AVP Can Wait For DVD
Special Effects Bonanza Undermined by Lackluster Characters

The good news is that the new combination film Alien vs. Predator is a more worthy sequel to the two respective thriller franchises than either of its immediate predecessors: Predator 2 or Alien Resurrection.

The bad news is that ain’t saying too much.

Hyped in coming attraction trailers all summer long as the ultimate “vs.” movie, AVP finishes ahead of Freddie vs. Jason and behind The People vs. Larry Flint in that particular genre.

AVP takes place in the future (October of 2004) when satellites owned by the Weyland Corporation discover signals from something buried deep in the ice of Antarctica. Further investigation reveals a giant pyramid 2000 feet below the surface and a recently drilled hole that will conveniently lead the team of archaeologists, scientists, environmentalists and corporate thugs to their untimely demise.

The pyramid bears an odd mixture of Aztec, Egyptian and Cambodian inscriptions leading the archaeologists to believe that they have found some sort of ancient bodega that offered take-out. The truth is even more horrific. Predators have been keeping alive an Alien Queen who lays her eggs every 100 years. Young Predator warriors then fly to Earth to face the ultimate in intergalactic fraternity hazing: a fight to the finish with Alien offspring. No rite of passage is complete without human sacrifice, and the reason that the team of scientists has been lured to the pyramid is so the Alien “face huggers” will have some fresh stomachs in which to plant their li’l bundles of joy.

Ironically, it is the first half of AVP—before the onslaught of monstrous mayhem—that works the best. Director Paul Anderson follows the lead of the first two Alien movies (classics, both) by allowing tension among humans in extreme isolation to build suspense.

“That’s what made Alien, Aliens and Predator so effective,” said Anderson. “Those films made the audiences wait to see the creatures. Audiences know they could pop at any given moment, which heightens the fear. I wanted Alien vs. Predator to build slowly, like the original Alien, and then have the last 45 minutes to be relentless action, akin to Aliens and Predator.”

The key human character in the psychological part of the drama is adventurer and scientist Alexa Woods, played by newcomer Sanaa Latham. She does an admirable job of bringing strength tempered by human fear to the role—all without mimicking Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley of the previous four Alien films. Unfortunately, just about every other human character in the new film is interchangeable and unmemorable.

On the plus side, in a summer when nearly all of the sci-fi action films are dominated by computer-generated effects (I, Robot; The Chronicles of Riddick), AVP gets back to latex and hydraulics for most of its special scenes. The result is that the Aliens and Predators have a weight and momentum that cannot be simulated by CG.

“Today’s audiences are sophisticated and can sense the sometimes ‘unrealness’ of even the best CG,” said director Anderson. “We wanted audiences to accept that these two powerful creatures are going head to head. And the best way to do that was for real.”

After several intense battle scenes, Alexa is trapped in a chamber with one of the Predators. She must choose to fight him, lure him into a trap against an Alien, or join forces with the young warrior to help her survive the ordeal. The Predator in question is played by 7’1” actor Ian Whyte, an ex-basketball player from England. With nary a word, he conveys more information and emotion to Alexa than any of the other actors in the film.

While AVP is a decent film, it could have been made much better with some genuinely interesting human characters to care about. In one scene, a scientist shows his new comrade a photo of his two sons. This is an old cinematic trick that is supposed to get the audience to empathize with the character. Here the trick is so old and played so obviously that it reeks of cheese. In this and many other ways, you can tell from the beginning of the film which characters will survive and which are destined to have their blood splattered all over the subterranean pyramid. The Alien franchise deserves better.

Speaking of splattering blood, several parents in Boone brought extremely young children with them to see AVP last weekend. During the more intense scenes, I could hear the kids actually saying “Mommy, I’m scared.” Come on, folks. If you’re too cheap to spring for a sitter and too selfish to sit through The Princess Diaries with your kids, at least have the decency to go to the lobby during the more nightmare-inducing scenes.

AVP is rated PG-13 for violence, language, horror images, slime and gore. It is now playing at Regal Cinemas in Boone.