of the creatures that in any other movie throughout either series.
Some of the reviews that I read talked about how seeing something directly reduces the fear of it. I would disagree. The scenes induced the same amount of anxiety that I remember when watching the Alien(s) movies for the first time many years ago.
Overall I have to say that it is a great movie, and does justice to the two series that precede it (excluding Predator-2 which was crap).