|
|
The Movie:
I've liked the "Alien" films, despite not being a horror fan. I even liked Jean-Pierre Jeunet's very European take for "Alien: Resurrection", which many thought may have been the last in the series. However,likely even seeming like a better idea after the success of "Freddy Vs. Jason", the series was back - sort of. Instead of a purely "Alien" feature, this latest picture unites two of the most feared horror creatures of all time - the alien creatures and the predator.
It's not a bad idea - having both the creatures clash and humans be in the middle. It's done spectacularly in "Halo", a sci-fi epic that I still think is one of the best videogames of all time. The filmmakers did make one mis-step with "AVP", however - I can't begin to see why, given the history of the franchise and the genre, one would want to make an "Alien" or "Predator" picture PG-13, but they did.
This time around, we are joined with a new team of explorers on Earth. Lead and funded by the rich Charles Bishop Weyland (Lance Henriksen), the team includes a mountain climber (Sanaa Lathan) and a couple of others who we really know nothing about - Sebastian de Rosa (Raoul Bova) and Graeme Miller (Ewan Bremner). The group has found what appears to be a pyramid buried deep below the Antarctic surface. They decend downwards and wander around in the dark, looking for any secrets. The only thing they find hidden are both creatures - in this case, a set of predators that are hunting aliens and who have a past the humans will eventually discover.
The film looks okay, as visual effects and make-up work are good. However, the "pyramid", while having a nice array of traps and other gadgets, tended to look fairly ordinary in terms of visuals. Some rooms looked more detailed than others, though. The odd thing, again, is that the filmmakers decided on a PG-13, when all of the prior "Alien" and "Predator" films have been a solid R (even the director's film adaptation of the "Resident Evil" videogames was R-rated.) There's violence here, but no gore.
Writer/director Paul W.S. Anderson doesn't get much respect, but I did enjoy his 1997 feature, "Event Horizon", an outer-space horror flick that had plenty of style and some good chills. "Resident Evil" was a zombie flick based on the video games that delivered what it promised. "AVP" proceeds much like "Resident Evil 2", however (which Anderson wrote). The film pretty much proceeds without a story, and some of the characters are barely one-dimensional - totally meant for alien chow from the very beginning. The picture is a series of action sequences strung together - some more effective than others. Some of the action scenes suffer from being overly edited and choppy, but others are enjoyable. The performances are rather mediocre, although the actors really have nothing much to work with. Lathan isn't bad, neither are Bremner and Henriksen, but the other actors make no impression.
Overall, those who are expecting a strong follow-up to either franchise will likely come away at least a little disappointed, as the film lacks the memorable moments and depth of the prior films. A different writer/director could really have made something more out of the premise. As a stand-alone picture, however, the picture offers a mindless 100 minutes of moderately good action. It's the definition of a "rental" for those in the mood for that kind of thing.
This DVD edition includes the unrated, extended edition of the film, as well as the theatrical edition. Clocking in at 108 minutes (about 8 minutes beyond the original theatrical cut), the feature does have some additional action moments/gore and some character bits, but nothing that really makes a difference to the film as a whole. The prologue that was included with the extended cut on the previous DVD release appears again here in the unrated edition.
The DVD
VIDEO: "AVP" is presented by Fox in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. Fox has continued to further emerge as a terrific studio for DVD, especially in regards to their recent theatrical releases. While there's been a few titles from the studio that look "just good", "AVP" is one of the studio's recent efforts that looks absolutely superior. "Film-like" and crystal clear, the picture remains sharp and well-defined consistently throughout. Even the dark scenes - and much of the movie is quite dark - offered a very good amount of visual information.
The picture seemed almost entirely free of concerns. No edge enhancement was seen at any point, and only a couple of brief traces of pixelation were spotted. The print looked pristine, with no instances of specks, marks, dirt or other wear. No grain was present, either.
SOUND: "AVP" is presented by Fox in Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 audio. Oddly, remote access was locked, so I had to go to the menu to switch between soundtracks instead of using the audio button on the remote. The film's soundtrack provided a pretty aggressive experience, although moreso after the battle really starts to get going inside the pyramid. Once that happens, the surrounds really kick in with a lot of solid effects, turning the action scenes into a very immersive experience. My only complaint is that there could have been some more subtle ambience in the rears at times to make the atmosphere a tad more creepy. Audio quality was very good - sound effects seemed fierce and well-recorded, while dialogue and music were crisp and clear. Bass, as expected, was powerful at times. Picture and sound quality here is about the same as the prior release.
EXTRAS: Two audio commentaries are available if one plays the theatrical version (without the alternate opening). The first commentary is from director Paul WS Anderson and actors Lance Henriksen and Sanaa Lathan. The second commentary is by creature make-up/effects artists Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff, along with visual effects supervisor Tom Bruno. The first commentary is only mildly worthwhile listening, as in-between some decent tidbits about the production, everyone (especially Henriksen) goes on about how wonderful everything is in the film. The second commentary is considerably more informative, as viewers are told, in detail, about the various elements that went into many of the shots. Technical, yet not dry, the second commentary proved to be the better of the two.
3 minor, very brief deleted scenes mainly seem like extensions of existing scenes.
The new features here begin on the second disc, with the 25-minute "The Beginning". This documentary can be viewed with or without some additional minor clips branched in - you are taken to the clip and then taken back to the main piece. Director Paul WS Anderson and members of the crew discuss the development of the picture, as well as how Anderson's view of the feature won over execs. While obviously done before the picture was filmed, the amount of happy talk here is a bit much - it starts to go into the realm of boasting. Still, the featurette gets the necessary points across - we see early concepts, hear about some casting issues, and learn about how the project came together.
"Production" runs for nearly an hour, and gives a good deal of on-set footage and reactions from the cast and crew. Once again, this was shot during the making of feature, and does not include any comments from after the film was finalized. Also, once again, branching video clips are also optional here, as well. We do learn here about the on-set work with the creatures, and the problems having men in giant suits trying to have to do things that are not exactly easy to do when you're wearing a giant suit. We also see issues with practical effects, shooting on-set and more.
Along with the "Pre-Production" and "Production" sections, we also get four smaller featurettes: "Trouble at the Mouth of the Tunnel", "Facehuggers and Eggs", "Miniature Whaling Station" and "ADI Workshop". Also in the "Pre-Production" section are a storyboard gallery and concept art.
"Post-Production" offers both the previously mentioned deleted scenes that were included on the prior release and "Visual Effects Breakdown", a 30-minute look at the film's CGI work. Although there are a lot of actual elements in the film, CGI was used to create or enhance elements. After an enjoyable discussion of what the filmmakers were trying to achieve with the CGI, we get a mixture of discussion and examples of how a lot of different elements went into many of the major and minor sequences.
"Licensing the Franchise" offers two featurettes: "Monsters in Minatures: By Todd McFarlane" and "Aliens Vs. Predator: The Comic Book". Finally, "Marketing" offers the HBO "making of" documentary, 3 trailers for "AVP" and promos for both the "Alien Quadrilogy" set and "Planet of the Apes: 35th Anniversary".
Final Thoughts: "Alien Vs. Predator" could have been a really nice rebirth for both franchises, but it just manages some mindless, rather forgettable thrills and moves along quite quickly. Fox's new "Unrated Edition" offers the same fine audio/video quality, more footage and even more supplements. However, a couple of the featurettes on the second disc were average, and the new footage in the movie doesn't alter it much. Fans may want to seek this new edition out, but others should rent first.
Film Grade
The Film C
DVD Grades
Video 97/A
Audio: 92/A
Extras: 85/B
|