More about this DVD  •  DVD Info  •  Movie Main Page  •  Message Board

It’s 2004 and a satellite owned by billionaire industrialist Charles Bishop Weyland (Lance Henriksen) finds a heat source where no heat source had been detected before; the surprisingly unlikely location is an island just off the Antarctic Continent. Image processing and computer modeling of the thermal image reveals it to be a vast pyramid thousands of feet blow the surface of the Antarctic ice. Weyland mounts an expedition and, like Jurassic Park’s John Hammond, recruits the best people in their fields (who are willing to go).

Among them is Alexa Woods (Sanaa Lathan), a highly experienced cold weather explorer; for safety’s sake, she’ll be the reluctant expedition leader. Archaeologist Sebastian de Rosa (Raoul Bova), geologist Graeme Miller (Ewen Bremner), and about a dozen other potential casualties - including riggers and drillers who expected to punch a hole through the ice - agree to join the team. They travel with Weyland and Woods onboard an icebreaker to a deserted whaling village located directly above the pyramid. And when they arrive, they’re dumfounded to find that there already is a large shaft - the ice seemingly vaporized - that leads from the surface directly to the pyramid.

Remarkably undeterred, they descend to explore. The discovery is far more significant than they could have hoped. Evidence of no fewer than three ancient cultures is found in the architecture of the pyramid and hieroglyphs that adorn it. This will prove to be very convenient; de Rosa will be able to translate the ancient writings with little effort. What our intrepid band does not yet realize is that they have been lured into an arena of death, a constantly changing three-dimensional maze that isolates combatants to add spice to the game. That lethal game is a rite of passage for what we must assume to be adolescent predators, sent to destroy aliens or die trying.

The predators had captured and shackled an alien queen; she spends most of her free time in a state of suspended animation until her eggs are needed to infect humans used as incubators for alien soldiers. That’s how the predators arrange to face their competitors; they grow them. It’s been a hundred years since the last trial by lethal combat. The predators have returned. The captive alien queen has been thawed and is now coerced to start laying. Facehuggers will soon start hatching. We now have the premise in place for the carnage that follows. The expedition must fight to survive. They are caught unprepared to deal with deadly creatures that bleed acid and deadly hunters that are enclosed in armor and armed with weapons that seem like magic.

This had the potential for being a hell of a ride. Unfortunately for fans, the filmmakers were not true or consistent with the premises already established for the two series. The alien gestation period is greatly accelerated in some victims and seems quite normal in others. The aliens only seem to bleed acid when it’s convenient for the screenwriter. The predators were described previously as being attracted to very hot climates for their hunts; what are they doing in frigid Antarctica? It’s suggested that the pyramid’s site was at one time tropical or temperate; such a geological time would have been when either the Antarctic climate was remarkably different or the continental plates had Antarctica well to the warmer North. Either would have been millennia before humans had developed ordered societies. And we’re expected to accept that both an ancient calendar system and an ancient (or predator) system for telling time are the same as today’s. It’s clear where the hosts for the facehuggers came from in 1904 and 2004, but what about during the hundreds of thousands of years it took to bury the pyramid under thousands of feet of ice? I won’t even ask how it came to be in a subterranean cavern instead of encased in ice.

For fans of he two series, writer/director Anderson frequently pays homage to the original films and the first two Alien flicks in particular. From the opening shot - in which what you think you see turns out to be something entirely different - you feel that the director is going to be playing with your head throughout. You’ll find scenes that remind you of: Scott’s extreme close-up of Ripley, covered in beads of sweat, climbing up out of a hatchway; Cameron’s sensor sweep of the shuttle interior at the beginning of Aliens; a blatant quote from Predator when Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Major Dutch Schaeffer reacts to seeing a predator’s naked face for the first time with a vulgarity; the reflection of displayed data on a predator’s helmet, just like on the bridge of the Nostromo; and, Weyland’s manipulating a pen just as his namesake android manipulated a knife in Aliens. (There are others that I missed, like the hygroscopic bird that periodically tips over to take a drink; it, too, was on the Nostromo bridge. Anderson points out his tributes in his commentary). These scenes add a layer of entertaining trivial pursuit.

I kind of enjoyed the film on a sci-fi action-adventure level, but I wish there hadn’t been so many flaws and contradictions; I found them a constantly annoying source of distraction. On the other hand, this is a great looking effort with terrific visuals and a visceral audio track. The special effects are a very nice blend of CGI and practical. The imaginative site and the fundamental premise are intriguing. The cast delivers solid performances. It’s the writing that caused me the most problems.

The Video: How Does The Disc Look?

The film’s theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 is presented in anamorphic video. This is another very fine transfer from Fox. Pleasingly sharp and lacking edge halos, the presentation is quite film-like. Colors rendition is excellent, with natural skin tones, suitably red human blood, and phosphorescent green predator blood. Many of the scenes are quite dark; the expedition seems to have come to Antarctica during its prolonged night. And thousands of feet below ground, the pyramid site has no source of illumination. (The predators can see into the infrared with their helmet instrumentation, but how did the predators expect the aliens to see?) So shadow detail becomes quite important and this transfer delivers; fine gradations in the bottom end of the video dynamic range are maintained nicely. Small object detail, like faces in long shots, is excellent. Fine textures, like fabrics, complexions, the hieroglyphs in medium shots, are all nicely conveyed. I did not notice any mosquito noise or macroblocking.

The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

There are two 5.1 tracks on this DVD, one in Dolby Digital and the other in DTS. Both use the surround channels frequently to place threats beyond the confines of the screen. In fact, the surrounds are reasonably active in this mix. EX decoding enhances the experience. Exceptionally deep bass is present, often hitting me in the solar plexus. The orchestral score is designed to shock and on that level it’s quite effective. The instruments are presented with pleasing fidelity and speak with authority. Sound effects enjoy an extended dynamic range that’s sure to add to the visceral experience. The dialog remains distortion-free throughout. The inevitable comparison gives the edge once again to DTS. (So consistent are the results of such comparisons that I may stop performing them.)

Alternate languages of French and Spanish are presented in Dolby Surround 2.0. There are optional subtitles in Spanish and English, for which Closed Captions are included.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

The DVD is programmed to open with a non-anamorphic Fox promo (2:17) that highlights The Day After Tomorrow, Man on Fire, and I, Robot. It may be skipped.

There are two feature-length audio commentaries on this DVD. The first is by director Anderson, Lance Henriksen, and Sanaa Lathan. Henriksen and Lathan do offer some interesting anecdotes from the shoot, but for the most part, he admires Anderson’s work and she finds herself grossed out by the slimy horrors. They do serve a useful purpose, though; each stimulates an observation or explanation or story from the director that amuses or informs. The red wine helped a little, too. Not a bad track.

The second commentary is by alien effects creators Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, Jr., and visual effects supervisor John Bruno. As you would expect, this is a more technical commentary, the type that I most enjoy. They delight in explaining how all the illusions were created. Some readers don’t want to have the magic spoiled for them, but my curiosity must be satisfied. I admire the technology and ingenuity used to fool the eye. Since there are two specialties represented on the track, the participants ask each other relevant questions. Very informative.

There are three deleted scenes that together last only 2:17 when the "Play All" feature is used. These short snippets are clearly best left on the cutting room floor; they add nothing to propel the story forward.

AVP Promo (23:13) is really entitled The Making of Alien Vs. Predator. It’s a blend of fluff and substantive information. I was impressed by the effort that went into the making of this film, from the costumes to the special effects to the practical effects. The cast and filmmakers offer some comments and it becomes clear that they really were trying to be true to the concepts that preceded the fusion of the two franchises. (It’s a pity that a little bit more effort couldn’t have gone into the logic of the script.) AVP was made for an estimated $65 million, I have to admit that all that money is up on the screen. Audiences responded; the film earned $161.2 million worldwide. Think there’ll be an AVP sequel?

The next extra is a thirty-four second Fox Superbowl Promo that seems quite out of place; consider it a voluntary commercial. In a similar vein is the thirty-three second promo for a new animated television series called American Dad, brought to us by the folks who created the droll Family Guy. The last extra here is a colorful collection of related Dark Horse Comics Covers.

From the Main Menu screen, you have a few other choices. Inside Look is a collection of promos for an upcoming Fox releases that seem to have promise: Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2:17), a Pitt/Jolie vehicle; and, Elektra (1:48). Also from the main menu, you’ll find a choice of viewing an Extended Version of the film (1:42:07, as opposed to the theatrical cut’s 1:40:44). So far as I can tell, the one-minute and twenty-three second addition is a sequence at the very beginning of the film that reveals some back- story (or should I say back-action?) that took place in 1904 at the whaling village.

The feature film is organized into twenty- eight chapters.

Exclusive DVD-ROM Features: What happens when you pop the disc into your PC?

This is my first exposure to an unfamiliar DVD-ROM value added product similar in philosophy to InterActual and called Hotllama. It’s necessary to allow the software to install, and a PC running Windows 98SE or higher is required. Macs are not yet supported.

After an AVP skin loads on top of the Hotllama window, I found the following choices (and some are good ones): Read The Complete 1st AVP Comic Book; Making of AVP Comic Books; Sneak Peek at the Latest AVP Graphic Novel; Dark Horse Comics Official Website; AVP Official Website; and Play Movie.

Based on this DVD, the Hotllama application seems far less capable than InterActual. (In the spirit of full disclosure, yes, DVDfile is owned by InterAcual, but don’t just take my word for it; try it yourself.) The first three items appear to be Flash presentations featuring text or static graphics or both. There are sound effects when the mouse moves over controls and color is controlled by the application, but there is no integrated full motion video here. Nonetheless, I was pleased with the content. Note that when making a selection, a second window opens on top of the first, so there is no "back" navigation available; you must close the secondary window, minimize it, or bring the primary window to the top to move on.

Clicking on either of the two weblinks opens a browser window in the style of the application, just as the IA player does. And similarly, the "Play Movie" option opens a window to display the film. The Hotllama controls are more intuitive and a tad more convenient than the InterActual Player software. (The best of functionality and interoperability is available in another product that I’ll be reviewing for you soon.) Not a bad effort, considering the nature of the disc’s ROM content.

Final Thoughts