It was a number of years ago that Dark Horse Comics first gave science fiction fans a look at one of the most desired battles of all time; Alien vs. Predator. There was quite a bit of speculation on who would win a bout like this, and this first began after attentive viewers noticed the Alien skull in Predator 2 that adorned the Predator's ship. While there have been ideas for the film, it's been a long time in the making, and if you've been holding out for another release of the film, that wait is finally over.

Although the Alien series has been set in the far future, the Predator movies have always reflected our current world, and AVP sticks with that idea. In the Antarctic, satellites for Weyland Industries have discovered a temple buried deep beneath the ice. The owner of the corporation, Charles Bishop Weyland (Lance Henriksen) has decided to put together a team of some of the best scientists and researches available to make an expedition of the temple to learn more about it. Among his hand picked team of capable and well paid members are Alexa Woods (Sanaa Lathan), an expert ice climber, archeologist Sebastian De Rosa (Raoul Boya), and Graeme Miller (Ewen Bremer) a chemical engineer. However, the team soon discovers that there is something much more than just a temple under the ice.

The temple itself contains architecture from the Egyptians, the Maya, and Cambodian temples, but their research reveals that it may not have been man that created it at all. The temple actually serves as a proving ground for young, teenage Predator's to reach manhood at, and the hunt includes Aliens. The Aliens have been in a state of suspended animation beneath the barren ice but now thanks to human tampering, they have woken up and the team soon finds itself caught in the middle of a war.

AVP takes some rather interesting aspects of history and incorporates them into the Predator universe. This brings about something rather intriguing since there has always been the premise that aliens assisted humanity in the past. This gives theory to the presence of a temple that contains drastically different designs, but there is more. If you are familiar with the Predator films, then you are aware that they have a bomb that can be used if the hunt goes bad. This powerful device is used to explain the disappearance of civilizations overnight. Taking some creative liberties with human history is only a mere part of the film however.

The film does have a lot of build up before the "main event," but that's in part to establish our main characters. The Alien films paved the way for the strong female lead that could stand tall in the face of adversity, and that remains true here as well with Alexa, though she's certainly no Ripley. While the team explores the ruins, they begin to theorize the origins of the temple, but decide to tamper with things they shouldn't. Those members left in a sacrificial chamber are the first to fall when the alien eggs are reveled, though this leads to a slight problem continuity wise. In the original Alien, it took quite a while before the first chest burster emerged, one of the more shocking and memorable moments of the film. In AVP though, it's a matter of minutes, and we see the infant alien reach full size in only a mere amount of time. I suppose the only way to really explain it away is that maybe the Aliens found in the original film evolved differently.

AVP is enjoyable to a certain extent if you simply take the film as what it is, and that's just entertainment. It's not meant to be a film that makes shocking revelations concerning the mythology of the two films, and more or less it's simply a fan desired reward, but there are problems as well. Aside from the evolutionary issues, a number of the battle sequences tend to be too jerky as far as their presentation. It can make it a bit difficult to completely wrap your head around what is going on. I also must confess that the only human character I even had any interest in was Bishop, but I think in part that's because I'm a fan of what Lance Henriksen has done. The other characters tend to be a little lack luster and in some cases, almost too predictable as far as how there are portrayed.

There are some things that I have respect for however, and whereas most film completely reply on computer animation, you won't necessarily find that to be the case here. There is some used, but the production also uses miniatures and of course men in suits. Using as much of the real thing as possible, even if it's a smaller version, always works much better in my opinion than using computers to do everything. The set design is fantastic as well and quite intricate, and that helps give some life to the film instead of it being bland or flat. There is a lot of take in, but you can have some vague memory of something in the background or an ornate carving that was in a scene. Taking time and consideration for something like this shows that at least the producers are thinking of how it's going to visually affect the fan, not how to cut corners.

Instead of simply releasing the uncut edition of AVP alone, Fox has opted to include the original theatrical cut of the movie on the same disc, something that works well if you've never seen it or simply can't recall the film very well. I saw the film originally on opening day of its release, so it really has been quite a while for me, so both of the films together on one DVD is great. If you're wondering what's different, the only thing that I'm going to mention is that the opening is different and includes a look at the Antarctic mining camp back in 1904, something that is referenced in the film and shows the previous battle between the Aliens and the Predators. You can also turn on a feature that will pop up with an icon to let you know what has been added into the movie.

Aside from the two different versions of the film, you will find that the movie has two different commentary tracks included. One of these includes Paul W.S. Anderson, Lance Henriksen and Sanaa Lathan while the other has Alec Gillis, Tom Woodruff Jr. and John Brund, however only the theatrical version has commentary. AVP also includes a second disc that is filled with additional material. There are specials that look at every aspect of the film from the pre-production right down to the post. There are storyboards and art galleries, a feature with the folks over at Dark Horse who originally came up with the AVP idea. The theatrical trailers are included, an HBO special, and even a chat with Todd McFarlane, the man who designed the AVP toys and a number of other action figure lines that collector's go crazy over. Being a collector myself, this was one of the best things to see included on the DVD, though the other materials are good as well.

AVP isn't necessarily a bad film, but it is a fan service movie. You can expect to see this type of thing happen more frequently though. It was already done before with Jason vs. Freddy, and there is a sequel planned for that movie. AVP has a follow-up rumored to be in the works as well as another Alien film and yet another Predator film. The fact is though that like any heavily franchised name, you could make the worst movie in the world and fans are still going to buy it. For example I think Alien: Resurrection is a terrible movie, but I still own it so that I can have all of the Alien films, and AVP is another one to add into that list.
 

-mike-
 

Directed by: Paul W.S. Anderson   Written By: Paul W.S. Anderson Dan O'Bannon Ronald Shusett   Cast: Sanaa Lathan Lance Henriksen Raoul Bova Ewen Bremner Colin Salmon Tommy Flanagan

DVD Features: Disc 1: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35 Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound DTS5.1 Spanish Audio Track French Audio Track Unrated Version Theatrical Version Commentary: Paul W.S. Anderson, Lance Henriksne, Sanaa Lathan Commentary: Alec Gillis, Tom Woodruff Jr. and John Brund   Disc 2: Pre-Production: AVP The Beginning Branching Footage: ADI Workshop Storyboard Gallery Concept Art Production: AVP Production Post-Production: Visual Effects Breakdown Deleted Scenes with optional Director's Commentary Licensing the Franchise: Aliens vs Predator the Comic Book Monsters in Miniature by Todd McFarlane HBO Special