Alien vs. Predator

There are some movies these days that just don't stand a chance when people notice something or someone about them that they don't like. Given today's angst-filled audience's hypercritical viewpoints on EVERYTHING, there are shows that could literally shine as works of Hollywood art, yet will probably be villified into obscurity. AVP (Aliens versus Predator) may just be one such movie.STORY-5 StarsFor any of you who are reading this review and haven't yet seen AVP, I give you fair warning that the next few paragraphs give away several spoilers and might hamper your enjoyment, so you might consider skipping over it to the next section.The year is 2004. Low Earth Orbit. There's an object nearby, silhouetted in sunlight and coming closer. Memories of another story come floating to the fore. That shape... so familiar... is it... a queen? It passes under your field of view and you discover that, no, it's actually a satellite and the logo on the side identifies it as belonging to the Weyland corporation. Floating high above the Antarctic, it notices something and decides to relay that information to the satellite tracking station. The attendants check the data and find a heat bloom approximately 2000 feet underneath the ice. Nothing at all should be there. Curious...Over the course of the next few days, a team is assembled from all over the world, including a guide, a drilling team, security and archeologists, to begin an expedition, led by CEO Weyland himself (played by Lance Henriksen), whose company is a pioneer in the field of robotics, to discover what exactly this potential prize is. The only thing known about it is that it's a pyramid of gigantic size and the markings on it suggest it may have been constructed by the world's first civilized culture. The job is rushed, against the advice of the guide, on the assumption that other companies are on their way as well, in an effort to be the first to stake a claim.When they get there, they discover a path already made to the site that wasn't there the day before, set at a perfect 30 degree angle. No one on the team understands how this can be, because there is no technology found on Earth that could possibly have dug to such a depth in that short a time. The mystery deepens.On site, they enter the pyramid and discover a sacrificial chamber, which heightens the brooding sense of uneasiness among the crew. Something dark happened here in the past. Further in, they uncover a sarcophagus bearing a lock based on the Long Count, the ancient Aztec calendar. Inside, there are three objects that nobody can identify. They look completely out of place, in that they appear much more advanced technologically than the surrounding architecture indicates they should be. Removal of these objects initiates a periodic shifting of the pyramid's interior, cutting off the team members from each other, turning the search into a hunt for a way out to safety. In addition, the team finds that they are now being hunted by two other species of creatures, neither of which are from this world. And both of them are definitely hostile.Over the course of the movie, it's discovered that the first species of extra-terrestrial, colloquially known as Predators, found Earth many thousands of years ago and taught humanity the rudiments of civilization. In return, they demanded subjects to submit themselves to become hosts for the second species of creature. These creatures were used as quarry for a hunt, which purpose was to usher in the Predator adolescents to adulthood; a rite of passage in order to be accepted as full members of their specific clan. This pyramid was their ritual training ground, used for just that purpose. In the event that the Aliens got out of control (a likely scenario given their instinctive aggressiveness; indeed sometimes it was hard to tell who was hunting who), the entire site was obliterated.The Aliens end up getting out of control.The guide (the last surviving human) ends up teaming up with the last surviving Predator and narrowly escape the destruction of the site just ahead of the blast wave. Once outside, the human is marked with the symbol of the Predator's clan, thereby being accepted into it, and they cooperate to bring down the Queen Alien. During the battle, the Predator is killed. His corpse is brought onboard his clan's ship for his return to the homeworld and the human ends up going her own way, now ready for whatever the future will bring.The last scene aboard the Predator's starship is that of the dead adolescent, lying on a slab next to a porthole looking out over the Earth.He's at peace......and then his chest suddenly ruptures outward, exposing the head of a newborn Alien. Segway into 'AVP: Requiem'.End of SpoilerThis movie and its sequel came about because of a short scene in Predator 2, where Danny Glover's character, Los Angeles police detective Lt. Hardiman, entered a hidden Predator clan ship in search of a member of the clan which had butchered his entire squad. On one wall, there hung several skulls; trophies of kills that clan had made. One of the skulls was that of a warrior Alien.I remember all of the hushed whispering that erupted when that scene showed in the theater and myself thinking "Oh yeah!". Soon after, Dark Horse Comics starting running a series involving confrontations between the Predators and Aliens set in the future, when humanity had branched out to the local stars. I knew then that something was going to come of that and wasn't at all surprised when AVP trailers started broadcasting during prime time tv.And yes, when I saw this movie in theaters, I enjoyed it immensely. Now that the extended cut has come out on DVD, I enjoy it even more.This movie got a bad rap because 1.)Paul Anderson directed it and 2.) there weren't a lot of big-name actors starring in it.I remind everyone that none of either the Alien or Predator movies starred first-tier actors when they originally aired (except for the very first Predator, and that one was touted as being a 'Schwarzenegger movie' typical of the style of 1980s shoot 'em up action films), yet all of those actors did first-rate jobs with the tasks they were given. 'Alien' was Ridley Scott's second directorial effort and 'Aliens' was also Jim Cameron's second time as a first-unit director. 'Alien 3' was David Fincher's first feature film after a bout of directing music videos. The purpose for this was so that viewers would focus on the stories rather than who was in it. They succeeded. Despite the various negative reviews, each of the movies (depending on which one it was) has collected a cult following that's stood the test of time for the past thirty years. This movie and its sequel allow both franchises to survive on their own, without having the fame factor of either Sigourney Weaver or Arnold Schwarzenegger propping them up, because the story behind each is bigger than either of the characters those two actors portray.VISUALS-5 StarsThere may be some scenes in this movie that seem somewhat cliched, but these scenes are in there to remind folks exactly which background universe the story takes place in. AVP also took the characters in the show and made them more than just faceless, nameless victims of the slaughter and I applaud the director for doing so. Some people also decry the use of CGI in today's movies. I hate to say it (well... no, not really), but CGI is here to stay. Might as well get used to it. I personally have no problems with it. I remember the old way they used to do special effects, and the photorealistic CGI visuals look a LOT more natural in the scene. The ones in this movie look awesome. Ian Whyte, the actor portaying the main Predator, has gotten the movements of the creature down exactly. I watch this and it reminds me of Kevin Peter Hall's movements in the original 1987 show starring Arnold.SOUND-5 StarsSound in movies these days has only gotten better with digital clarity and the score and ambient effects in this show fit both franchises to the letter.SPECIAL FEATURES-5 StarsThis DVD includes both the theatrical version and the unrated extended cut on disc 1. The special features included on disc 2 are pretty meaty and detail the production of this movie from start to finish. It also shows the comic series AVP is based on from Dark Horse, the 'Monsters in Miniature by Todd McFarlane' featurette and the AVP HBO special.OVERALL-5 StarsDespite what many might say, I feel that this IS a worthy addition to both the Alien and the Predator backdrops. It shows us that we may not actually be alone in this universe and what we come across out there might not be that friendly. Prepare yourselves for what you may find.Two Thumbs Up.

While most critics have dripped acid on Paul Anderson's "Alien vs. Predator," apparently due to prima facie objections to the very idea of a non-courtroom-drama with the word "versus" in the title, I was pleasantly surprised by AVP.Is AVP as great as 1986's "Aliens"? Nope. But I think comparing AVP to "Aliens" is to employ the wrong standard. AVP is not competing with that film, in much the same way that "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" was not competing with the sensational "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan." No, "Star Trek VI" was competing with the largely reviled "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier." Similarly, AVP is really competing with the oppressively dark, fundamentally unappealing "Alien 3" and strangely goofy, utterly unexciting "Alien Resurrection"; the last Predator movie, 1990's "Predator 2," was released so long ago and did such middling box office that it hardly figures in the popular imagination anymore.Some have complained about AVP's characters, arguing that they're mere sketches compared to the colorful, indelible personalities that James Cameron provided us in "Aliens," and John McTiernan gave us in "Predator." While true, it's worth pointing out that the original "Alien" "suffers" from the same "problem," so much so that a defensive Ridley Scott once said, "The characters in 'Alien' are as defined as they need to be, no more and no less." Just as the characters in "Alien" were largely, nay, archetypically defined by their professions and their professionalism (or lack thereof), the characters in AVP are defined by their jobs and the proficiency with which they do them.Some have also complained that many of AVP's characters are dispatched too quickly. However, that's part of what makes AVP interesting. It's a real throwback to horror films of yesteryear, films that weren't afraid to toss virtually everyone to the wolves. Just when you begin to think, "Oh, Anderson's spent too much time developing this character, giving him/her good lines and telling us stuff about his/her past, to just off him/her," that person buys it. It's delightfully perverse, and it's what the horror genre has historically been all about.Then there are the complaints about the film's storyline, with some asserting that it's too simple (e.g. humans find buried pyramid; humans enter buried pyramid; sh*t hits fan) and others arguing that it overshoots the mark (e.g. humans enter buried pyramid and discover that it's remarkably complex, revealing all manner of information about the origins of human civilizations, namely that the titular Predators, much like the Monolith from "2001: A Space Odyssey," made a marked impact on the future course of homo sapiens long ago). But I had few problems with the film's premise. Even the rather silly, pulpy quality of AVP's grander narrative conceits didn't bother me that much. (Then again, such conceits didn't really bother me in "Stargate" either.) And the simpler aspects of AVP's plot were its strongest suits, for they grounded the movie in a kind of gritty, easily understood "reality," the kind of reality that was very effective in John Carpenter's better actioners, from "Assault on Precinct 13" to "Escape from New York."Yes, it's true that AVP never achieves the epic heights of "Aliens," the best film from either franchise, a film so complex and dynamic that it required a running time of 137 minutes to tell its tale. But "Aliens" was, and remains, an exceedingly special film. "Aliens" is the like the filmic equivalent of one of those outsized rock songs from the 1970s, such as Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven"; AVP, at approximately 100 minutes in length, is more like a Ramones tune: short but sweet.In fact, two of AVP's biggest problems seem to be the result of breakneck-speed sloppiness: 1. the Alien lifecycle is inexplicably abbreviated, with chestbursters making their nasty debuts in tens of minutes rather than tens of hours; 2. the Predators' long-range weapons (e.g. spears and throwing stars) are acid-resistant, yet their close-quarters materiel (e.g. wrist blades and body armor) are not.Regarding Issue One: I've read that Anderson accounted for this in the film, explaining that the Predators had injected bizarre hormones into the Alien Queen they'd captured to seed their battlegrounds, causing the eggs she produced to contain embryos that matured far more quickly than usual. This expository material was allegedly ordered cut by Fox because they felt it needlessly slowed the pacing of the film. If true, Anderson must be given a pass by the legions of angry fanboys who've ripped him a new one over this.Regarding Issue Two: According to fanboys familiar with the AVP comic books, this is explained therein thusly: the Predators must earn every acid-resistant armament they receive. So if the Preds in the AVP movie didn't have acid-resistant wrist blades or body armor, that's on them. But it's also on Anderson to have somehow explained this in his film. However, I'm willing to let Anderson slide here, as the best characters in AVP to have provided this explanation were the Preds themselves, a decidedly taciturn group of individuals.All in all, AVP did its job. With the exception of a handful of (de rigueur) overly-jittery/super-slow shutter-speed shots in otherwise well-made action sequences, AVP is a polished piece of work. Thanks to Anderson's direction, the ADI FX Workshop was forced to abandon the Mr. Hanky-looking design of the creature from "Alien 3," as well as the beastly, overly slimy appearance of the extraterrestrials from "Alien Resurrection," and provide the silver screen with its best looking xenomorphs since 1986. Moreover, if you can't bring yourself to buy it when Sanaa Lathan's Lex throws in with and throws down alongside the last-standing Big Ugly Motherf*cker, nor get certifiably juiced when the Alien Queen finally extricates herself from Predator-imposed bondage and goes on an angry rampage worthy of a T-Rex in a "Jurassic Park" movie, then I'm afraid AVP simply isn't for you.

(A full review of Alien vs. Predator will hopefully be available soon on my own film & TV review site - link in my Amazon profile!)For a long time I'd had little interest in the Alien vs. Predator films. I'm a big fan of the Alien franchise, and really enjoyed the first Predator film, so the idea of a crossover sounded like fun. But let's just say the reputation of this film and its sequel are not encouraging so for a long time I just didn't bother. But then I watched Alien Resurrection for the first time and... thoroughly hated it. It felt tired, ugly and a waste of the time and talent of everyone involved. So I thought, surely that Alien vs. Predator film can't be worse than that right?And thankfully I was right. I went in with an open mind and was pleasantly surprised. From the title alone, you know that this film isn't trying to be high art and that's completely fine. I'm not going to try and argue that this is some kind of masterpiece, as yes the whole premise is schlocky B-movie stuff, the characters are hardly extraordinary and the direction could be tighter. But I'm certainly not prepared to call it bad. Both the Predators and xenomorphs are done justice, the confrontations are pretty decent and at just under 100mins, it doesn't outstay its welcome.Honestly, I would take this film over Alien Resurrection any day, and maybe even Alien 3 for that matter. It's not ground-breaking or mind-blowing, but it's a fun film, and if you've been avoiding it because of the bad word of mouth, I'd honestly say give it a try: it might surprise you.

Combining horror monsters in the same movie has resulted in some real turkeys. However, this is the exception to the rule, and how! This brings in the Weyland Corporation from the Alien films as the organiser of an expedition to Antarctica. What they find is a pyramid complex under the ice, which of course they simply have to explore.Unfortunately, they also discover not one monster lurking around but two. The poor puny humans are no match for these two warring alien species. And just when you think the survivors have got away... but no, I won't spoil the twist in the tail of this movie!I avoided this film for years because of this premise. Then it was shown on late night TV, and I couldn't believe what I was seeing - it actually works brilliantly. Bought the dvd and watched it over and over. This is going to be a classic, and the first of its genre (two monsters in the same film) to actually work.Info: Weyland (also Wayland, and Weland) is a legendary smith in ancient North European mythology. Worth checking out.

Quick prompt delivery service. Compelled to buy this as a rewatch classic not viewed for years on dvd version and now blu ray. Since engrossed the alien franchise took a shine to drawn to this movie combining rivalry between two alien species as humans are caught up in battle ,a twist in tail ,plots a bit thin,would have preferred more predators keeping arse giving some cutting edge,maybe developing characters a bit more engaging. Epic fight scenes,bonding displayed instants,quality effects some suspense adrenalin.

Okay so this film is not an award winner, it doesn’t have any big name actors (no one was worthy enough to get on the front DVD cover), its a kind dopey idea... and yet it actually works. It doesn’t try to be anything more than a dumb action film. But its paced really well, the action is very good, the sets are great and the Aliens and Predators look fantastic. Within its constraints there’s little this film does wrong.If you’re after a Saturday action film where you can just switch off, this is a great one. Full of action, full of Aliens and Predators... just a great popcorn film. It may not be a worthy film but then many classics started off as B movies anyway.

I bought this because it was cheap and had guiltily kind of enjoyed the film when I saw in terrestrial TV.I'm a huge fan of Alien and Predator and the idea of this mash was the kind of thing that tickled my sci-fi geek gland so i thought I may as well buy the bluray. I do think the premise for this film is surprisingly strong; The idea that we worshiped the Predators as Gods and they used humans back in the day to hatch alien warriors to battle with was a stroke of genius I felt.It's the execution that lets it down. They characters are heavily stereotyped and the way the plot pans out is a bit weak. Possibly the biggest disappointment was the fact that just 1 alien warrior was a pretty even match to a Predator. I really wanted to see more of the Predators kicking some butt; they were always portrayed as juggernauts but here they struggle to tackle one alien at a time.The inclusion of Lance Henriksen as Weyland ties the film to the lore of Alien/s etc but all the other characters are forgettable. Battle scenes utilise too many quick cuts - its more chopping and changing of viewpoint that actual action a lot of the time. Picture quality is reasonable, nothing to write home about and the sound is good on my basic system. There are 2 versions of the film, theatrical and extended. The extended version has extra scenes at the start regarding the whaling station and other scenes attempting to develop the characters a bit more.If you're a real die hard fan of the Alien / Predator universe this film I feel will ultimately dissapoint and it comes across as a simple effort to mash up the two franchises with the sole aim of making some money. The obvious love the film makers lavished on films like Alien, Aliens and Predator is not here.