I thought they said in the movie that ancient maps showed Antarctica wasn't all snow and ice...not the best explanation, but it was in there. Maybe it used to be hot enough for the Predators to build it.
I was under the impression that the movie was merely based on the comic books and video games, not a direct adaptation of them. I have the comics, but the artwork is so friggin' awful that I haven't bothered to read them. Does it say in there that the Predator race created the Alien race? That would have been cool if they did, and would have explained why the aliens were on LV-426 in the first place (and maybe a tie-in to the derelict spacecraft they found the hive on in the first Alien movie would be cool.)
Paul Anderson os a complete jackass, and should not have ever been chosen to direct this movie. It had great potential, but who the hell chooses to rate an Alien and Predator movie PG-friggin'-13? The producers said they didn't think this was a cop-out, since the "crossover" idea was purely in the comics and video games prior to the movie, and that young males aged 10-18 or some friggin' crap were the majority of that audience, but that is so STUPID! This is a MOVIE and fans of the earlier MOVIES which tie in here are all used to seeing arms cut off and skulls being punched in.
Also, the first Alien and the first Predator had something going for them: we didn't know what the creature looked like until near the end of the film. This added to the suspense, particularly in Alien. Here, with today's audiences seeking quick satisfaction, if you're gonna show us the monsters so early on, you need something else to make the movie work. Paul Anderson: learn how to create suspense and tension, THEN direct box-office smash movies! What the hell is scary about seeing someone disappear up a tunnel, presumably having been snatched by an alien, and then someone else finding their still-turned-on flashlight?
AND HAVING THE ALIEN'S MOUTH SLIME FALL ON THE GUN/GROUND WHILE A CHARACTER TOUCHES IT AND LOOKS AT IT CLOSELY TO SEE HOW IT STICKS TO THEIR FINGERS IS NOT SCARY ANYMORE! Harry Dean Stanton did it in Alien, one or more of the marines did it in Aliens, and the guy who fell into the fan did it in Alien 3. IT'S DONE ALREADY, let it die!
And why all of a sudden was it possible for Scar and the girl to just run out of the pyramid at the end when Scar threw the bomb into the egg nest? Had they solved the puzzle? So stupid!
That said, the effects I thought were very good, except for the other two minor Predators; they looked like average-size guys portraying a 7.5' tall Predator. Too bad Kevin Peter Hall died, he was the ultimate predator!!
The fights were good between the "Scar" predator and the Aliens, and the Alien Queen scene at the end was probably the best part of the movie! Never before has an Alien been on Earth, and someone said in another thread/post that it looked too big and like a T'Rex in AVP. The Queen is actually supposed to be that massive, but the technology didn't exist in the 80s to portray her properly, so they made her smaller. Look at the comics again (I have looked at the pictures, even if I didn't read 'em!)
Bishop is a human in AVP, and an android in Aliens and Alien 3. The Bishop at the end of Alien 3 was trying to trick Ripley into coming back from above the hot lead pool; when the prisoner smashes him in the back of the head, it goes all flappy and smushed-looking, and it looks like there's some blood, but presumably the androids have gotten to the point where they have red blood instead of that milky-white crap from the first two films...?
I agree with you, Rumple. But if you're going to waste time opening a thread to talk about this almost moot point, at least have a few points to bring up so we can argue/agree with them!
), It's handy to have AVP on the other screen, to pass the time and ease the pain.
Excellent review.
