Alien vs. Predator (www.the-usher.com)

"We're in the middle of a war"

When one of his satellites discovers a heat signature on an island off the coast of Antarctica, Weyland Industries founder Charles Bishop Weyland (Henriksen) puts together a team to go and investigate. What they find is a pyramid that predates anything discovered in Egypt, South America or Cambodia. Thinking they have made the missing link to all the ancient cultures, the team arrive on the site to discover something totally unexpected. The pyramid is not a tomb but a proving ground for creatures the ancient peoples worshiped as gods and they had been drawn to this place to be sacrificed to their prey, a terrifying alien species.

Ever since we saw the skull of an Alien in the ship of a Predator back in 1990, this movie has been the Holy Grail for fans of Sci-Fi horror but can all that expectation actually be realised? Yes and no.

Bringing together two of the best and most horrific science fiction creatures is a great idea. The best selling comic books and computer games have already created a market for this match up so a movie was an expected outcome. The problem is that because of this massive momentum there was bound to be some level of disappointment amongst the fans, making it impossible to please everyone. You have the purists, who never wanted to see the film in the first place, preferring more individual adventures for their iconic creatures. You have the diehard fans of the games and comic books that wanted to see colonial marines caught in the middle of this epic battle who will be clearly disappointed. Finally you have science fiction fans that just want to see the movie for the spectacle and these are the people who will get the most out of it.

Creating a storyline that connects the two franchises, the games and the comic books was going to be difficult but the good news is that the premise for the movie actually isn't that bad. The film reveals why the Predators come to Earth and their connection with the Aliens. We also find out how the Weyland corporation becomes involved and will centuries later instruct the Nostromo to land on the planet that kick starts the whole Alien saga. These plotlines that are introduced really for the fans of the two series but they are very welcome ones.

The plot is a very minor aspect of the movie however because all the filmmakers wanted to do was get these creatures to fight and when they finally do we witness the mother of all Sci-Fi battles. This is edge of your seat action as the two Goliath's clash with pulverizing results. The makeup and creature design is some of the best seen in either series, as you'd expect as the advances in technology has grown tenfold since these icons last hit the silver screen. Combining the best in computer-generated imagery and makeup effects by Alien/Predator veteran designers Tom Woodruff Jr.'s Amalgamated Dynamics, the creatures have never looked so good. The Alien Queen is unbelievable, the Predators are even better armed and threatening and the Alien drones are more agile and vicious than they have ever been creating a visual treat that you can't help enjoying.

The human cast are just victims caught in the crossfire and the lack of character development for most of them reflects this. To be fair this was probably not the main emphasis of the movie and you wouldn't want to be distracted from the main battle. Sanaa Lathan probably has the best character as Alexa Woods, the Ripley-esque female lead who takes on the Aliens and stands up to the Predators. The rest are just fodder and sacrifices for the battle and are instantly forgettable. The only criminally underdeveloped character is Lance Henrikson's Charles Bishop Weyland, the founder of Weyland Industries, which is the company behind Alien research in the franchise. The filmmaker missed the opportunity to introduce the character and the reason behind his company's obsession with the creatures. This is only hinted at in the film, to the point that only true fans will pick it up.

AVP: Alien vs. Predator is Paul W.S. Anderson's best movie (which doesn't take much). As apiece of popcorn entertainment the film is very good but you can understand fans disappointment with the lack of story and a few missed opportunities to truly connect the franchises together. The sight of two Sci-Fi horror icons on the screen at the same time is worth the admission price alone however, as we finally get to see who would win in an all-out scrap between the two beasts. Let the war begin.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen with a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround soundtrack, this is an excellent transfer. The vivid world of AVP is brought to life via an outstanding picture. Bearing in mind that most of the action takes place in the dark and underground the picture is sharp throughout. The sound quality is also first rate, filling the speakers during the energetic action scenes. A dts track would have been an added bonus however.

BONUS FEATURES

Disc 1

Commentary by Paul W.S. Anderson, Lance Henriksen and Sanaa Lathan
This chatty and informative track brings together the director of the movie and his two stars. The main point that comes across from the track is how much of an 'Alien' fan Paul Anderson is. A self confession 'Aliens' addict, the director highlights all the nods he made to the two franchises and how he was heavily influenced by James Cameron. The track also covers casting, characters, sets and the creatures, as well as bringing both the franchises up to date. This is a good track, enhanced by the inclusion of Sci-Fi legend Lance Henriksen.

Commentary by Alec Gillis, Tom Woodruff Jr and John Bruno
The two creature designers and the visual effects supervisor come together for a technical commentary track. The trio talk about the genesis of the project and how they related to the other franchises. All of them have worked on either the Alien or Predator movies meaning they offer a fascinating insight into the creation of the visual effects for this movie and the previous ones they worked on. They outline the difference between models and CG and how the key action and special effects were achieved. This is an interesting track that fans will enjoy.

Inside Look (6.24 mins)
Extended previews and behind the scenes footage from 'Hide and Seek', 'Elektra' and 'Robots'.

Trailers
Previews of Millennium/Harsh Realm, Man on Fire, The X-Files, The Clearing and Enduring Love.

Disc 2

Pre-Production

Conception (25.52 mins)
Director Paul W.S. Anderson, producer John Davis, production designer Richard Bridgeland and creature effects designer Tom Woodruff Jr. talk about the concept of 'Alien vs. Predator'. From the Dark Horse comic to the Alien skull's first appearance in 'Predator 2' and onto the greenlight of the production, this featurette takes you through the designs of AVP. With design concepts for the Whaling Station, Pyramid, Predator weapons, masks and costumes and animatronic Alien and Predator, we see how the film came together.

ADI Workshop (7.01 mins)
Behind the scenes footage recorded in September 2003, that shows the team at ADI in full construction. We see the concept for the Predator, the new facehugger and the updated Predator shoulder weapon.

Storyboard Gallery
See the storyboards designed by Brent Boates, Phil Norwood and Richard Bennett.

Concept Art Gallery
View concept art for the Aliens, Predators, weapons and sets by Richard Bennett

Production

The Making of AVP (59.10 mins)
Director Paul W.S. Anderson, producer John Davis, co-producer Chris Symes, cinematographer David Johnson, creature designers Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff Jr, production designer Richard Bridgeland, miniature supervisor Richard Van Den Bergh and stars Sanaa Lathan, Lance Hendrikson, Colin Salmon, Raoul Boya, Carsten Norgaard and Agathe De La Boulaye take you behind the scenes of the production of AVP. Taking you to the huge sets built in Prague, we see what it takes to create the Antarctic and a huge ancient pyramid on a soundstage. We also get to see the Alien Queen, animatronic Alien and the new and improved Predators on set. This is a good featurette that is informative but there is an awful lot of backslapping throughout, especially towards the director and Lance Hendrikson.

Miniature Whaling Station (6.56 mins)
Director Paul W.S. Anderson, visual effects supervisor John Bruno and miniature supervisor Richard Van Den Bergh take you behind the scenes of the complex Whaling Station collapse, which was all achieved using a very detailed miniature.

Trouble at the mouth of the Tunnel (3.46 mins)
Cinematographer David Johnson takes you behind the scenes of the tunnel explosion and explains what when disastrously wrong.

Facehuggers and Eggs (14.54 mins)
B-Roll footage of the sacrificial chamber fight filmed during the finale of the movie. We find out the lengths that Ewan Bremner and Carsten Norgaard had to go through to achieve the shot and we see what goes into making the eggs and facehuggers come alive on set.

Post Production

Visual Effects Breakdown (30.10 mins)
Director Paul W.S. Anderson, visual effects supervisor John Bruno, visual effects producer Adam Valdez, CG supervisor Ivor Middleton and visual effects supervisor Ben Shepard take you behind the scenes of the visual effects for 'Alien vs. Predator'. The featurette shows you how 'The Fight', 'The Piper Maru', 'The Flashback' and 'The Queen' sequences were created from storyboard to finished CG or model effect. This gives a fascinating insight the process of creating visual effects for a huge Sci-Fi production.

Deleted Scenes (8.40 mins)
Entitled 'The Pizzaman', 'The other Mexico', 'The Sister', 'O Sole Mio', 'The Scorpion', 'The Predators split up story', 'Actually it's Doctor', 'Making History', 'Teenager', 'Love Scene' and 'Predator Humour', these deleted scenes are accompanied by optional commentary by director Paul W.S. Anderson and star Lance Hendrikson.

Licensing the Franchise

Alien vs. Predator: The Comic Book (11.25 mins)
Dark Horse Comics publisher Mike Richardson, editor Randy Stradley and artist Chris Warner talk about the origins of the Alien vs. Predator comic book and the similarities between movie and the original stories.

Monsters in Miniature by Todd McFarlane (13.31 mins)
Comic book legend and entrepreneur Todd McFarlane talks about creating the action figures for 'Alien vs. Predator'. He reveals how the figures are designed, produced and marketed towards a 18+ target audience.

Marketing

HBO Special (13.01 mins)
Director Paul W.S. Anderson, producers John Davis and Chris Symes, production designer Richard Bridgeland, creature designer Tom Woodruff Jr and stars Lance Hendrikson, Sanaa Lathan and Raoul Boya take you behind the scenes of 'Alien vs. Predator'. The featurette looks at the characters and story, the genesis of the project, the creatures and the visual effects but includes a lot of footage you would have watched in the previous featurettes.

Theatrical Teaser (0.52 mins)
Watch the first trailer for AVP

Theatrical Trailer (1.56 mins)
The full promotional trailer for the big screen confrontation

OVERALL

20th Century Fox have done it again by producing an exceptional 2-disc DVD set that matches the class of the Alien re-releases. While some of the featurettes feature a bit too much backslapping, they do cover every aspect of the film's production however and other a fascinating insight into 'Alien vs. Predator'. This is how DVDs should be produced and fans of the film will rejoice at the quality of this release.

DVD

Alien

Aliens

Predator

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2004