New Aliens vs Predators trailer

[Hand of Evil]

You know, it could have been rap music...

It is on my list of movies to see but just not expecting too much.

 

[TracerBullet42]

KL, you sure sound like one of those old folks in an Elvis movie. "Kids these days, what do they know about anything? They just want to play their rock and roll and dance all the time. Darn kids."

GET OFF OF MY LAWN!!!
/old man speech

Seriously..."serious sci-fi?" Just prepare to sit back and watch stuff blow up and baddies kick each others' hienies. Should be fun!

Besides...I love "butt rock." Although I've always called it "drywallin' music." Nothin' hangs drywall like a little "Unskinny Bop" form Poison.

 

[Kai Lord]

GET OFF OF MY LAWN!!!
Seriously..."serious sci-fi?"

Yes, seriously. There's nothing inherently campy in either the Alien or Predator franchise. You need to make an effort to go there by deliberately turning your back on both Predator films and the first three Alien movies.

P. Anderson claims to be a huge fan of both series, but the story treatment posted on aintitcoolnews sounded like they were probably missing the mark. But sometimes the whole is greater than the sum and a silly premise can have utterly brilliant execution. Case in point: Face/Off. Its "Freaky Friday, the action movie," but through the genius of John Woo became one of the most thrilling action films of all time.

I don't really think Anderson is capable of making one of the greatest anythings of all time, but I'm always up for a pleasant surprise. If butt rock or any kind of metal whatsoever ends up in the finished film, then it will be worse than Alien: Ressurection, the last film to feature the aliens and a director who didn't have a clue about what made earlier films great.

I'm not asking for great, just that the director have half a clue and give a genuine effort.

But a number of comments on this thread reveal its obvious the Alien: Ressurection approach does speak to a particular demographic. I ain't it. A:Res was campy, had aliens getting shot up, "flying chestbursters", and "people jumping chasms." In short, "stupid, loud, and lots of big uglies kicking butt."

Eh, I'm not judging anyone's tastes, certainly I like a number of films that would raise eyebrows or draw blank stares, but A:Res + Marilyn Manson is about the worst thing I can imagine for a sci-fi action adventure, serious or not.

 

[barsoomcore]

Okay, it sounds like we're in perfect agreement on Alien: Resurrection. I wish that movie had never been made. It ruined a franchise that had already been seriously damaged (Alien3 was bad, but at least it didn't make a mockery of what had gone before. A: Res did)

Which is kind of my point. The Alien franchise has been arguably dead for two pictures, inarguably dead for at least one. It can't get any worse than it already is. Predator never WAS a serious sci-fi franchise anyway ("Aliens hunt humans" -- not exactly SCIENCE, here), so it fits very comfortably into the big loud action movie mold (it was a Schwarzenegger film, right? Right?).

But I just don't get the hate on for rock and roll in a contemporary action movie. It didn't bother you in Face/Off, which included James Brown, Tricky and INXS -- why does it bother you in this picture? Because this picture has monsters? I'm sorry, I don't see how action movies with monsters suffer when electric guitars are used in the soundtrack.

 

[Fast Learner]

I very much dig serious science fiction. And Face/Off is one of the top 10 films I hated the most. No kidding. It was utterly, completely ludicrous, lame beyond belief.

And -- and remember, I like serious science fiction -- I think that rock in a sci-fi movie is absolutely acceptable and can work really well in the right place. In a serious film. Even though I really dislike metal and butt rock, I still understand how it can be cool and enjoyable in a sci-fi film, and can appreciate it in that context.

Rock can also work really well in fantasy: it was perfect for Highlander.

I don't get where you're coming from, either, Kai Lord.

 

[barsoomcore]

There's nothing inherently campy in either the Alien or Predator franchise. You need to make an effort to go there by deliberately turning your back on both Predator films and the first three Alien movies.

No, you don't. You just need to acknowledge the existence of Alien: Resurrection. Come on. A film that features frickin' WINONA RYDER as an action hero ISN'T high camp? Remember that idiotic shot craning up from her boots, along her skinny legs and up to her full imposing height of four and a half feet or whatever, to where she tries to stare resolutely into the camera as though intimidating something? Tell me you can appreciate that moment in anything other than pure campiness. It's Winona Ryder with a machine gun, for crying out loud. It makes The Rocky Horror Picture Show look straight-faced.

And frankly, I think it's a bit of a stretch to say that ANY Schwarzenegger movie, with its male homoeroticism so patently on its sleeve, with its thunderously telegraphed one-liners, with its cheerful empty-headed violence, isn't campy. Predator is just one more goofy action movie by a goofy Austrian weight-lifter who can't act. To complain that its successor isn't "serious science fiction" is, well, not a complaint I can find much to agree with. I mean, point out the "science" in Predator. I must have missed it.

I'm not arguing that this is going to be a good movie. Paul Anderson has a track record of ZERO PERCENT with me. I have hated every movie he's made so far, and I suspect I'll hate this one. He doesn't understand tension, cinematic geography or how to get good performances out of his actors. All those concerns about this picture are perfectly valid.

But to say it doesn't respect the serious standards of its forebears implies its forebears had serious standards. And out of the six films that precede this one, only two can have much claim to being "serious". So it seems a little late to complain about the lack of seriousness.

Frankly, there's enough reasons to be skeptical of this film without dragging in the music or the lack of respect shown to its predecessors.

 

[Desdichado]

The two Predator movies are, admittedly I'm a bit guilty about this, two of my favorite movies of all time. So is the second Aliens movie. I actually preferred the fourth one to the third, but apparently that puts me in a minority.

Although neither of them are "serious" (but what is? The Day the Earth Stood Still?) it seems AvP raises the bar on the seriouslessness of both franchises.

But hey, I'm OK with that. It still looks like reasonably entertaining fare, as long as you know what to expect. And I also fail to understand what the soundtrack of the trailer has to do with anything at all.

 

[Bass Puppet]

I mean, point out the "science" in Predator. I must have missed it.

Even though I agree with most of what you have said, I have to say that Predator is a Action movie first (like I would say Alien is a Horror Movie first, with a Sci-Fi Backdrop) with some science fiction elements. If your saying that there isn't a "Science" element to Predator the movie, then I would have to say that I think your wrong.

Predator was an Alien from outerspace.
Predator was observing the Human race (mimicking, stalking, killing, I wouldn't go as far as experimenting but you understand my point), that alone defines the word "Science".
Predator has different types of vision: Thermal Scan & Neural Scan.
Predator has all kinds of weapons that are beyond our technology.
Predator wears armor that has cloaking technology.
This movie had the element of Man vs. Nature. If there is no science there, then I don't know what is.

 

[barsoomcore]

Bonus points for "seriouslessness"

Like it.

 

[Desdichado]

Yeah, I thought that had a nice ring to it myself.

EDIT: Tangent: when are you going to update the main Barsoom tales story hour? And when do we get to see the relationship between that setting and the stewardesses corner of the world?