AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004)

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General		Extras
Category	Science Fiction	Main Menu Introduction Main Menu Audio & Animation Alternative Version-Extended Version Audio Commentary-Director And Cast Audio Commentary-Filmmakers Featurette-Making Of Deleted Scenes-With Optional Director's Commentary Gallery-Darkhorse AVP Comic Covers
Rating
Year Of Production	2004
Running Time	96:39
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (56:02)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Paul W.S. Anderson
Studio Distributor	Twentieth Century Fox	Starring	Sanaa Lathan Raoul Bova Ewen Bremner Colin Salmon Lance Henriksen Tommy Flanagan Agathe De La Boulaye
Case	?
RPI	$39.95	Music	Harald Kloser

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s) English dts 5.1 (768Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired English Audio Commentary English Audio Commentary	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    The movie starts out with what appears to be a mysterious archaeological find in the Antarctic. Billionaire businessman Charles Bishop Weyland (Lance Henriksen) funds an expedition to the site to discover something for which mankind will remember him. Recruited to lead the team is Alexa Woods (Sanaa Lathan), a mountaineering expert and confident woman.

    Needless to say, what they discover is not only an archaeological site that would alter the way mankind sees the universe, but a testing ground for young Predators to earn their stripes against the deadly and acrobatic Aliens. The human expedition quickly find out that they are in the midst of a battle which they cannot win, but where they must fight for their own survival.

    The whole premise and story fits quite nicely into the story detailed in the previous movies (i.e. I guess it could happen). It also ties well into theories on how ancient human cultures created pyramids and exhibited similar traits. The ending is predictable, with Alexa in the midst of an unlikely alliance, and certainly leaves the door open for more Alien vs. Predator movies. The special effects are all very nicely done, with the Aliens appearing much more mobile than ever before. It made me wonder what James Cameron would have done with Aliens if he had today's technology back in 1986. The fights between the Aliens and the Predators are also fun to watch.

    The DVD provides both the original theatrical cut and a new extended version. Although the movie has not been well received by critics, I found it enjoyable, and the excellent DVD transfer certainly shows off the movie in the best possible way. Sit back, get some hot popcorn, and enjoy a good night in your home theatre.

Video

    The movie is presented at an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 (the original theatrical ratio), and is of course 16x9 enhanced for a blockbuster release such as this.

    The transfer throughout is clean, sharp, and clear. Grain is almost non-existent, with the only obvious occurrence early on in the piece with a wide shot on the white satellite dishes. There was no further grain that I could see against bright white backgrounds such as the snow or ice. Of course for a movie such as this that uses the dark to increase tension, shadow detail and black levels are critical. The black levels throughout are solid, with shadow detail and delineation very well supported. Consider the early scene in Mexico at 3:38, and compare the same scene in the deleted scenes, which is of inferior quality. The black levels and the shadow detail are clearly better defined in the actual transfer. The scenes in the abandoned whaling warehouse also exhibit very nice detail in the darkness.

    Colours are for the most part fairly muted, but this is expected for a movie filmed in the environments of the movie. Colour correction and filtering is obvious in most cases, but this is done for most special effects-laden movies these days. Scenes early on in Mexico exhibit natural and bright colours, with natural skin tones and no oversaturation. I could not detect any instances of aliasing or edge enhancement. It would be expected that this print would be very clean, and it is, with no film artefacts detectable.

    This is an RSDL-formatted disc, with the layer change occurring at 56:02. It is fairly well placed at a scene change, and so does not really break the flow of the movie. There are no subtitles provided with this release.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    Dialogue is clear at all times, with no apparent lip synchronisation problems such as have been reported in Region 1 reviews.

    Use of the music score is typical of horror/action movies, with loud sudden flares in the music to support the on-screen scares. The music cues predictably use familiar themes from both the Predator and Alien franchises, mixed in with some original score. The music is used well across the sound stage to provide some atmospheric accompaniment, and is quite enveloping.

    In addition to the music, the surrounds are also used nicely for all other types of panning effects and ambient noise. There are some instances of localised rear effects, particularly in the pyramid scenes. Right from the very beginning shot of the satellite moving through space, the sound effects envelop the listener. Stereo separation across the front soundstage is also very good.

    The subwoofer also has its work cut out for it, with all manner of explosions to shake the floor and windows. I particularly liked the instances at 13:03 and towards the end, where the subwoofer was driven to great depths. There are better tracks out there to test your subwoofer, but this was still very good.

    I listened to the DTS track in full, and sampled some of the key scenes with the Dolby Digital track. Once scene I used was at around 13:03 when the Predator ship is creating the tunnel. The DTS track, as is common, is recorded at a slightly higher level. Comparing the tracks at this scene, the DTS track exhibits deeper bass resolution (translation - it rattled my floor and windows better!), and just sounds a little clearer in the surrounds. But all in all, the differences are fairly minor, with both being excellent tracks.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    There are not that many extras with this release, but what we have been offered is fairly interesting. In addition to the below, the DVD is presented with some nice animated menus, with the startup menu being random (there are two different menus that I have seen).

Extended Version

    The extended version is not actually that extended at all, running at 97:58 compared to the 96:39 of the original cut. The only difference is an additional scene at the beginning of the movie that shows a flashback to the whaling community during 1904. It does not add that much to the movie at all.

Audio Commentary - Paul Anderson, Lance Henriksen, Sanaa Lathan

    This audio commentary features the director and the stars of the movie, and is quite candid and good-natured. The participants provide in-jokes, reveal little tributes to the previous movies that litter this production, and some interesting trivia. They are fairly candid in admitting to mistakes or regrets in certain shots, but also take time to congratulate and look back with fondness on the production. They come across as all having had a great time making the movie. Note that both commentaries are only available on the original theatrical cut of the movie.

Audio Commentary - Alec Gillis, Tom Woodruff, John Bruno

    I found this track with the technical wizards (visual and creature effects) a little harder to listen to. That is not to say that this is a bad commentary. The participants talk in quite a lot of detail about the technical aspects of making the movie, discussing how they set up shots, and discussing the use of CGI, miniatures, and robotics/puppets.

Making of Alien vs. Predator - 23:12

    This is quite an interesting Making Of, and is presented at 1.85:1 (16x9 enhanced). It discusses many aspects of the production, from the origins and concepts through to the filming and post-production. Also highlighted is some interesting trivia regarding tributes and links back to the previous movies. The footage of the creature workshops and the use of robotics/puppets was very interesting.

Deleted Scenes

    There are three deleted scenes that are all quite short and are extensions to existing scenes in the movie. Commentary from the director is provided explaining why the scenes were deleted.

Darkhorse AvP Comic Covers

    This extra provides a series of screenshots of comic book covers from the AvP comic series. The artwork is very good.

    There is censorship information available for this title. Click here to read it (a new window will open). WARNING: Often these entries contain MAJOR plot spoilers.

    Many people have criticised Alien vs. Predator for being a cash cow that exploits the Alien and Predator franchises. I for one actually enjoyed the movie, and I don't think it takes itself too seriously. It has some quite suspenseful moments, but some similar scenes to previous movies do not carry the same weight (eg. the chest bursting scenes). All in all, the acting is adequate, and the effects - both visual and aural - are great. Sounds perfect for a night in at your home theatre.

    The video quality is excellent, with not much to fault at all.

    The audio quality matches the video quality, with the DTS track a winner.

    The extras are fairly informative, albeit brief.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall