The 10-Year-Anniversary of AVP

[Milan]

Norway?

Traffic control would likely be close to the south pole in order to monitor the southern sky (the Nostromo was coming from the constellation of Reticulum - relative to Earth - which is a southern constellation.)

Bouvetoya is nearly 2000km from tha RSA base SANAE IV in Antarctica.  It's another 2000km from there to the pole.

Hi, had no clue where Bouyetoya was so I looked in the AVP section on he homepage and under the "story" part I saw this;

" As the film takes place in the present day, Paul W.S. Anderson made it clear that he didn't want to contradict the previous Alien films so the story takes place on the Norwegian Antarctic island of Bouvet, far away from any civilization"

That's why I mentioned Norway :-)

However the queen didn't die of being forzen for a 100 years so I think that they could make a AVP 3 useing that queen, I don't think she's dead because I don't think that an alien can be killed by drowning it, never seen an alien die becuase of drowning on the big screen. Many ppl have said that they would like to see an AVP movie in a future setting and many have said that they would like to see the colonial marines in an AVP movie. Personally I agree with those ppl and support the idea.

The traffic control center doesn't even have to be a part of AVP3 but I think it could open up some doors, answearing some questions. They could for example confirm that the company knew more about the Space jockeys/ Aliens than they let on. I think that most issues with canon and continuity can be sorted out in a future setting, many ppl have already thought out ideas on how to make many of the issues work with canon, so why not throw in some stuff here and there as long it doesn't create new issues.

For example, When Charles Bishop Weyland died his brother Sir Peter Weyland ended up takeing over.
maybe that's something that could be mentioned in the movie and resolve one issue among many.

[SM]

You won't see any attempt to tie Charles and Peter Weyland together anytime soon.

[Morgoth]

Acting was better?...no. No it wasn't. AVPR has some of the worst acting I've ever seen. Corny, over the top soap opera garbage. With the lead doing some bizarre action Tom Cruise impression...ugh, makes me want to puke. None of the characters were like-able or relatable in any way. The first film had actual actors. No they weren't any good in it either but there is only so much you can do with a bad director, a terrible script and lousy editing. This is a series that contains great actors! Like Sigorney Weaver, Lance Henrikson, Ian Holm, John Hurt, Yaphett Koto, and Charles Dance! Classically trained! Directors like Ridley Scott, James Cameron, David Fincher! Jean-Pierre Juenet! Granted Resurrection sucked but he's still a good director. The reason the franchises are suffering is because of miss-management from the studios and producers like John Davis. They don't put the money towards a quality product. They dont hire good actors, good directors, writers, etc. They don't respect the universe. They see it as rubber monsters fighting in outer space. They look at it with all the reverence of an old Godzilla move.

I'm not saying the acting is good by any means just improved over AVP

[Dark Blade1]

happy 10-year-Anniversary avp.

[Russ]

[HuDaFuK]

That's why I mentioned Norway :-)

Funny you should mention Norway, I'm pretty sure the real Bouvet Island is actually owned by Norway (contrary to what is said in the film about it being covered by the Antarctic Treaty - it's too far from Antarctica to come under it).

[Corporal Hicks]

So I re-watched AvP over the weekend with the Mrs. First time I've watched it for sometime and I watched some of the special features too.

I don't think it's a horrific film like Requiem is, but it's still a disappointing one. I think the bare core of the story has the potential for something interesting but not the way it was presented to us. I still love the idea of the shifting pyramid but Anderson's need to have it shift every 10 minutes is what I feel contributed to the sped-up life-cycle. So something new would happen after each shift.

I thought the characters were all pretty much boring with very little in the way of development. The only good character beats were between Weyland and Lex and that was all of 3 minutes. I cared for none of them. Nor was I interested in them.

Whilst I prefer the black color over the tan of the Alien Resurrection, I still dislike the design of the Aliens used. I know it was to reduce the cost but that incarnation looks far too generic. The Predators, I like what they tried to do - I appreciate the reasoning behind the armor and etc - but the execution wasn't quite right. The Predators looked too bulky and without the grace of KPH - especially in the fight scene. I much prefer the trimmed down proportions of the McFarlance figures.

The lack of variation in the skin also annoyed me. It made the skin look far too fake without any of the "freckles". There also wasn't enough moisture on the Predator skin as well which increased that fake feeling.

And Anderson...Jesus Christ. I couldn't stand listening to him talk in the behind the scenes. He just seemed so dull.

So...that's my mini-rant.

[TheBATMAN]

Yeah, the core idea is fine. AVP2010 had it right. It would have been much better if it was a future setting, and the pyramid was discovered by a Wey-Yu satellite on a jungle planet. Henriksen could have played his Alien 3 character and obviously the colonial marines could have been involved. Add to that a decent alien design and a much improved Predator design and I don't think they could have gone far wrong.

The reasoning behind a present day Earth setting has always baffled me. Sure they wanted the threat on our own doorstep to make things more 'terrifying' yet they chose a location 2000ft below the Earth in remote Antarctica, a place where the Aliens had no chance of reaching civilisation. Nonsensical.

And I'm sure in one of the featurettes Anderson even states the reason Antarctica was chosen was because it was the closest thing on Earth they could find to the surface of an alien planet. So then, why not just set it on an alien planet?

[Russ]

You'd be amazed at how much a story changes from page to screen -- I'm reading a book on that very thing at the moment as it goes, and ideas change so much from what they were to what they become its scary.

Maybe John Davis had more input than is stated on the special features of the disc – I can only really think that producer input could / would have made a major impact. I think we've established that – whatever you think of how he delivered it – Anderson's intent and heart were in the right place. It's pretty clear that he's a fan (again – Event Horizon might as well have had "set in the alien-verse" as its tagline and he raves about Alien(s) all the way through his commentary on that one) so put yourself in his shoes. You've been given the job to write the script of AvP – you, like everyone else, is thinking "Colonial Marines vs Aliens and Predators." I'm sure Anderson was too – who wouldn't?

Especially after the lessons of AL III EN and A:R.

Of course, I could be completely wrong, but I always got the feeling that Anderson was slightly apologetic in the commentary and almost... wistful.

I have to ask myself though – if Marines vs Aliens vs Predators is such a great idea, why would Davis derail it for an Archaeologists vs Predators vs Aliens idea. (I can see the meeting "but everyone will be expecting Colonial Marines. Let's do it on earth – with archaeologists!" And Anderson going "great idea" whilst weeping silently on the inside).

[Corporal Hicks]

He's the Predator producer. He wants it more steeped in his franchise than the other.

[RakaiThwei]

Of course, I could be completely wrong, but I always got the feeling that Anderson was slightly apologetic in the commentary and almost... wistful.

Anderson did say one time at a Comic-con that the movie didn't exactly turn out the way he wanted it and he did express some mild displeasure with it. I don't think he hates the movie but it wasn't exactly the vision which he wanted to put out and I do believe that he was sincere in his efforts to produce something which fans would've appreciated.

He's the Predator producer. He wants it more steeped in his franchise than the other.

And I think that's exactly why the movie ended up being the movie we wound up getting. Don't get me wrong, I love Alien vs. Predator and the things which it had introduced the Alien and Predator mythologies. I though the movie was cool ten years ago, and I think it's cool now.. But I will say that it's not the movie which a lot of fans wanted. Let's face it-- we wanted Colonial Marines, we wanted it set in the future, and we wanted it in space. But we didn't get that and I think that's what hurts a lot of fans the most and likely a large part of the resentment.

[happypred]

So I re-watched AvP over the weekend with the Mrs. First time I've watched it for sometime and I watched some of the special features too.

I don't think it's a horrific film like Requiem is, but it's still a disappointing one.

Both are equally "horrific" in my opinion...albeit in different ways. I suspect if you have a strong attachment to the xenomorphs, watching Wolf butcher his way through them isn't a pleasant experience. However, the first film is equally flawed. It has a better setting and less powerful predators/more powerful xenomorphs, but aside from that, how is it better?

The acting is no better. The dialogue is no better. The team-up is absolutely cringe-worthy. I've always thought that the Grid vs. Celtic fight plays out like a WWE wrestling match...it's rather childish. The predators resemble Klingons more than the semi-primitive half-savages portrayed by P1 and P2. The predator aesthetic is different but not better. Big, bulky predators who look like they have to jog because they're too fat to run. The P2 ship's design is really unique and cool. The AvP ship design is more generic sci-fi. Furthermore, the ancient aliens angle is laughable. Predators taught us civilisation and how to build pyramids? I mean...really?! We worshipped predators? Please...

On top of that the film handicaps the novice predators with stolen shoulder cannons and random items of dissolving gear. Scar's shuriken, spear, and dagger are acid-proof but Celtic's dollar store wristblades dissolve almost instantly. Why? Do Blooded predators like to prank youths, is this the predator equivalent of hazing? Is the purpose of the scene simply to show off the potency of xenomorph acid? I dunno...

On the pros of the first film, I think (and most people agree) that the setting is better and the xenomorphs enjoy a more favourable portrayal.

AvP-R's action is less like WWE wrestling but more one-sided. It has a memorable predator with a cool design. I opposed the decision to set an AvP movie on modern Earth. That was a terrible decision. However, as a predator fan, I'm glad to have Wolf after Anderson's three clumsy adolescents with dissolving gear     

[RakaiThwei]

On top of that the film handicaps the novice predators with stolen shoulder cannons and random items of dissolving gear. Scar's shuriken, spear, and dagger are acid-proof but Celtic's dollar store wristblades dissolve almost instantly. Why? Do Blooded predators like to prank youths, is this the predator equivalent of hazing? Is the purpose of the scene simply to show off the potency of xenomorph acid? I dunno...

I usually go by SiL's explanation.. and it doesn't seem out of the question as Predators enjoy a good challenge. So quoting SiL: "They were given that particular equipment to make it more challenging."

And it makes sense if you look at the (old) EU.. Novice Hunters are usually given bottom of the barrel equipment and have to work through the ranks to get better gear.

[happypred]

I usually go by SiL's explanation.. and it doesn't seem out of the question as Predators enjoy a good challenge. So quoting SiL: "They were given that particular equipment to make it more challenging."

And it makes sense if you look at the (old) EU.. Novice Hunters are usually given bottom of the barrel equipment and have to work through the ranks to get better gear.

Why are some items acid-proof but others are not? The spear is acid-proof but the wristblades are not...why? Wristblades are your last line of defence. It's also harder to kill a xenomorph with wristblades than with a spear.

If the Blooded predators want the Unblooded to face a challenge, they should give the Unblooded acid-proof wristblades and dissolving spears. That way...the Unblooded are forced to use wristblades, the weapons requiring the most skill

[HuDaFuK]

Both are equally "horrific" in my opinion...albeit in different ways.

I wouldn't go that far... The first film at least had some redeeming qualities. Lance Henriksen was a big plus, and the setting was pretty cool. Plus it at least felt like they cared about what they were making, even if it was misguided.

Other than a decent-looking Predator, there was literally nothing redeemable about the second movie. And worst of all, it felt like the people making it didn't give a sh*t.