Wednesday, July 20, 2005

story
Tagline:-

"Whoever wins... We lose."

Synopsis:-

For thousands of years, the 'Predators,' the alien game hunters, have come to Earth
for one reason: to engage in a coming of age ritual. To become "men," the teenage
'Predators' have to hunt down a hive of 'Alien Warriors' and successfully defeat
them and claim the skull as their trophy. Humans are used as hosts for the 'Alien
Facehuggers.' If the aliens win, the 'predators' set off a bomb to wipe everything
in the vicinity. Two thousand years ago, this happened and the Aztecs, who worshipped
the 'Predators' as Gods, were caught in the middle and killed off in the explosion.
Present day, billionaire robotics industrialist 'Charles Bishop Weyland' (Lance
Henriksen) discovers a pyramid, buried under the ice of Antarctica. 'Weyland' puts
together an expedition team, led by 'Lex Woods'(Sanaa Lathan) to explore the pyramid.
Once they get there, the enslaved 'Queen Alien' awakens from her sleep, which results
in the production of new eggs and 'Facehuggers.' The new hunting clan of teenage
'Predators' have arrived, ready to hunt down both the 'Aliens' and the humans within.


Story/plot:-

The basic plot is interesting but not very detailed as to the origin of either of
the 'alien.' It's more like a videogame, just enough to get the 'aliens' and
'predators' together for a battle. In that aspect, it's similar to "Freddy vs Jason."
I hope this trend ends and we get better "vs. stories". Any kid over age 5 can understand
it, hence the PG-13 which effects the story more than anything else.


Atmosphere:-

There is much really. It tries to be mysterious in origin of the pyramid in the
beginning but after we get that part clear, it's just a videogame of fighting between
'aliens' and 'predator' -- all of the trained human soldiers, save 'Alexa,' are
dispatched shortly after the midpoint. There's really no sense of terror, just
short battles in rapid secession. The terror in "Alien 1-4" and "Predator 1-2"
are lacking here.


Cast/characters:-

There's several characters to keep track of but 95% of them are background
characters who are killed off fast!
The acting is sufficient but nothing great.
Sigourney, where are you??!!
Sanaa Lathan plays 'Alexa Woods,' the female guide of the party hired by 'Weyland'
to search the pyramid. She's supposed to be the strong female character, not
unlike Sigourney's 'Ripley,' but she is no Sigourney!
She comes off as whiny. Not until the end does she come alive. Overall, she's
sufficient since the true stars are the creatures.
Raoul Bova plays 'Sebastian de Rosa,' sort of a translator of the markings within
the pyramid. He's a little difficult to understand at times but he's okay.
Lance Henriksen plays 'Charles Bishop Weyland,' the owner of a huge robotics
company and he's funding this expedition. He's rather rude, arrogant, and bossy.
He is also not as smart as he first appears, as is evidenced by some of his
stupid actions. It's great to see Lance Henriksen return and he does his job.
Blame the writers.


Cinematography:-

It's pretty good but a little dark at times.


FX, Sound, etc:-

The SFX are great. The 'aliens' and 'predators' are as good as their respective
predecessors with a few improvements. The 'Facehuggers' are great, the CGI is
good too. The sound and music are adequate, nothing extraordinary. It didn't
add or detract from the story.


Final Thoughts:-

It's not as good as I expected. It's more like a comic book/videogame. The
background story's ok but the emphasis is on fighting. We don't really see an
'Alien' clash with a 'Predator' until over the halfway point. We see a few
battles that end too quickly. The ending is setup for a sequel in which we might
see one of the home worlds. Sadly, no home world yet. It's not scary like the
others in the series. If you're a fan of the series, it's worth a view.

2.5 of 5 stars



Reviewed By Wolf By Night


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