As last year's surprise box office hit Freddy Vs Jason proved, if you package two iconic big screen villains in the same film, the box office takings can be considerable.

That would seem to be the impetus for Alien Vs Predator, Paul WS Anderson's high velocity romp pitting the two extra-terrestrial nasties against one another in an all-out, gore-laden bloodbath.

When a giant, pyramid-shaped structure is photographed by satellite beneath the Antarctic wastes, billionaire entrepreneur Charles Weyland (Lance Henriksen) finances a scientific expedition to the frozen continent.

He hires plucky guide Alexa "Lex" Woods (Sanaa Lathan), who has vast experience in icy conditions, to lead the expedition.

She is given a matter of days to train her raw recruits, who include archaeologist Sebastian De Rosa (Raoul Bova) and geologist Graham Miller (Ewen Bremner), as well as a pair of gun-toting heavies, Stafford (Colin Salmon) and Verheiden (Tommy Flanagan).

Venturing deep below the ice, the explorers soon realise to their horror that the subterranean structure is in fact a sacrificial chamber, home to the dreaded aliens.

Before you can scream "run for your life", face-huggers are flying through the air, impregnating a number of the expedition, thereby giving birth to the acid-blooded aliens. The few who survive the initial onslaught seek refuge in the pyramid, the walls of which move every ten minutes, like some deadly giant puzzle box.

However, finding a safe path out of the structure is the least of the group's worries: three predators, who have come to Earth to hunt the aliens as part of a bloodthirsty rites-of-passage, are also underground. They must kill all of the aliens to attain warrior status and these skilled hunters will not let a few pesky humans stand in their path to glory.

Alien Vs Predator is a largely entertaining thrill-ride, with a few shocks. However, the plot is nonsense; the characters' ability to fully grasp the situation is truly remarkable.

Director Anderson rushes through the set pieces, drenching the sets in viscous gloop and blood as the bland supporting cast falls victim to the dual extra-terrestrial threat. Lathan's gung-ho heroine is the only character among the human interlopers to come close to three dimensions, styling herself as a Ripley-esque avenging angel for the laughable slam bang finale.

Special effects and make-up throughout are excellent and the ambiguous if cheesy ending leaves the airlock ever so slightly ajar for a rematch.

Updated: 09:51 Friday, October 22, 2004