Alexa Woods - A tough-as-nails survivalist who is hired
by Charles Bishop Weyland to take a team into the Antarctic to research a recently discovered temple buried deep beneath the
permafrost. She is the last surviving member of the expedition and even becomes an honorary Predator after killing her
fair share of vicious Aliens in combat.
Sebastian de Rosa - An unlucky archaeologist who is brought on the mission to study the mysterious
temple and its artifacts. After providing a good chunk of expository information (thanks to his ability to read hieroglyphs), he gets
pasted to a wall and impregnated with a xenomorph egg. Alexa does the humane thing and shoots him before he can experience
the pain of Alien-child birth.
Graeme Miller - This overly optimistic scientist takes more pictures than a Japanese tourist! He shares
the same fate as Sebastian. Unfortunately, no one was there to shoot Miller before his chestburster popped out.
Charles Bishop Weyland - Lance Henriksen! The multi-billion dollar chairman of Weyland Industries who is
funding the doomed Antarctic expedition. He discovers first hand that you should A) never attack a Predator from behind, B)
never attempt to set a Predator on fire, and C) never attempt both. He receives two massive blades through his torso
after failing to set "Scar" aflame.
Maxwell Stafford - The haughty right-hand man of Charles Weyland. He ends up getting caught in a nasty
Predator net, then receives a spear through the chest. That's what you get for stealing a Predator's property Max!
Adele Rousseau - Alien facehuggers find this gal's Billy Idol hairstyle irresistible! After a freshly
hatched crab-like critter humps her face, she awakens and gives birth to a healthy baby chestburster.
The rest of the research team - This varied group of scientists, mechanics, and armed guards all meet a messy
end. Some are slain for sport by the Predators, while a good chunk of the others become unwilling parents to Alien offspring.
The Aliens - These pesky xenomorphic critters are utilized by Predators as a "test of manhood." While I thought
that they'd be easy prey for the Predators, it turns out that these beasties are quite intelligent and vicious. They end up
taking out two young Predators before being exterminated in a nuclear explosion.
The Predators - A race of trophy-hunting extraterrestrials who are obsessed with putting a cloaking device
on everything! Though immensely powerful and armed to the teeth, these young Predators soon discover that they are
in way over their dreadlocked heads.
Grid - This is the nick-name given to the film's lead alien. It received this name because of the wound it
received while battling a Predator. After being captured in a Pred-net, the auto-tightening trap cut a grid-like pattern
into this Alien Warrior's skull. Long before being incinerated in a nuclear blast, Grid manages to kill two Predators.
Scar - This is the toughest Predator in the film as it survives repeated attacks from humans and Aliens alike.
Though he is a fearless and skilled hunter, Scar eventually perishes in battle after the massive Queen Alien impales him with
her tail. Scar's body is recovered soon after by his fellow Predators, but they fail to realize that their fallen brother is
carrying an unwelcome visitor in his chest.
The Queen Alien - This massive egg-laying beast is liberated from her bonds by Grid and his little Alien buddies.
Once free, the Queen smashes her way to the icy surface and dukes it out with Scar and Alexa. After mortally wounding Scar,
the Queen ends up taking a spill into the nearby water and sinks into the icy cold abyss.
Pitting two iconic characters in a death-match, or having them team up on
some sort of adventure is not a new idea in cinema. Universal had Frankenstein's Monster tangle with the Wolf-Man in 1943's Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman;
Toho Studios pitted Japan's biggest pop-culture icon against an American upstart in King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962); New Line Cinema
paired up their two most famous horror icons in Freddy vs. Jason (2003). Seeing how each of these franchise
crossovers proved to be commercial successes (to this day, Toho states that King Kong vs. Godzilla was
the most profitable film they've ever made), it came as no surprise when it was announced that
the Alien and Predator
franchises were going to mingle. But unlike the films I've already mentioned, Alien vs. Predator
began as sort of a joke.
In 1990's Predator 2 there's a brief scene where Danny Glover discovers
a trophy room on a Predator's spaceship, and sees among other things, a mounted Alien skull. This sent ripples through the
fanboy community for years and eventually led to several popular series of comic books from Dark Horse. For years, the Aliens
and Predators battled each other, and crossed over to battle D.C. heroes as well, in mini-series like "Batman vs. Predator" and
"Superman vs. Aliens." I find it surprising that the popularity of the comics and the overall concept of these two alien species
battling each other, didn't finally bear fruit until 2004. Perhaps that's why this movie fails on so many levels.
Depending on which version of the film you watch on the single-disc release (I went with the "extended version") you may or
may not bear witness to a pointless introduction to the film which takes place in 1904. At the Antarctic whaling station
called Razorback point, a terrified man runs for his life and ducks into a building, only to come across a cloaked Predator.
As the invisible hunter closes in on the cowering human, it adjusts its thermal vision just in time to see an ambushing Alien.
The two creatures clash and suddenly its 2004. A satellite in space, owned by billionaire Charles Bishop Weyland, has picked
up a huge heat signature about a half-mile under the Antarctic ice. Weyland immediately uses his unlimited resources to put
together a team to head out to Antarctica and find out what exactly is under the ice. (Their current hypothesis is that the
heat source under the ice is some sort of ancient temple.)
The team is made up of Alexa Woods, the leading expert on surviving in frozen wastelands, Sebastian de Rosa, a down-on-his-luck
archaeologist, Graeme Miller, a scientist that specializes in carbon dating artifacts, Maxwell Stafford, Weyland's right-hand
man, and a slew of unimportant fodder. After making preparations, the team heads to their frozen destination via a large, ice-breaking
ship. Eventually the team arrives at ye ole Razorback Point whaling station and setup base camp. Afterwards, they prepare to drill down to the mysterious heat source but soon find that someone has beat them to the punch. Long before they
got to the whaling station, a Predator vessel hovering above Earth, fired a plasma beam which melted an entrance straight
down to their underground temple.
Alexa, Sebastian, Graeme, Max, and a host of victims head into the depths and discover that their theories were indeed
correct. There is in fact, a giant temple beneath the ice! They set up some lights, check their equipment, and then head into
the unknown. After they enter the Predator temple, they trigger off a silent alarm, and soon, three young Predator warriors
are blasting down to Antarctica to start slaying for their merit badges. And this is my major problem with this film: From what
we've learned in Predator (1987) and Predator 2 (1990),
the intergalactic trophy hunters prefer tropical temperatures. Hell, the Predator home planet (as seen in Alien vs. Predator: Requiem (2007))
is a primitive-looking world with rivers of lava all over the place.
So already, the three amateur Predators are completely out of their
element. One would think that these alien beings would have trouble acclimating themselves to the weather and below-freezing
temperatures, but apparently not. Within minutes of their arrival, the three hunters easily dispatch a group of armed men at the
subterranean tunnel entrance, without shivering once. After hoisting their prey up high so polar bears don't come along and eat
their trophies, the trio of Predators head down into the temple. In the meantime, the research team is wandering about and
tossing out theories and hypotheses like crazy. They eventually wander into a chamber that contains a sarcophagus, and waste no time
in opening it.
Inside the sarcophagus, they discover three strange "artifacts," namely the shoulder-mounted plasma cannons that Predators
are so fond of. Removing the weapons from their resting place causes the temple to go into "kill mode." A Queen Alien deep
in the bowels of the temple is automatically brought out of suspended-animation and begins laying eggs. The rest
of the temple begins shifting like a giant rubik’s cube, and soon the whole team is divided up into smaller groups. One very unlucky
group manages to get trapped in a sacrificial chamber and soon become the proud parents of several Warrior Aliens. With the humans
trapped like rats in a constantly shifting maze full of pissed off Predators who want their guns, and deadly Aliens who live
only to serve their queen, the movie finally starts to get interesting.
Multiple casualties ensue until only the important characters are left alive, but since they have the Predators' main
offensive weapons, they have been targeted for immediate termination. Maxwell gets pinned to a wall in a deadly Pred-net. This
is one of my favorite Predator tools/weapons as it is an indestructible metallic net that tightens around the prey. The
resulting effect draws blood and slices the target to ribbons. Max manages to hold his gun up to his face before being ensnared, but
the net begins cutting through his weapon. Sebastian and Alexa rush to his aid and attempt to free him, but there's nothing
they can do. They can only watch helplessly as Max is impaled on a huge spear.
As two Predators close in on the last of the humans, one of the mighty hunters is caught off guard and killed by a sneaky
xenomorph. The creature tosses its limp foe aside and begins to do battle with the second Predator. For a good three minutes,
the two creatures clash and go at each other like rabid wolves. At the climax of their duel, the Predator ensnares its enemy
in a Pred-net. Unfortunately for the young hunter, the Alien's acidic blood frees it from the net, allowing it to pounce
on the unsuspecting Predator. While on top of its would-be slayer, the Alien (henceforth known as "Grid") utilizes its
signature killing move and puts its second set of jaws through the Predator's skull.
Cripes! I know these Predators are youngsters and not combat vets, but c'mon! One measly Alien took
two of them out! (They should have called this flick, "Alien vs. Pussies!") Luckily for Predator fans, the remaining hunter
is a total badass, and far hardier than his two friends. This remaining hunter (henceforth known as "Scar") manages to track
down the three surviving humans within the temple, namely Weyland, Alexa, and Sebastian. Weyland, unable to continue on, tells
the others to go, then attempts to attack Scar. The huge Predator shrugs off the attack and leaves Charles Weyland alive
after scanning his cancer-riddled body. But Charlie doesn't like it when the Predator turns its back on him, and attempts
to light the merciful creature on fire. He pays for this insult with his life.
Sebastian and Alexa escape certain death when the temple realigns itself again, but something very unexpected happens. The
Predator, having slain an Alien, takes off its mask and burns a symbol onto its mask and forehead. While doing this, it
ends up getting pounced on by a facehugger, and thus ends up becoming a host for an all new terror from space. In the next
room, Alexa and Sebastian talk about their situation and decide that "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." Their new plan
is to find Scar and give him the weapon they stole. During their attempt to deliver the plasma-cannon to its rightful owner,
Sebastian is captured and carried off by a stealthy Alien. Alone and pretty much helpless, Alexa seeks aid from Scar. After
helping the cranky Predator kill an Alien, she gives him his blaster.
Seeing as how the situation isn't so good and that Alexa is pretty brave for a human, Scar makes her a spear and acid-proof
shield from the felled Alien. The two unlikely allies then make their way through the temple and search for an exit. In the meantime,
that pesky Grid and his brethren have been called to the Queen's side. She is sick of getting electric jolts through her
massive anus and wants out of her chains. The smaller Aliens begin chomping into their ruler, causing her acidic blood to splatter
on the chains and shackles. The Queen soon breaks free and begins charging blindly through the corridors and toward the nearest
outlet. Scar and Alexa in the meantime come across a large chamber full of hatching eggs. Before their faces can be hugged, Scar
does something totally atypical of a Predator.
He programs the self-destruct mechanism on his arm, then takes it off, tosses it on the ground and runs like hell.
What?! That is a final solution when a Predator is cornered or about to die! They never set it and run! Let me ask you this
writer/director Paul W.S. Anderson: Have you even watched the other Predator films?! Anyway, Scar and Alexa manage
to escape before the temple (and the miniature town above) are completely obliterated by the resulting nuclear explosion.
Once they are in the clear, Scar removes his mask and reveals his butt-ugly face to Alexa. Using an Alien finger that he claimed
as a prize, the hardy Predator uses some of the acidic blood to burn a symbol of manliness onto Alexa's cheek.
Their moment of bonding is quickly broken up when the Alien Queen bashes her way out of the ice and charges. Scar and Alexa
both deliver some heavy damage to the rampaging creature, but Queenie refuses to go down without a fight. As Scar keeps "her royal highness"
entertained, Alexa grabs a chain that is still attached to the huge creature and attempts to tie it onto an old, dilapidated
water tower. Scar puts his spear through the Queen's head and rushes to help Alexa. They succeed in their task, but that
pesky water tower is pretty sturdy. Instead of falling off the edge of the nearby cliff, the tower stands strong. Alexa begins
hacking at the last few restraining bolts while poor, brave Scar is impaled on the Queen's massive tail. Just as the dinosaurian
Alien Queen is about to put her retractable jaws through Scar's face, the water tower gives and drags the Queen to a deep,
icy grave.
Alexa goes to check on her fallen ally and soon gets to meet Scar's extended family. A large Predator chieftain, decked out
in a red cape has Scar loaded onto a cloaked ship. Then, before taking his fallen comrade away, the veteran Predator gives
Alexa a retractable spear as a gift. (He does this because she has that 'T' symbol on her cheek that Scar gave her.) Instead of
offering the stranded human a lift, the Predators head back up into space. As the ship ascends into the heavens, Alexa rushes
over to a nearby treaded vehicle (a Snowcat maybe?) and (probably) heads back to Weyland's ice-breaking ship, the Piper Maru. As the film
closes out, the body of Scar is left alone on an altar by his "pallbearers." Once the coast is clear, a chestburster pops
out of the Predator corpse, setting the film up for its superior sequel, Alien vs. Predator: Requiem (2007).
CLICK ON THE BANNER TO SEE THE FULL ROSTER OF PARTICIPATING SITES!
Film Review: Alien vs. Predator is a muddled
mess. I commend Paul W.S. Anderson for attempting to do something cool with the concept and characters, but I think he
should have just stuck with making another Resident Evil instead. This film
does not have the look and feel of an Alien or Predator
flick; it needed to be darker, both in its look and tone. A lot of scenes are too well lit and there's never really a feeling
of unease or tension. What made the Alien films work so well was the feeling that anything could happen; that an Alien could suddenly
appear out of nowhere and snatch a screaming victim away; there's almost none of that here. What also works against the film are Anderson's apparently uncontrollable
urges to use 3-D holographic maps (a la Resident Evil (2002)), and
scenes showcasing slow-motion/bullet-time effects (which were made popular by The Matrix (1999)).
Sorry Paul, but all of those fancy effects seem really out of place in both the Alien and Predator universes.
And speaking of which, the titular creatures aren't nearly as fearsome or violent as their past incarnations, and both
species act out of character far too often for my liking. I've already griped about the Predators in the Plot section above (e.g. hot-climate loving monsters in the coldest place on Earth; atypical
use of self-destruct mechanism) so let me complain a bit about the Aliens. First off, the gestation period for the xenomorphs
in this particular film is like five minutes. I know that Paul Anderson wanted to keep things moving at a brisk pace and all,
but he shouldn't be messing around with established rules for the film's much adored monsters. Also, Aliens have shown some signs
of intelligence in past films, but they basically operate on a hive mentality. In this film, the Alien known as Grid shows
signs of independent intelligence. Not only does this rascal kill two Predators, but it knows enough to dodge plasma blasts
too.
Going back to the Predators (I know, I'm bitchin' a lot, but stick with me here), I wasn't a very big fan of the redesigned
face of the creature. I think that the original Stan Winston design was wonderful and worked just fine. However, the effects
technicians on this film decided that the Predator needed to emote more. I have no problem with this, but I do have a problem
with the fact that Predator's mandibles open far too wide. I've compared footage the original Predator
to this film and the old animatronics and makeup just hold up so much better. Aside from my gripes with the changes made
to the creatures in the film, I will say that the effects work was very well done.
CGI is pretty much unavoidable these days, but Paul Anderson and company utilized very little. (Most, if not all of it went
toward bringing the Queen Alien to life.) The majority of the action
utilizes men in rubber monster suits, animatronics, miniatures, and impressive sets. (The whaling station that the characters
discover early on in the film was built on a sound stage and covered in tons of fake snow. It really looked awesome in the film!)
Continuing onward, another thing this movie does wrong is that it makes the audience wait too long before the monster
smackdown begins. The first actual fight between an Alien and a Predator occurs an hour into the film and lasts for only
a few minutes! Even the battles that take place afterwards are swift and leave you wanting more.
During the pre-monster action, Paul Anderson ineffectually attempts to develop some of the film's human characters. I say
ineffectual because by the time people start dying, you won't really care. The only character that you will feel any sympathy
toward is Graeme Miller, but only because he has kids and had his heart set on seeing them again. (A fact that Paul
Anderson shoves down our throats several times.) The film's starpower rests entirely on the shoulders of Lance Henriksen,
who is totally wasted in this movie. Lance does a fine job with his role, but it seems like his character was tacked on in order
to tie this film a little bit closer to the Alien franchise.
So as you can see, I'm not really a big fan of Alien vs. Predator. When
it hit theaters in 2004, I went to see it, and I sort of enjoyed it. I didn't think it was great, but I didn't hate it either.
Upon my most recent viewing, my opinion of the film changed drastically. I think that is because the sequel is so much better,
and truly succeeds where the first AVP failed. AVPR (2007)
is dark, gritty, violent, gory, and provides a few scares and neat surprises. The Aliens are fast and vicious and spread like
the plague that they are, while the lone Predator in the film is cold, calculated, and hellbent on controlling the spread
of the Alien menace.
Finally, there is one more thing I must mention before I render my final judgement. There is a bit of interesting backstory in AVP
involving the Predators' interaction with humanity. I love the idea that ancient peoples worshiped and built pyramids
for the Predators, and I very much like the idea of this warrior race using Aliens as "the ultimate prey." All of this happens
in a semi-flashback which shows a trio of Predators standing atop a pyramid and blasting away at swarms of Aliens
that are racing to the top. This scene is truly a beautiful sight to behold, and when I first laid eyes on it, I thought to myself, "This is the movie I really want to see!"
Sadly the film fails to live up to this one moment of glory, and will forever be a letdown to sci-fi fans everywhere.
So how radioactive is this sci-fi franchise crossover?
Geiger Counter Reading:
 
- TWO AND A HALF 'RADS' -
WARNING: This movie is SOMEWHAT RADIOACTIVE!
Cool effects and a few good doses of monster mayhem
make this a watchable, but highly unsatisfying creature feature.
DVD Review: As of my writing this review, there are three different DVD releases for Alien vs. Predator.
There's the (widescreen or fullscreen) single-disc release, the two-disc "Unrated Collector's Edition," and finally a "Lenticular Edition." My review
here is based on the plain old widescreen single-disc release of AVP. All
in all, this is a pretty worthwhile disc to own if you're a completionist or a fan of the film. The movie is shown in 2:35:1 widescreen
with Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound (or Dolby 5.1 DTS). The film looks and sounds great (not surprising since it was made in 2004), and the main Alien and Predator
bout that occurs an hour into the film has been brightened up significantly. When I saw this movie during it's theatrical
run, that entire sequence in the film was so dark that I couldn't really keep tabs on who was winning the fight. I'm happy to say
that this problem has totally been remedied, and very second of the fight can be seen with perfect clarity.
This single-disc release comes with a good number of extras including an audio commentary with Paul W.S. Anderson, Lance
Henriksen (Weyland), and Sanaa Lathan (Alexa) and a second audio commentary with Visual Effects Supervisor John Bruno and Creature
Effects Designers/Creators Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff Jr. I haven't watched the film with either commentary yet, but I'm
sure that both contain a wealth of knowledge, especially the latter commentary. (Tom Woodruff Jr. has donned rubber monster
suits since 1987 where he debuted as the Gillman in The Monster Squad.)
Also included
on the disc are three deleted scenes that were rightfully excised from the movie as they add nothing. Then there's an awful
twenty-three minute featurette about the making of the film. I say it's awful because it doesn't have much meat to it, plus,
this featurette commits the heinous crime of having producer John Davis speak about the project. This guy has the balls to compare
AVP to Spielberg's JAWS (1975),
and continuously pats Paul W.S. Anderson on the back for creating the "ultimate" Alien vs. Predator story and bringing it to
the big screen. Mr. Davis, you sir, are an idiot.
In true "what the hell" fashion, the Fox promo for Superbowl XXXIX (thirty-nine to those of you who don't know your Roman numerals)
is included on the disc. I thought it was going to be a teaser for AVP
that may have aired during the Superbowl, but no, this is a trailer for Superbowl XXXIX and The Daytona 500. What a waste
of disc space! Thankfully all is not lost here because a very nice gallery of Dark Horse comic covers are included. Finally, the
disc has DVD-ROM content that includes the first edition AVP comic book, an AVP background study, and an "exclusive preview
of the upcoming AVP graphic novel!" Despite the inclusion of various
unnecessary (i.e. worthless) extras, this is still a pretty solid DVD release.
Note: On April 15th of this year, Fox will be releasing Alien vs. Predator: Requiem (2007).
This movie is significantly better than the first, and will have four different releases to choose from: A single-disc R-Rated theatrical
cut, a single-disc unrated cut, a 2-disc special edition that features the unrated version of the film, and finally, a two-disc set
that contains the unrated versions of both AVP movies. For Blu-Ray owners,
this sequel and a set with both Alien vs. Predator films, will hit retail shelves
on the same day. You can pre-order any of these DVD releases now at Amazon.com
or Movies Unlimited.
Graeme: [To Sebastian] "I told you she'd stay. She can't resist my animal magnestism."
Alexa: "Seven seasons on the ice, and I've never seen a gun save someone's life."
Adele: "I don't plan on using it."
Alexa: "Then why bring it?"
Adele: "Same principle as a condom. I'd rather have one and not need it, than need it and not have one."
(Reviewer's Note: With hair like that, I doubt she'll ever have the chance to utilize a condom.)
Maxwell: [sarcastically] "It's a good thing we brought the experts."
Graeme: "Well yeah. It is a good thing. 'Cause this is like findin' Moses' DVD collection."
(Vault Master's comment: Even if Moses did have a DVD collection, it would probably pale
in comparison to mine!)
- Beginning - Antarctica: October 10, 1904...
- 3:27 - Hey cool! Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman is playing on TV!
- 15:17 - "She can't resist my animal magnetism."
- 17:22 - Beware the Hunter's Moon! Stay clear of the moors!
- 21:36 - So only one single penguin resides in this part of Antarctica?
- 30:59 - The Queen Alien awakens from a century-long slumber.
- 33:45 - "You damaged my cloaking device! Prepare to die!"
- 38:26 - Wow, Alexa is a master at stating the obvious.
- 40:52 - "... 'Cause this is like findin' Moses' DVD collection."
- 45:10 - I wonder if Adele has the urge to smoke after being face-raped by a xenomorph.
- 54:00 - Oof! Alexa gets punted by an angry Predator.
- 55:02 - Let the battle begin, and may the best franchise win!
- 57:53 - Your score at halftime: Aliens 2, Predators 0
- 59:22 - Lesson learned: Never turn your back on Lance Henriksen.
- 65:32 - Talk about delaying the inevitable...
- 76:33 - I'm no detective, but this crime scene tells me that a freshly hatched facehugger shot Graeme Miller, then
committed suicide.
- 78:09 - This Predator is a total badass!
- 88:30 - It was cool of them to give Alexa a spear and all, but a lift home would've been nicer.
- 89:57 - The birth of the Pred-Alien! Aww... it has its father's mandibles...
- 90:02 - The End Credits.
Recommended Viewing:
- I highly recommend this film's sequel, Alien vs. Predator: Requiem (2007).
The Predator (known as "Wolf"), the "Pred-Alien," and the swarms of Warrior Aliens all put on a good, bloody show. Also check
out the rest of the films that make up the respective franchises:
Alien (1979),
Aliens (1986), Alien 3 (1992),
Alien Resurrection (1997), Predator (1987),
and Predator 2 (1990).
- With success comes imitators (i.e. rip-offs and knock-offs). Here are some films that borrow from the Alien
and Predator franchises: A trio of American tourists team up with
a NASA scientist to stop the spread of chest-bursting aliens in Spain in Alien Predators (1987);
an indie film company called "The Global Asylum" made an awful low-budget AVP rip-off called
Alien vs. Hunter (2007), starring William Katt(!); Xenomorphs make
a small scale invasion of Earth in the Italian-made sequel/rip-off Alien 2 sulla terra (1980);
Mark Dacascos battles a creature with cloaking abilities in a tropical rainforest in D.N.A. (1997).
- Alien vs. Predator is not the only film to pair up two popular
franchise characters in a battle to the death. Check out these other franchise crossovers:
Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman (1943), King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962), and
Freddy vs. Jason (2003). There have been other proposed crossovers like
Pinhead vs. Michael Myers and Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash
but thus far, these projects have never (and probably will never) get off the ground. Personally, I'd like to see a
Robocop vs. Terminator film in the near future.
Useless Trivia:
- Except for scenes where stand-ins were needed, stuntman/actor Ian Whyte portrayed all three
Predators in the film.
- Lance Henriksen's character in AVP is the co-founder of the evil "Weyland-Yutani Corporation"
that hails from the Alien series. Though Weyland dies in this film,
two "Bishop" androids would be built in his image and show up in Aliens (1986)
and Alien 3 (1992).
- This is the first Predator movie to feature a left-handed Predator!
- The role of Maxwell Stafford was written specifically for Colin Salmon.
- The animatronic Queen Alien was controlled by a motion-control rig that digitally saved her movements. If the effects
artists came up with some cool movements and choreography for the Queen during rehearsals, they could replay them while
filming.
- Had Arnold Schwarzenegger not been elected governor of California, he would've had a
short cameo in Alien vs. Predator as Dutch Schaeffer, the character
he played in Predator (1987).
- After Fox passed on doing a fifth installment in the Alien series
in order to make Alien vs. Predator, James Cameron,
Ridley Scott, and Sigourney Weaver all declared that they would not
work on either franchise in the future.
- The lead Predator's name is listed in the credits as "Scar." His two cohorts in the film were nick-named Celtic and Chopper
by the workshop crew at Amalgamated Dynamics Incorporated.
LEAVE YOUR OWN COMMENTS ABOUT THIS MOVIE IN...
And feel free to e-mail me at vault_master[at]bmoviefilmvault[dot]com if you have any
questions, personal recommendations, or information about the films reviewed here on the site! Don't be shy! Your
feedback helps make The Vault better!
Review posted on February 25, 2008.
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