Daisy
I went along to Alien Romulus with just a few vague memories of the first film that I watched probably once, and way too young.
I know the franchise’s significance, but I somehow have made my way through life, and a SciFi film paper, without watching any more of the films.
And from a completely naive standpoint, I had a lot of fun.
At a very surface level, the movie did exactly what I expected it to. It was tense and gritty, with a solid budget, great acting and really cool effects.
But now that I’ve had time to digest it, I feel it was a mixed bag.
The majority of the film is a love letter to the original Alien series. It follows the same tried-and-true formula to deliver a story we’ve seen with fresher faces.
It spends ample time paying homage to its predecessors. Even without knowing all the references, they were made so obvious that I knew when I was supposed to say ‘Oh that’s a callback!’
Some references were tasteful, some not so much.
A misguided deepfake of an Alien OG with the sole purpose of an exposition dump felt rather disappointing. Furthermore, it felt so uncanny it took me out of the movie. When sitting alongside spectacular practical effects, you can really see the flaws in the CGI.
There was a lot going on in this movie.
It was evident that the film was toeing the line between trying to stay true to the franchise while also bringing in new ideas. And some of these new ideas got lost amongst the chaos and never quite landed.
Knowing this movie sits between Alien and Aliens, it was clear that anything introduced would have to cease to exist by the end of the film.
But still, it felt authentic to the Aliens universe. And this was largely due to the set design, special effects, cinematography and sound design. There was such a high level of craft put into making this film look, sound and feel true to the originals.
To be completely transparent, a huge reason I was keen for this film was because I really enjoyed Archie Renaux in Shadow and Bone.
I thought the entire cast was refreshing and I applaud the movie for creating space for up-and-coming talent.
The stand-out stars were definitely Spaeny and Jonsson. As the heart of the whole film, they really sold me on this movie. Their scenes together were poignant and powerful, and I was rooting for them the entire film. They truly delivered.
So then we get to the end of the movie.
In the last twenty minutes of the film, it’s like someone flipped a switch. No longer were we in a Scott / Cameron love fest.
With Fede truly showing off his style in the final act, the film starts to find its own identity.
While I don’t know if the actual final plot of the film fully gave me what I wanted, it definitely was nice to see the director take a new direction.
So where do I stand with all of this? I think the movie may have tilted a bit too far into fan-service and not everything landed.
But apart from that, it was a beautifully made thrill ride. It leant heavily into the horror and had an intensity that left me speechless. It’s definitely a film you want to watch on the big screen.
As I have been racing to catch up by watching Alien movies back to back, I can say this is a solid addition to the franchise.
Year: 2024
Rating: R16+
Running Time: 119 MIN
Genre: SciFi
Director: Fede Álvarez
Starring: Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn, Aileen Wu
Production Studio: Scott Free Productions
Distributor: 20th Century