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"Alien
VS. Predator" brings two of the most
recognizable movie monsters in film history
together for a rip-roaring battle-royale
with humans caught in the middle. Photo
courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
"Alien
vs. Predator" brings acid-spitting
to a whole new level
By
Ted Goslin
Online Forty-Niner
Staff Writer
For
those die-hard fans of horror and science
fiction movies that don't care if a movie
has flaws but simply want one to be released
before their boredom reaches light speed,
"Alien vs. Predator" is the film
to see.
With
a basic plot and mostly unknown actors as
the title characters, "AVP" attempts
only to do what its original predecessor
films did – scare you to death.
Set
in modern day Antarctica, the film introduces
the idea that Predators had influence over
ancient civilizations such as the Mayans
and the Aztecs to help them build pyramids
and other complex structures. In return
for this knowledge, the humans would sacrifice
themselves every one-hundred years to be
impregnated by aliens so that a few Predators
could come down and have an old fashioned
hunt.
The
story takes place "Jurassic Park"
style with a group of explorers getting
together to go look for something no one
else has ever seen before. The thing they
find is an ancient pyramid located 2,000
feet below the ice in Antarctica where no
one has dared to go due to the dangerous
environment. Charles Bishop Weyland, played
by Lance Henriksen from previous "Alien"
movies ("Aliens" and "Alien
3"), is a rich industrialist who recruits
several people of different backgrounds
and professions to assist him in finding
the pyramid.
Among
several less important characters who just
get chewed up by Aliens or stabbed to death
by Predators, the main one to remember is
Alexa ‘Lex' Woods, played by Sanaa
Lathan who most comic book movie fans might
remember as the mother of Blade in the film
of the same title.
Given
the responsibility of getting the expedition
through rough terrain and a deadly environment,
as well as continuing the female hero idea
started in the first "Alien" film,
Lex gives the group instructions to never
go anywhere alone. This of course is a typical
horror movie rule that simply foreshadows
what is to come to most of the naive explorers.
What
is interesting about this plot as opposed
to previous "Alien" or "Predator"
films is that it takes place in a constantly
changing environment that contains all the
people and creatures in the same place making
their eventual encounters inevitable. The
pyramid is a constantly moving structure
where rooms push together and walls move
to change the locations of all creatures
inside.
In
"AVP," special effects more than
make up for the average acting and lack
of great storytelling. During one scene,
a face hugger, which is the alien creature
that impregnates its host with an alien,
leaps from its egg towards a more than ready
Predator who throws a shuriken blade through
it in slow motion, cutting it in half and
sending it to the floor.
Director
Paul W.S. Anderson, who also directed 2002's
"Resident Evil," has been a huge
fan of both series since they were created
and has also been a huge fan of the comic
book series. His use of visual ideas to
move the film forward with less focus on
the story isn't necessarily a bad idea.
Think
about it. How many ideas can you come up
with where people are sent to an isolated
location with limited weapons and a claustrophobic
feel? It's a common idea that has been run
into the ground. All one could do was mimic
that idea but add some modern day effects
that weren't available when both franchises
were started. That's perfectly fine with
me.
In
short, this film was nothing more than a
fun "versus" movie that followed
in the tradition of its comic book predecessor
and other franchise combinations that I'm
sure will be made into films soon enough,
such as "Robocop vs. Terminator"
or, god forbid, "Freddy vs. Jason 2."
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