Aliens Versus Predador Versus Exterminador do Futuro (Aliens versus Predator versus The Terminator)

Info About This Major SciFi War Comics:

FROM WIKIPEDIA

Aliens versus Predator versus The Terminator is a comic published by Dark Horse Comics about fictional characters from three separate movie series: Alien, Predator, and The Terminator. The series was in four parts, with parts 2-4 having a tagline on their cover.

Plot

Part 1

The story begins in a sewer-residing community at an undisclosed location (possibly on Earth). The characters are looking for someone, whom they find in the form of a seemingly decrepit woman in rags. At her request they attempt to help her stand, at which point she begins to attack them, beating the larger men easily before Annalee Call (Winona Ryder's character from Alien Resurrection) identifies herself to the woman, who is revealed to be Ripley #8, the clone of Ellen Ripley (also from Alien Resurrection). Call then takes Ripley back to her base of operations, where she expresses her sadness that Ripley left her after their promise to stay together after Alien Resurrection. She informs Ripley of a new military operation on the science station Typhoon, involving a hybrid Alien super soldier, led by a Dr. Trollenberg. Also at this point, Ripley explains that she nearly didn't sign on for her position on the Nostromo ship.
The story moves to Dr. Trollenberg working on the super soldier. He is approached by General Helm, who is in charge of the station and intent on shutting down the project after Trollenberg requested cybernetic components. The doctor then opens fire and proceeds to kill the general and his two guards, before changing his voice to match the general's and hailing the bridge, informing them that the general will remain with him in the lab till the completion of the project and can only be contacted there. He finishes by throwing the three bodies into a vat of acid.
Back at Call's base, Ripley is still yet to be convinced to join the mission to stop Trollenberg's project. Ripley mentions that she no longer has nightmares about the aliens; she plainly states that they "can't be stopped. The aliens are coming and the human race is going to suffer... they just do what they have to do. And then you're dead and it's over". Eventually Call blackmails Ripley, saying she will inform the military of her location, to which Ripley replies: "I could learn to hate you".
Meanwhile a Predator is travelling towards the Typhoon, intent on hunting the super soldier. Call, her crew and Ripley infiltrate the station disguised as "the World's Most Unexceptional Food Delivery Service", and after killing the guards move into Trollenberg's lab. Inside, they find Trollenberg, who proceeds to kill two of Call's crew (Echo and Saud) before the cloaked Predator decapitates him with its disc, leaving Call, Ripley and the survivors stunned. Immediately, the now decloaked Predator is thrown back into the room, only to be followed by the hulking form of the prototype supersoldier who proceeds to fight the Predator.

Part 2: Monster vs. Machine

Ripley, Call and her surviving crew (Blades and Voorman) stand stunned as the prototype supersoldier and Predator fight, noting that the super soldier is almost impervious to harm and is able to absorb metal objects to regenerate damage. After tearing off one of the Predator's arms, the super soldier moves to absorb a portion of the exterior bulkhead of the lab, opening a hole into the vacuum which quickly dispatches the Predator.
Moving quickly back towards their shuttle (Carthage), with Trollenberg's head, the heroes quickly escape before the space station explodes from the breach, meanwhile the super soldier boards a smaller science vessel/escape pod, taking with it some alien chestbursters. As the space station explodes, Ripley has a bad feeling that the super soldier survived and, in the 'science pod', the super soldier commences work on a second super soldier who was also near completion.
Call suggests she hack into Trollenberg's skull to learn more about him, explaining that the skull and its wiring "is very weird... advanced in some ways, in others a real antique". Once inside Trollenberg's memory, she encounters a shell program and is approached by an interactive recording of John Connor, who goes on to explain the Skynet war, concluding with the "Skynet Resurrection Program" which used a model known as the Crypto Terminators (of which Trollenberg was one) which were capable of existing in civilization indefinitely until such time that technological advancements would allow for a new generation of Terminators which would be unstoppable (during this, scenes from Trollenberg's existence are shown, including the creation of the super soldier). The recording finishes with "the victorious forces of the 21st Century salute you... and wish you good luck".
Logging out of Trollenberg's memories, Call expresses concern that this is simply another great cover up in history, although the discussion is cut short by three Predator space craft surrounding their ship before a trio of Predators teleport on board. Voorman attacks one of the Predators but is easily knocked away, whilst another grabs Ripley and cuts lightly at her arm with its wrist blades, watching as her acidic blood burns the floor. The three Predators then teleport off the ship with Ripley before their craft disappear as if they never were there. Elsewhere, the science pod reaches its destination (revealed in Part 3 as the Navy heavy cruiser Euphrates) and the prototype disembarks, now accompanied by a new super soldier.

Part 3: Ripley... And Company

On the Carthage Voorman is being treated by Blades for the head injury he received from the Predator attack. Call surmises the Predators knew of Ripley's genetic heritage just as they did and that they most likely want her to assist in the threat posed by the super soldiers; she even wonders if they too encountered John Connor's sleeper virus, and ultimately decides they must use all this new information to their advantage.
On one of the Predators' spacecraft, Ripley stands on a teleportation pad watching the Predators remove their helmets, who then leave her to go about their business. Ripley comments "Just when I think my life can't get any stranger... Just when I think I've fallen as far as I can fall... The bottom drops out and I wind up amazed and horrified all over again". She considers herself to now be beyond terror or outrage, even towards the Predators or their current disinterest in her. She walks through the craft, observing the work of the Predator armourers, and notes that the Predators are exuding an aura of menace throughout the 'heavy, nitrogen-rich air' of their craft, directed not at her, who she considers they currently deem worthless, but at something else, something connected to her DNA.
Ripley finds herself in a trophy room filled with dozens of Alien corpses and body parts, and understands that the Predators' lives revolve around the Aliens and that they know that both the super soldier and she are part Alien, which leads her to wonder if they are merely adding her to their trophy collection. A Predator moves up behind her, reaching for her, causing her to recoil in anger, punching the Predator to little effect before he throws her over his shoulder and carries her away. She is taken to a circular operating table and tied down whilst a breathing apparatus is attached to her face, followed by a thin needle drill moving towards her. She resists throughout, comparing them to the military who created her, commenting "I guess I haven't fallen past terror after all...".
On the Euphrates, the ship's commanding officer complains about the 'android survivors' of the Typhoon and the super soldiers' request to be transferred to a high security asteroid facility. The CO has been uneasy since they arrived and has them restricted to the science pod. He approaches the pod and explains the delay, much to the original super soldier's displeasure, who demands access to the bridge, which the CO denies them. Shortly after a message arrives from Command, refusing the super soldiers access to the 'Black Asteroid'; this results in both super soldiers re-entering the science pod, then quickly launching and ramming the pod further into the Euphrates. The super soldiers then disembark with firearms, quickly killing the crew present before the prototype super soldier begins to absorb parts of the cruiser's interior, which results in critical damage to the ship's primary systems, including life support.
On the Carthage, Call has determined that the Predators would be following the most likely course of the super soldier towards the nearest large source of Aliens genetic material, Los Alamos 235, the 'Black Asteroid'. Back on the Predators' spacecraft, Ripley experiences a dream where she is swimming in Aliens and encounters a ghostly image of a traditional Terminator endoskeleton before awaking. Regaining consciusness, Ripley notices a scar on the left rear side of her neck and is lead from the operating table, past an assembled room of Predators in formation, to a viewing screen of Los Alamos 235, sensing that there are Aliens within and that the Predators extracted this information from her DNA, from the Alien 'genetic memory'.
Nearby, the Euphrates is granted access to the Black Asteroid and quickly opens fire on the station's control room. Back on the Predators' craft, Ripley has returned to the room of assembled Predators and undergoes a pre-battle ritual where she is given an Alien tooth necklace and is covered in Predator blood warpaint. Throughout the process, Ripley considers that there are monsters in this world, but the Predators are not them—instead, they simply do what they must to survive and maintain balance in the universe when it comes to the Aliens, and that they see the arrival of the Terminator hybrids as an imbalance to the ecology of the stars, with that being the true evil. She understands that at any other time she would instead be merely a "scalp on their belts", but the current situation has made them allies and she knows "they didn't much care for my human side... But, oh, do they respect and approve of the Alien in me!".
Ripley knows she will soon "do battle with the great abomination from Earth's wretched past", as the super soldiers take control of the ship and make their way to a room filled with fully-grown Aliens in containment tubes. Ripley looks forward to destroying the man-made "agents of true human evil", and in regards to the Aliens on board, she will "ride the whirlwind to glorious annihilation. Until then, I am learning to love the Alien".

Part 4: Future Hell

The next day, hidden amongst the smaller asteroids around Los Alamos 235, the Carthage and her crew watch the space surrounding the Black Asteroid, where an entire fleet of military ships have arrived to retake the station only to be wiped out by a powerful energy surge launched from the asteroid's entry point, draining the station of all external power and lowering its defences. The Carthage moves towards the station, entering unnoticed through the entry point as Call wonders whether the Predators have already made it here and if Ripley's still alive.
Inside, Ripley lies alongside a Predator on the ground in a field of orange smoke as a monstrous super soldier crouches over them, bearing the appearance of a dark blue, muscular, bald humanoid with red eyes, fangs, clawed hands and biomechanical 'veins' at its neck and wrists. Ripley considers that the day hadn't turned out like she'd hoped as she underwent the ritual the day before, remembering how they entered the asteroid, slipping unnoticed past its defenses and the fleet outside.
They had observed that, in less than 24 hours, the two super soldiers had created an entire sophisticated manufacturing plant which quickly grew more of the new blue skinned hybrids, and Ripley and the Predators attacked without hesitation. Quickly, as on the Typhoon, the Predators were killed at every turn and even when a dying Predator activated its self-destruct device a super soldier sacrificed itself, wrapping its larger body around the Predator to absorb almost the entirety of the blast.
Ripley crawled away from the scene of the battle, finding herself amongst a stockpile of fully-grown Aliens, and saw a chance to even the odds and do what she was born to do, deactivating the stasis effect of the tubes, "to release the Hounds of Hell!". The Aliens quickly set upon the super soldiers and the Aliens' true power was revealed when a Predator killed one with his shoulder cannon, showering nearby super soldiers with acidic blood, critically wounding the hybrids. The remaining Predators used this to their advantage, unleashing blasts which spilt fatal bursts of acidic blood, killing both super soldiers and Aliens together with each shot although, ultimately, they were themselves overwhelmed by the Aliens once the last of the new super soldiers had died.
Ripley watches the carnage, frozen in place as the remaining Predators and super soldiers die, but the appearance of the prototype super soldier refocuses her and she follows through the station after him, knowing that if he escapes all their sacrifices will be for nothing. Rounding a corner, Ripley strikes out at the shadows of Call and Voorman, believing them to be the prototype, to the shock of all three of them. Ripley doesn't care for how they got there and insists that they go back the way they came and leave the station, telling them they will not survive if they go on any further and that there is nothing they can do. In the end, Ripley thanks Call: "You did the right thing, bringing me back out into the black, I know that now. Please -- go. Let me do what I can do... Let me finish the job".
Voorman agrees with Ripley and drags Call back to the Carthage, commenting that Call is "a lot closer to human than she is" as they leave. As Ripley returns to follow the original super soldier, the station begins to shake as the internal structure starts to collapse. Reaching the Carthage, Call frees herself of Voorman's grip and starts to run back into the station after Ripley, but Voorman quickly captures her and takes her aboard the Carthage, tying her to one of the seats to stop her from going after Ripley again. Throughout the process, Call resists Voorman's actions, commenting that she brought Ripley out here and forced all of this on her. Meanwhile, Ripley slips on board the ship the prototype boards.
The Carthage quickly exits the station, followed soon after by the super soldier's ship, just as the station explodes. Ripley stalks towards the prototype, moving through the ship's internal piping. Ripley considers the similarities to what happened a time long ago on the Nostromo's escape pod, the Narcissus, where she was at the controls and the enemy stalked her instead. She realises that even now, with the roles reversed, she is just as terrified as she was then as she leaps forward to kill the prototype with a Predator knife, only to be knocked aside due to its superior speed and reflex response. Deciding to go with 'Plan B', Ripley cuts her left arm with the blade, waving it to spread her acidic blood as the super soldier holds her above him, his hands around her neck and right shoulder respectively. Ripley's blood begins to burn through the viewing panel of the airlock door, causing flames from the explosion that surrounded the ship to flood in, resulting in its destruction.
On board the Carthage, Call has been released from the seat and is at one of the monitors when Blades comments on an explosion that occurred, separate from the one of the station, prompting Call to comment that it was Ripley finishing the job: "She cleaned up the mess that we stumbled into. What the Connor virus told me -- about Skynet returning? She closed the book on that. I know she did. I forced her back out there. I got her into this. I'm going to have to live with that. I hope she made her peace. I think she got her dignity back. And her soul, maybe. Yeah. And her soul. And maybe she saved mankind's soul in the bargain. Let's go home."

( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aliens_versus_Predator_versus_The_Terminator )


FROM DARK HORSE COMICS

In the year 2032, John Connor and his resistance forces wage war against Skynet, a soulless super-computer bent on exterminating mankind. Sensing ultimate defeat, Skynet goes into hiding. Centuries later, it is awakened by stealth Terminators posing as human scientists. Now an even deadlier Skynet is using the science of the far future to create invincible Terminators by gene-splicing their human tissue with the DNA of the deadliest creatures in the galaxy -- Aliens! Earth's only chance lies in the hands of a legendary heroine named Ellen Ripley and an uneasy alliance with another deadly non-terrestrial race, the man-stalking super-hunters known only as Predators! The Predators understand that Skynet threatens all life in the universe, and so they wade in on the side of humanity...but can these feral killers be trusted? Collecting the four-issue series.

( http://www.darkhorse.com/Books/40-290/Aliens-vs-Predator-vs-Terminator-TPB )

More Info: http://www.amazon.com/Aliens-vs-Predator-Terminator/dp/1569715688

Aliens Versus Predador (Aliens vs. Predator: Eternal)

Info From Dark Horse Comics Site (TPB & The Four Individual Issues):

Aliens loose in the Tokyo subways of the future is bad news. But when these monstrous beasts are pursued by Predators, the fiercest hunters in the galaxy, bad quickly becomes worse. Caught in the middle is Becca Shaw, a reckless journalist on the trail of Gideon Suhn Lee, a mysterious techno-billionaire who won't let anything stand between him and the secrets to immortality that the Predators hold. When Becca and Gideon clash, it might be the Aliens and Predators that run for cover!

( http://www.darkhorse.com/Books/48-494/Aliens-vs-Predator-Eternal-TPB )

In an opulent city of the future, a mysterious techno-baron controls the fate of the world. But, even with his vast riches and power, the black-clad figure known as Nor cannot stop the hand of death. Or can he? His thoughts are consumed by his latest discovery: a crash-landed Predator ship. It's his belief that Predators hold the key to eternal life. But even if he stands before the answers he seeks, is he willing to go through the Predators' deadly Alien cargo to get it?

( http://www.darkhorse.com/Comics/97-570/Aliens-vs-Predator-Eternal-1-of-4 )

Becka Shaw is a talented reporter. Her one flaw? She doesn't know when to quit. And when Aliens appear in a Hong Kong-style city, it's a safe bet that her flaw may prove fatal. On field assignment in Africa, she was reporting on a political uprising. But her journalistic sense uncovered a strange trail of clues. Like a moth to a flame, Becka can't resist breaking the story of a lifetime. No more than Predators can resist hunting the galaxy's deadliest killing machines.

( http://www.darkhorse.com/Comics/97-576/Aliens-vs-Predator-Eternal-2-of-4 )

Aliens loose in a futuristic city causing mayhem and bloodshed is one thing. When they are pursued by Predators, the fiercest hunters in the galaxy, things quickly go from bad to worse. One of the people caught in the middle is Becka Shaw, devil-may-care journalist and all-around trouble magnet. The other is Nor, techno-baron with a dark past. Becka won't let anyone get in the way of her story. Nor won't let anything stand between him and the secrets to immortality that the Predators hold. When these two clash, it might be the Aliens and Predators that run for cover!

( http://www.darkhorse.com/Comics/97-582/Aliens-vs-Predator-Eternal-3-of-4 )

Journalist Becka McBride and mystery man Gideon Lee finally come face to face -- though not in the way you'd expect. But there's still the matter of Aliens running around the sewers and subways. As Lee, Becka, and hired mercenary, Cabot, prepare for a final hunt, they know a band of Predators is waiting in the shadows to take on whoever is left standing.

( http://www.darkhorse.com/Comics/97-603/Aliens-vs-Predator-Eternal-4-of-4 )

Amazon Info:

http://www.amazon.com/Aliens-vs-Predator-Ian-Edginton/dp/1569714096

Alien vs. Predador (Alien vs. Predator)

Info About This Alien Monster War Movie:

Alien vs. Predator (also known as AVP) is a 2004 science fiction film directed by Paul W. S. Anderson for 20th Century Fox and starring Sanaa Lathan and Lance Henriksen. The film adapts the Alien vs. Predator crossover imprint bringing together the eponymous creatures of the Alien and Predator series, a concept which originated in a 1989 comic book. Anderson, Dan O'Bannon, and Ronald Shusett wrote the story, and Anderson and Shane Salerno adapted the story into a screenplay. Their writing was influenced by Aztec mythology, the comic book series, and the writings of Erich von Däniken.
Set in 2004, the film follows a team of archaeologists assembled by billionaire Charles Bishop Weyland (Henriksen) for an expedition near the Antarctic to investigate a mysterious heat signal. Weyland hopes to claim the find for himself, and his group discovers a pyramid below the surface of a whaling station. Hieroglyphs and sculptures reveal that the pyramid is a hunting ground for Predators who kill Aliens as a rite of passage. The humans are caught in the middle of a battle between the two species and attempt to prevent the Aliens from reaching the surface.
The film was released on August 13, 2004, in North America and received mostly negative reviews from film critics. Some praised the special effects and set designs, while others dismissed the film for its "wooden dialogue" and "cardboard characters". Nevertheless, Alien vs. Predator grossed over $172 million at the worldwide box office and spawned a sequel in 2007 titled Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem.

Plot

In 2004, a satellite detects a mysterious heat bloom beneath Bouvetøya, an island about one thousand miles north of Antarctica. Wealthy industrialist Charles Bishop Weyland (Lance Henriksen) assembles a team of scientists to investigate the heat source and claim it for his multinational communications company, Weyland Industries. The team includes archaeologists, linguistic experts, drillers, mercenaries, and a guide named Alexa Woods (Sanaa Lathan).
As a Predator ship reaches Earth's orbit, it blasts a shaft through the ice towards the source of the heat bloom. When the humans arrive at the site above the heat source, an abandoned whaling station, they find the shaft and descend beneath the ice. They discover a mysterious pyramid and begin to explore it, finding evidence of a civilization predating written history and what appears to be a sacrificial chamber filled with human skeletons with ruptured rib cages.
Meanwhile, three Predators land and kill the humans on the surface, making their way down to the pyramid and arriving just as the team unwittingly powers up the structure. An Alien queen awakes from cryogenic stasis and begins to produce eggs, from which facehuggers hatch and attach to several humans trapped in the sacrificial chamber. Chestbursters emerge from the humans and quickly grow into adult Aliens. Conflicts erupt between the Predators, Aliens, and humans, resulting in several deaths. Unbeknownst to the others, a Predator is implanted with an Alien embryo.
Through translation of the pyramid's hieroglyphs the explorers learn that the Predators have been visiting Earth for thousands of years. It was they who taught early human civilizations how to build pyramids, and were worshipped as gods. Every 100 years they would visit Earth to take part in a rite of passage in which several humans would sacrifice themselves as hosts for the Aliens, creating the "ultimate prey" for the Predators to hunt. If overwhelmed, the Predators would activate their self-destruct weapons to eliminate the Aliens and themselves. The explorers deduce that this is why the current Predators are at the pyramid, and that the heat bloom was to attract humans for the purpose of making new Aliens to hunt.
The remaining humans decide that the Predators must be allowed to succeed in their hunt so that the Aliens do not reach the surface. As the battle continues most of the characters are killed, leaving only Alexa and a single Predator to fight against the Aliens. The two form an alliance and use the Predator’s self-destruct device to destroy the pyramid and the remaining Aliens. Alexa and the Predator reach the surface, where they battle the escaped Alien queen. They defeat the queen by attaching its chain to a water tower and pushing it over a cliff into the water, dragging the queen to the ocean floor. The Predator, however, dies from its wounds.
A Predator ship uncloaks and several Predators appear. They collect their fallen comrade and present Alexa with one of their spear weapons in recognition of her skill as a warrior. As they retreat into space, a chestburster erupts from the dead Predator. It appears to be an Alien/Predator hybrid with the characteristic mandibles of both creatures.

Production

Origins

The concept of Alien vs. Predator originated from the Aliens versus Predator comic book in 1989, and was hinted at when an Alien skull appeared in a trophy case aboard the Predator ship in Predator 2.^[3] Screenwriter Peter Briggs created the original spec screenplay in 1990–1991, which was based on the first comic series.^[3] In 1991, he successfully pitched the concept to 20th Century Fox, who owned the film franchises, although the company did not move forward with the project until 2002. A draft penned by James DeMonaco and Kevin Fox was rejected by producer John Davis, who hoped to give the film an original approach by setting it on Earth.^[4]
As there were six producers between the film franchises, Davis had difficulty securing the rights as the producers were worried about a film featuring the two creatures. Paul W. S. Anderson pitched Davis a story he worked on for eight years, and showed him concept art created by Randy Bowen.^[5] Impressed with Anderson's idea, Davis thought the story was like Jaws in that it "just drew you in, it drew you in".^[6] Anderson started to work on the film after completing the script for Resident Evil: Apocalypse, with Shane Salerno co-writing. Salerno spent six months writing the shooting script, finished its development, and stayed on for revisions throughout the film's production.^[7]

Story and setting

Early reports claimed the story was about humans who tried to lure Predators with Alien eggs, although the idea was scrapped.^[8] Influenced by the work of Erich von Däniken, Anderson researched von Däniken's theories on how he believed early civilizations were able to construct massive pyramids with the help of aliens, an idea drawn from Aztec mythology.^[9] Anderson wove these ideas into Alien vs. Predator, describing a scenario in which Predators taught ancient humans to build pyramids and used Earth for rite of passage rituals every 100 years in which they would hunt Aliens. To explain how these ancient civilizations "disappeared without a trace", Anderson came up with the idea that the Predators, if overwhelmed by the Aliens, would use their self-destruct weapons to kill everything in the area.^[9] H. P. Lovecraft's 1931 novella At the Mountains of Madness served as an inspiration for the film, and several elements of the Aliens vs. Predator comic series were included.^[5][10] Anderson's initial script called for five Predators to appear in the film, although the number was later reduced to three.^[9]
As Alien vs. Predator is a sequel to the Predator films and prequel to the Alien series, Anderson was cautious of contradicting continuity in the franchises. He chose to set the film on the remote Norwegian Antarctic island of Bouvet commenting, "It's definitely the most hostile environment on Earth and probably the closest to an Alien surface you can get."^[11] Anderson thought that setting the film in an urban environment like New York City would break continuity with the Alien series as the protagonist, Ellen Ripley, had no knowledge the creatures existed. "You can't have an Alien running around the city now, because it would've been written up and everyone will know about it. So there's nothing in this movie that contradicts anything that already exists."^[11]

Casting

The first actor to be cast for Alien vs. Predator was Lance Henriksen, who played the character Bishop in Aliens and Alien 3. Although the Alien movies are set 150 years in the future, Anderson wanted to keep continuity with the series by including a familiar actor. Henriksen plays billionaire Charles Bishop Weyland, a character that ties in with the Weyland-Yutani Corporation. According to Anderson, Weyland becomes known for the discovery of the pyramid, and as a result the Weyland-Yutani Corporation models the Bishop android in the Alien films after him; "when the Bishop android is created in 150 years time, it's created with the face of the creator. It's kind of like Microsoft building an android in 100 years time that has the face of Bill Gates."^[12]
Anderson opted for a European cast including Italian actor Raoul Bova, Ewen Bremner from Scotland, and English actor Colin Salmon. Producer Davis said, "There's a truly international flavor to the cast, and gives the film a lot of character."^[13] Several hundred actresses attended the auditions to be cast as the film's heroine Alexa Woods. Sanaa Lathan was selected, and one week later she flew to Prague to begin filming. The filmmakers knew there would be comparisons to Alien heroine Ellen Ripley and did not want a clone of the character, but wanted to make her similar while adding something different.^[13]
Anderson reported in an interview that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was willing to reprise his role as Major Alan "Dutch" Schaeffer from Predator in a short cameo appearance if he lost the recall election on condition that the filming should take place at his residence.^[14] Schwarzenegger, however, won the election with 48.58% of the votes and was unavailable to participate in Alien vs. Predator. Actress Sigourney Weaver, who starred as Ellen Ripley in the Alien series, said she was happy not to be in the film, as a possible crossover was "the reason I wanted my character to die in the first place", and thought the concept "sounded awful".^[15][16]

Filming and set designs

Production began in late 2003 at Barrandov Studios in Prague, Czech Republic, where most of the filming took place. Production designer Richard Bridgland was in charge of sets, props and vehicles, based on early concept art Anderson had created to give a broad direction of how things would look. 25 to 30 life-sized sets were constructed at Barrandov Studios, many of which were interiors of the pyramid. The pyramid's carvings, sculptures, and hieroglyphs were influenced by Egyptian, Cambodian, and Aztec civilizations, while the regular shifting of the pyramid's rooms was meant to evoke a sense of claustrophobia similar to the original Alien film.^[17] According to Anderson, if he was to build the sets in Los Angeles they would have cost $20 million. However, in Prague they cost $2 million, an important factor when the film's budget was less than $50 million.^[5]
Third scale miniatures several meters in height were created to give the film the effect of realism, rather than relying on computer generated imagery (CGI). For the whaling station miniatures and life-sized sets, over 700 bags of artificial snow were used (roughly 15–20 tons).^[6] A 4.5-meter miniature of an icebreaker with working lights and a mechanical moving radar was created, costing almost $37,000 and taking 10 weeks to create. Visual effects producer Arthur Windus, claimed miniatures were beneficial in the filming process: "With computer graphics, you need to spend a lot of time making it real. With a miniature, you shoot it and its there."^[18] A scale 25-meter miniature of the whaling station was created in several months. It was designed so the model could be collapsed and then reconstructed, which proved beneficial for a six-second shot which required a re-shoot.^[18]

Effects and creatures

Special effects company Amalgamated Dynamics Incorporated (ADI) was hired for the movie, having previously worked on Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection. Visual special effects producers Arthur Windus and John Bruno were in charge of the project, which contained 400 effects shots.^[18] ADI founders Alec Gillis, Tom Woodruff Jr., and members of their company, began designing costumes, miniatures and effects in June 2003. For five months the creatures were redesigned, the Predators wrist blades being extended roughly four times longer than those in the Predator films, and a larger mechanical plasma caster was created for the Scar Predator.^[6]
The basic shape of the Predator mask was kept, although technical details were added and each Predator was given a unique mask to distinguish them from each other. These masks were created using clay, which was used to form molds to create fiberglass copies. These copies were painted to give a weathered look, which Woodruff claims "is what the Predator is all about".^[6] A hydraulic Alien puppet was created so ADI would be able to make movements faster and give the Alien a "slimline and skeletal" appearance, rather than using an actor in a suit. The puppet required six people to run it; three for the head and body, two for the arms, and a sixth to make sure the signals were reaching the computer. Movements were recorded in the computer so that puppeteers would be able to repeat moves that Anderson liked. The puppet was used in six shots, including the fight scene with the Predator which took one month to film.^[6]
The crew tried to keep CGI use to a minimum, as Anderson said people in suits and puppets are scarier than CGI monsters as they are "there in the frame".^[6] Roughly 70% of scenes were created using suits, puppets, and miniatures. The Alien queen was filmed using three variations: a 4.8-meter practical version, a 1.2-meter puppet, and a computer-generated version. The practical version required 12 puppeteers to operate,^[5] and CGI tails were added to the Aliens and the queen as they were difficult to animate using puppetry.^[13][19] Anderson praised Alien director Ridley Scott's and Predator director John McTiernan's abilities at building suspense by not showing the creatures until late in the film, something Anderson wanted to accomplish with Alien vs. Predator. "Yes, we make you wait 45 minutes, but once it goes off, from there until the end of the movie, it's fucking relentless".^[20]

Music

Main article: Alien vs. Predator (soundtrack)

Austrian composer Harald Kloser was hired to create the film's score. After completing the score for The Day After Tomorrow, Kloser was chosen by Anderson as he is a fan of the franchises.^[21] It was recorded in London, and was primarily orchestral as Anderson commented, "this is a terrifying movie and it needs a terrifying, classic movie score to go with it; at the same time it's got huge action so it needs that kind of proper orchestral support."^[21]
The score was released on August 31, 2004, and received mixed reviews. James Christopher Monger of Allmusic thought Kloser introduced electronic elements well, and called "Alien vs. Predator Main Theme a particularly striking and serves as a continuous creative source for the composer to dip his baton in."^[22] Mike Brennan of Soundtrack, however, said it "lacks the ingenuity of the previous trilogy and the Predator scores, which all shared a strong sense of rhythm in place of thematic content. Kloser throws in some interesting percussion cues ("Antarctica" and "Down the Tunnel"), but more as a sound effect than a consistent motif."^[23] John Fallon of JoBlo.com compared it to character development in the film, "too generic to completely engage or leave a permanent impression."^[24]

Reception

Box office

Alien vs. Predator was released on August 12, 2004^[25] and was later released in North America on August 13, in 3,395 theaters. The film grossed $38.2 million over its opening weekend for an average of $11,278 per theater, and was number one at the box office. The film spent 16 weeks in cinemas and made $80,281,096 in North America.^[26] It grossed $9 million in the United Kingdom, $16 million in Japan, and $8 million in Germany and totaled $92,262,423 at the international box office. This brought the films worldwide gross to $172,543,519, making it the highest grossing film in the Predator and Alien franchises at the worldwide box office; it ranks second behind Aliens at the domestic box office, and fourth behind the first three Alien films^[27] and the first Predator^[28] when adjusted for inflation.^[29]

Reviews

Further information: List of accolades received by the Alien, Predator, and Alien vs. Predator franchises#Alien vs. Predator

Critics were not allowed to view the film in advance, and once they did view it the response was generally negative.^[30] Based on 142 reviews, the film scored a 22% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes,^[31] and 29 out of 100 based on 21 reviews on Metacritic.^[32] Chief criticisms of the film included its dialogue, "cardboard characters", a PG-13 rating, the "fast-paced editing" during fight sequences, and lighting. However, special effects and set designs received praise.^[31][32]
Rick Kisonak of Film Threat praised the film stating, "For a big dumb production about a movie monster smackdown, Alien vs. Predator is a surprisingly good time".^[33] Ian Grey of the Orlando Weekly felt, "Anderson clearly relished making this wonderful, utterly silly film; his heart shows in every drip of slime."^[33] Staci Layne Wilson of Horror.com called it "a pretty movie to look at with its grandiose sets and top notch creature FX, but it's a lot like Anderson's previous works in that it's all facade and no foundation."^[32]
However, with the majority of critics awarding the film a negative review, Michael Wilmington of the Chicago Tribune commented it was full of "monster movie clichés that leave you praying for most of the cast to get killed off fast, to put them (and us) out of our misery."^[31] Jack Mathews of New York Daily News panned the movie, stating that "Writer-director Paul W. S. Anderson has created the darkest, if not worst, sci-fi movie since Battlefield Earth."^[32] Gary Dowell of Dallas Morning News called the film, "a transparent attempt to jumpstart two run-down franchises".^[33] Ed Halter of The Village Voice described the film's lighting for fight sequences as, "black-on-black-in-blackness",^[34] while Ty Burr of The Boston Globe felt the lighting "left the audience in the dark".^[35] The film received a Golden Raspberry Award nomination 2005 in the category of "Worst Remake or Sequel".^[36]

Alien 5 and sequel

Before 20th Century Fox gave Alien vs. Predator the greenlight, Aliens writer/director James Cameron had been working on a story for a fifth Alien film. Alien director Ridley Scott had talked with Cameron, stating "I think it would be a lot of fun, but the most important thing is to get the story right."^[37] In a 2002 interview, Scott's concept for a story was "to go back to where the alien creatures were first found and explain how they were created"; this project eventually became Scott's 2012 film Prometheus. On learning that Fox intended to pursue Alien vs. Predator, Cameron believed the film would "kill the validity of the franchise" and ceased work on his story, "To me, that was Frankenstein Meets Werewolf. It was Universal just taking their assets and starting to play them off against each other...Milking it."^[38] After viewing Alien vs. Predator, however, Cameron remarked that "it was actually pretty good. I think of the five Alien films, I'd rate it third. I actually liked it. I actually liked it a lot."^[38] Conversely, Ridley Scott had no interest in the Alien vs. Predator films. When asked in May 2012 if he had watched them, Scott laughed, "No. I couldn't do that. I couldn't quite take that step."^[39]
A sequel, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, was released on December 25, 2007.^[40] Directed by brothers Greg and Colin Strause, the story continues from the conclusion of Alien vs. Predator.^[41] The film also received mostly negative reviews, and had a worldwide theatrical gross of nearly $130 million.^[42]

Home media releases

Alien vs. Predator was released on DVD in North America on January 25, 2005.^[43] The DVD contained two audio commentaries. The first featured Paul W. S. Anderson, Lance Henriksen, and Sanaa Lathan, while the second included special effects supervisor John Bruno and ADI founders Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff. A 25-minute "Making of" featurette and a Dark Horse AVP comic cover gallery were included in the special features along with three deleted scenes from the film. On release, Alien vs. Predator debuted at number 1 on the Top DVD Sales and Top Video Rental charts in North America.^[44][45]
A two-disc "Extreme Edition" was released on March 7, 2005, featuring behind the scenes footage of the conception, pre-production, production, post-production, and licensing of the film. An "Unrated Edition" was released on November 22, 2005, containing the same special features as the Extreme Edition as well as an extra eight minutes of footage in the film. John J. Puccio of DVD Town remarked that the extra footage contained "a few more shots of blood, gore, guts, and slime to spice things up...and tiny bits of connecting matter to help us follow the story line better, but none of it amounts to much."^[46] The film was released on Blu-ray Disc in North America on January 23, 2007.


All Extracts Taken From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_vs._Predator_(film)

More Info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0370263/


AVP HD Trailer From YouTube: