Judy Thorburn's Movie Reviews
Alien vs. Predator AVP
- Details
- Category: Judy Thorburn
- Published on 06 November 2008
- Written by Administrator
Judy Thorburn
"Alien VS. Predator" - Enemy Minefield
Las Vegas Tribune - http://www.lasvegastribune.com
Las Vegas Round The Clock - http://www.lasvegasroundheclock.com
The Women Film Critics Circle - http://www.wfcc.wordpress.comThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.">
kreatia@This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
“ALIEN VS. PREDATOR” – ENEMY MINEFIELD
Don’t expect to see Sigourney Weaver in this new Alien flick. As the heroine, Ripley, from the original 1979 “Alien” movie and its sequels, she set an example and became a role model for a strong, empowered woman who could kick butt with the best of them. Her character in those sci fi films set the stage for future female actors who could follow in her footsteps. Yet, none have made the impression she did. Sure, we’ve seen Linda Hamilton in The Terminator. But, can you even name the actress who played the terminatrix in the last Terminator movie? I don’t think so. Point made.
Sigourney has had her day. She did her thing, and was even nominated for an Academy Award for her work in the original Alien. But, now in her 50’s she’s too old for this kind of thing. A younger, black actress, Sanaa Lathan (Out of Time) is stepping into Sigourney’s boots, and taking control as yet another strong force to be reckoned with in Alien vs. Predator. And, by the looks of it, she and this film could reap more than one future sequel turning it into another highly profitable franchise.
Combining two of the most popular movie monsters in history from the four Alien and two Predator movies was a brainstorm. After all, since the reptilian “Alien” lives to replicate, using humans as hosts, and the “Predator” is a humanoid warrior, a trained and unstoppable killer, what a clever idea it is to put them at war with each other in one high impact sci fi film that is sure to attract fans of this genre.
Unlike the Alien films which are set 150 years in the future, the action in AvP takes place in the present, 2000 feet below the surface of the ice in Antarctica, were billionaire industrialist Charles Bishop Weyland (Lance Henriksen) has gathered a team of the best archeologists, and scientists lead by of environmentalist/adventurer Alexa “Lex” Woods (Sanaa Lathan) to investigate the source of a mysterious “heat bloom” picked up by one if his satellites in orbit above the Earth.
But, it doesn’t take too long before things get ugly as one by one the humans are eliminated in the pyramid that bears a mixture of ancient Aztec, Egyptian and Cambodian cultures. The first clue of impending horror comes when members of the team discover one of the rooms is actually a sacrificial chamber. It appears that thousands of years ago the seven foot tall, deadlocked, Predators came to Earth and taught humans to build the pyramid so that young Predator warriors, in a right of passage, could use the temple, with its shifting walls and secret chambers, as a battlefield to hunt down the Aliens they brought along. The sole purpose of humans is to act as “host” body for the offspring of the Queen Alien, who has been kept alive in the temple, where every hundred years she lays her eggs. And so, it eventually comes to light that her time has come once again, and that the signal received by Weyland’s satellite was just a ploy to set up the humans in order for the next combat to begin.
The humans in the cast are not the main focus in AvP. This is not a film with character development. All the humans are killed early on except for our heroine, of course, so we don’t need to know much about them. They are disposable. Because, what it comes down to, are the face-to-face battle sequences between one powerful creature and another, and how one human who gets caught in the middle is able to survive.
AvP is not as bone chilling as its predecessors. But, the action, special effects, production design, and concept are first rate. What’s remarkable is that seventy percent of the creature effects were done by either a full-scale mechanical puppet controlled by hydraulic computer off the set, or an actor in a suit. CGI was added with the puppets to complete the effect and the result is an incredibly “real” look that many other CGI sci fi filled flicks lack.
Director/writer Paul W.S. Andersen, an avid fan of the Alien franchise, delivers the goods using elements from those films (connecting Weyland with the Alien robot Bishop, for example), and the mythology of ancient cultures to his benefit.
I recommend Alien vs. Predator to any movie fan. Ok, it is not as scary as the others before it, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a thriller. I had lots of fun watching the “WWF of Aliens Creatures”, as a friend called it. Don’t believe the tagline – “Whoever wins, we lose”. Not true. This movie is a winner.