Dear Johnny Fanboy,

I've just been reading this site's review of Alien Vs. Predator and the reviewer, Ty Power, makes some very good points about the movie's mistakes.

First of all, he asks, if the Predators are only interested in humans as cattle-like hosts for their ultimate prey, isn't it unlikely that one of them would arm and team up with a human, even if she did save its life?

Secondly, if the temple is a trap for the human team, how come so many Aliens are activated when there are only a handful of humans to act as potential hosts? And why do only three Predators arrive to sort out the mess?

Also, why isn't the Predator craft detected by Earth's satellites?

Why doesn't Alexa "Lex" Woods freeze to death on the surface whilst fighting the Alien Queen? The production team seem to have forgotten that this is Antarctica and she is wearing only a T-shirt! Far from warming her up, the exertion would cause her to lose valuable body heat more quickly.

The Predators' multi-readout vision allows them to see an Alien gestating in a human host, so why do the other Predators not see the one in their own colleague?

Finally, asks Power, what is the explanation for the Alien/Predator crossbreed? Have the Predators been playing with genetics, or have the two species been doing the squelchy together?

I think the explanation for the final question is that Aliens always take on characteristics of their hosts. For instance, those "born" of humans are upright humanoids, whereas the one that emerges from a dog in Alien 3 runs around on all fours. However, can you answer all the other questions?

Liz Godfrey

Johnny Fanboy replies:

I think you're right about the Alien/Predator hybrid. As for the other questions...

If the Predators are only interested in humans as hosts for their prey, isn't it unlikely that one of them would arm and team up with a human, even if she did save its life? Although the Predators regard Aliens as the ultimate prey, they also hunt humans, as shown in Predator and Predator 2. This demonstrates a degree of respect for human courage, strength and determination, otherwise humans would not be considered worthy opponents. Also, the Predator who allies himself with Alexa is a younger specimen, undergoing a rite of passage, so perhaps his attitude is naïve and not indicative of the species as a whole.

If the temple is a trap for humans, how come so many Aliens are activated when there are only a handful of humans to act as potential hosts? My guess is that the activation systems are not programmed to take into account the number of human intruders. They just set about reviving the lot.

Why do only three Predators arrive to sort out the mess? The Predators who take on the Aliens are youngsters undergoing a coming-of-age ritual. Their number might therefore be determined by the number of Predators in the clan who have yet to "earn their stripes" in any such ritual at the time that the temple is activated.

Why isn't the Predator craft detected? Since Predators have the technology to shield themselves from detection by the human eye, it is not unreasonable to assume that their ships can also baffle the sensors of artificial satellites and other tracking devices.

Why doesn't Alexa Woods freeze to death on the surface whilst fighting the Alien Queen wearing only a T-shirt? Actually, she's wearing a bit more than that: a fairly thick-looking long-sleeved top and gloves (and trousers, of course!). However, she is still under-dressed for the climate, so maybe the Queen gives off a lot of heat.

The Predators' multi-readout vision allows them to see an alien gestating in a host, so why do the other Predators not see the one in their own colleague? Since Predators don't hunt other Predators (as far as we know), perhaps their scanners are not calibrated to penetrate Predator armour or bodily tissues. In retrospect, this may be considered to be a bad move.

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