Alien Vs Predator (2 Disc Extreme Edition) [2004] [DVD]

 

 

Create your own review

If you forget that this is the continuation of two very successful franchises, and consider this as a graphic novel adaptation, then it is actually a bit more successful than people give it credit for.
In tone and spirit, this is much more of a Predator movie than an Alien movie - it is as an Alien movie this most disappoints. However, as Predator movie I would suggest this is better than Predator 2 was.
The plot is set in modern time, when a heat signature revealing a hidden pyramid under the ice is seen by satellite. The owner of the satellite, played by Lance Henrikson, brings together a team of archaeologists, biologists and `security' (the equivalent of Star Trek redshirts I guess) to investigate. What they find is a pyramid used by Predators to hunt the ultimate prey - the Alien.
The rest of the story is just bunkum, and don't think too hard about many of the continuity points because much of it does not quite work, but the action scenes are handled adequately, mostly by pilfering ideas from the previous movies and reproducing them in watered down form for characters we have not yet come to care about. Best original (-ish) idea was that the pyramid reconfigures every 10 minutes once activated, to add spice to the hunt and help split our characters up to be picked off one at a time.
Saana Lathan is no Sigourney Weaver, but a stronger character than one might expect from Paul W. S. Anderson (who also directed Mortal Kombat). Nice to see Colin Salmon, the English actor of several Brosnan era Bond movies, in another role - shame it wasn't in a better movie.
Overall, this is not a disaster as a movie given its rushed production and low bdget - but don't go in with any expectations of anything approaching even the worst of the Alien movies. Think of it as a so-so Predator sequel and you get the idea.
3 ½ stars - I'll opt for 3, because of the corny script at times.

This is a review of the BLU-RAY..
The font cover proudly states "maximum Hi-Def Experience" and its fair to say given what is said about this movie it will be the best you will ever be able to get.
The blacks are soild , and the detail very sharp. The skin tones are nice and the CGI looks more obvious because of the sharpness of image.
But Director Paul Anderson makes no bones about the colour being hugely de-saturated and heavy grading has let the final Blu-Ray version down. He chose very bright costumes for the cast with the full intention of saturating and tone re-seeting during the editding process , which is fine for DVD in 2005 but does little to help the advent of HD and the blu-ray revolution.
The other wrangle is few extra's too , anyone that had the two disc "extreme" addition from 2005 will be dissapointed to find none of the documenties , out-takes , effect and "making of's" feature on this blue ray.
Infact is important to note that the deleated scenes that feature on the 2005 DVD have now been added "into" the exstended version on the blu-ray version (all except one)..
The quality might be good , but not outstanding and sadly will never be because of the final treatment of the orginal print. This may well be the best verion there is , but the incersion of all the deleted scenes make the exstended version too long and the Hi-Def exsperiance a little flat.
That said , its very enjoyable and the DTS HD master soundtrack is as good as the DTS track on the 2005 DVD.
Its not really worth the upgrade as I compared the two and the differance is not really all that differnat (given the age of the print)
Its a good Blu-ray , but hold on to your old two disc set until Twentith Centery Fox remaster the orginal print , add all the wonderful docu's and features , which in time will no doubt happnen when HD and blu-ray will be the only way to see this type of film.

Aliens. Predators. You would have thought with two of the greatest cinenmatic monsters in one film, it'd be difficult to get it wrong. Still, Paul 'WS' Anderson does a fairly good job. This time a team of Arctic explorers led by Charles Bishop Weyland (the founding 'father' of the 'Company' from the Alien series) are drawn to a temple in the antartic after it's identified by satellite. Thus begins an hour and a half of thrills, spills, schlock horror and a total absence of anything to put it on a par with the franchises that spawned it.

Which is not to say that it's a bad film. Whether or not you enjoy Alien vs. Predator is really dependent on what you're expecting. If you're looking for the intelligent plot exposition you found in the first 3 Alien movies, you're likely to be heavily disappointed. If, however, you're looking for the gratuitous gore (albeit largely Predator / Alien) and sense of suspense that went with the first Predator film, then you're a lot more likely to walk away happy.

AVP is somewhat of a mixed bag. Anderson is definitely a man who believes in old school cinematics (he wisely dispensed with the use of CGI unless it was absolutely necessary), but some of the cinematography and editing leaves a lot to be desired (one of the main AVP fights is shot so close and edited so quickly that it makes it very difficult to really see what's going on). For the most part however, the film retains a palpable sense of tension throughout and is a guaranteed to provide a few jumps and thrills for first time viewers. Special mention should be made for the set design which is superb and quite convincing - it's obvious where Andersons forte lies...

Where the film does fall down though, is on its script and storyline. The script is almost unnecessary - merely providing a vehicle from which to jump from one fight to the next. The actors make the best of what they're given, but ultimately much of the dialogue is cheesy and unsatisfying. As for the storyline - it broke so many rules of the Alien franchise (there's no Ripley, the suggestion that Charles Weyland provided the prototype for the Bishop android, the discovery of the Alien creature prior to the events of Alien, the lack of further exposition of the Alien lifecycle etc.) that many of the diehard fans from the original franchise must have run screaming for their Quadrilogy boxsets. Thankfully though, the film was never meant to be philosophised about in the same way as the originals and can only be taken at face value - it would have been far worse had Anderson attempted something more complex. Having said that though; it is sad that there is too much which is left unexplained or uncovered in this film - it simultaneously expects the audience to have an appreciation and understanding of the original franchises and to also ignore them due to the glaring continuity errors.

Ignoring the originals though, is ultimately the answer to appreciating AVP - if you can see it for what it is (an entertaining action romp with lots of monsters) then you're likely to think it's fantastic. For purists though - this is best avoided and filed away with 'Alien Resurrection'.

On the DVD itself you'll find an extended version with a different beginning (readers of the book will already know of the plot line set in the early 20th Century), some deleted scenes (nothing special, but a couple which would have been nice had they been included), commentary from the director, Sanaa Lathan and Lance Henriksen, a making of featurette and on the DVD - Rom some features on the original Dark Horse comics. Probably worth the extra £3 you'd shell out over the 1 disc edition.

With regards to the deleted scenes and added beginning - for fans who were disappointed with the lack of gore and low rating of the movie in theatres - this will do nothing to change their opinion, nor will it do much to rectify some of the plot holes - these scenes are curiosities; nothing more. The title 'Extreme Edition' is possibly a little misleading and I daresay only placed in order to play upon these hopes.

Overall though, for the average horror film fan with nothing better to do, this film is an entertaining piece of popcorn fiction and worth a look.

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 194 customer reviews on Amazon.co.uk

 

4.0 out of 5 stars AVP [Blu-Ray]
Alien Vs Predator was always up against it, unlike other franchises similar Freddy VS Jason which is hands down the best of both worlds to say that Alien Vs Predator is the best... Read more

Published 17 days ago by Bowiee

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad but nothing like the other film
I bought this film for my son because he is a big fan of the previous film, so this is as much his review as mine. Read more

Published 23 days ago by Daakhelmit

4.0 out of 5 stars Alien vs. Predator - Entertaining addition to two great franchises.
A tantalising glimpse at the end of the second Predator film sets the scene for this match between two of modern cinema's greatest creatures - the ultimate prey for the sporting... Read more

Published 1 month ago by Victor

1.0 out of 5 stars childish and pointless
You know how the idea for these films came about? Some Hollywood exec was walking past a school-yard one day and overheard a bunch of kids arguing about who would win a fight... Read more

Published 1 month ago by Tim.T

4.0 out of 5 stars great yarn for kids
In most of Europe this film is rated "12". And it should be, its a semi-violent sci-fi older kids romp. The story is superb. The suspense is not so superb. Read more

Published 4 months ago by JrF

2.0 out of 5 stars Very disappointing indeed
As a rule I love the Alien films and the Predator films. I even enjoyed Alien v's Predator 1, but this second one was a real let down. Read more

Published 4 months ago by Faye

3.0 out of 5 stars Monstrous, but not a total monstrosity.
Antartica, and an expedition is about to uncover a battleground for Aliens and Predators.

Whoever wins, we lose! So ran the tag line for Paul W. S. Read more

Published 5 months ago by Spike Owen

1.0 out of 5 stars Paul WS anderson aka the franchise killer
well he ruined the resident evil series yet the good folks at fox thought it was wise after he had begun ruining that series to give him the directors chair for what would be a... Read more

Published 7 months ago by Christopher

5.0 out of 5 stars OUSTANDING!
ALIEN VS PREDATOR is exactly the type of film i like! It's silly, it's gory, it's scary and full of fun with a good plot that is not too complicated! Read more

Published 8 months ago by G. Stephenson

3.0 out of 5 stars If you can forgive the many serious plot flaws, it's actually a lot of fun
For a series that's based on a fundamental mistake in the Alien mythology, this idea has got a lot of legs, from Dark Horse graphic novels right through to a couple of very... Read more

Published 9 months ago by Benminx

Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

› See all 194 customer reviews on Amazon.co.uk

Search Listmania!