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Synopsis:
After the discovery of unusual activity in Antarctica, prompting investigation
by the Weyland-Yutani corporation, a team of archaeologists, led by
Alexa Woods (Sanaa Lathan) soon find themselves caught up in a battle
between two distinctly hostile species, with little hope of survival
themselves, they soon realise that only one side can win.
Review:
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| Oli
Crook |
Every
time a commercially successful film takes place, a worldwide cinematic
phenomenon happens; film studios and cinemas across the country are
suddenly flooded by films of the same genre, desperately trying to
re-create the
magic which made the film successful in the first place.
As a result of this, a trend of films occur until the next event
film is released and the trend changes again; for example with
the release of Scream followed a slew of big budget slasher
films, with The Blair Witch Project low-budget,
student-style horror films cropped up all over, and with The
Matrix the Intelligent action film-genre was born.
So, following the rather dubious success of this years Freddy
Vs Jason, it would appear we have a new trend on our hands;
the Vs film.
A film-makers wet dream, the Vs film gives studios the
opportunity to pit two iconic figures (For example Freddy and Jason
of Nightmare on
and Friday the 13th
fame) against each other, thereby securing an instant hit with fan-boys
flocking by the dozen to see their favourite heroes (or villains)
face off against each other.
Battle of the baddies
Thankfully then the makers of Alien Vs Predator (or AVP
as it likes to be known in America) actually makes a decent job of
it (especially when compared to its aforementioned and rather laughable
counterpart, Freddy Vs Jason).
Having been on the cards ever since the release of Predator
2 (look closely in the Predators trophy room and you can
spot the Aliens skull on
the wall) and having spawned several comic book adaptations and games,
the film has finally arrived.
And, remarkably the film does not disappoint; whereas Freddy
Vs Jason was just an easy was for the film-makers to make money
for the studio, regardless of opinions of fans of both series
of films, its clear that director Paul W.S. Anderson (who stepped
down from directing both the New Resident Evil film and
Mortal Kombat: Domination to film AVP) is
genuinely interested in fans of the series opinions.
In fact the sheer attention to detail to both the Alien
and Predator series is quite remarkable, and the
volume of references made to the original films are too numerous to
list here, suffice to say that the explanation of the Bishop'
robots origins is one of the particular highlights in the references.
The cast are reasonable but forgettable (dont expect any breakout
stars to rise from this film), and even feature a couple of familiar
British faces.
Their characters on the other hand lean towards being a bit two dimensional
(in particular Raoul Bovas character Sebastian whose
sole purpose it to act as love interest and (after discovering he
can read alien Hieroglyphics) a narrator whose function appears to
be interpreting why these two creatures are fighting in the first
place.
But, lets face it; youre not going to see
AVP for the cast, are you?
But dont worry, the action sequences will not
fail to please, and when the two titular heroes (or villains, depending
on which way you view them) do finally meet, it is every bit as satisfying
as you would expect.
Great effects
The CGI too is superb; the Aliens snarling has never looked
more menacing, or the Predators weaponry so cool.
Despite being reference heavy and deepening the mythology of both
the Alien and Predator films, the script still suffers from being
a little light and
the film does come off as appearing to be just a blatant set-up for
a possible sequel.
However in spite of this AVP is still a contender for
the latter half of the years big, blockbuster, event movie,
and well worth watching if
youve ever been a fan of either Alien or Predator.
And as for who wins
well
If I told you thered be
no point in watching it, would there?
Marks
out of 10: 7.5.
Best
Bit (Spoiler Alert): As an Alien bursts through the chest of one
of the characters, it is caught by a predator who, after admiring
it for a few seconds, promptly snaps its neck.
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