Rating: 3.5/5
Synopsis:
The “Alien” franchise pivots from the scientific exploration format back to the horror roots. Director Fede Alvarez gives us “Alien: Romulus”, a story about a group of young adults who are stuck in a very bad place. They want to escape the disease ridden planet controlled by Weyland-Yutani, a greedy corporation intent on keeping them bound to their current lives. The group finds an abandoned space station that could provide a new beginning. They decide to attempt an escape and explore the station. But when they arrive, they are met by the most gruesome life form humanity has ever encountered. Can they make it out alive? Or will they suffer the same fate as the previous crew?
Positives:
“Alien: Romulus” was one of my most anticipated movies of the year. This franchise combined with Fede Alvarez’s direction make for an exciting mix! Alvarez has a knack for crafting intense, compacted settings that carry a sense of dread throughout the runtime. The story goes back to basics here, combining elements of the original two films to make for a nightmarish experience. These characters are simply looking for a better life but have to battle the Xenomorphs and Facehuggers in order to do so. These creatures have never looked better! Alvarez insisted on practical effects for a duration of the film. This reflects nicely in the execution of the creature scenes. The cast explained in interviews how the creatures truly terrified them during shooting because they were actually in front of them rather than digitally added. Being a champion of practical effects, this helped make my experience all the better. But the visual effects were excellent when the CGI was used. Space has never looked better in the “Alien” franchise. This combined with great sound design made the experience more immersive. The technical aspects of the film are top notch.
There are a few good performances as well. Cailee Spaeny and David Jonsson are at the center of the story, giving performances that make the difficult journey all the more impactful. Spaeny rises to the occasion, channeling her inner Sigourney Weaver to make a strong but smart leading character. I like that she went in a different direction than Ripley but also maintained what we like in a lead. Jonsson provides a nice performance as the android in the film. His characterization is interesting, giving a fresh perspective on the A.I. conversation that’s always been present in the Alien films. Their story is straightforward, avoiding the many complexities of the previous films. I believe this will make most fans happy as hard reset is what most were asking for. While I enjoy “Prometheus” and “Alien: Covenant”, a simple story that ties everything together was a smart move. While the first two acts follow a familiar story, act three goes in an unexpectedly bonkers direction that really worked for me. It was disturbing, tense, and unexpected. This felt most like Fede Alvarez’s style, so I’m happy he was able to infuse his own vision while keeping everything together.
Negatives:
Although I really enjoyed the film, there are a few elements that hold it back from being great. The most noticeable aspect of the film that will likely bother moviegoers are the thin characters. The original two films nicely fleshed out their large casts while crafting a good story around them. This made every death more emotionally impactful and raised the stakes. Here, outside of Andy and Rain, the rest of the cast is disposable. They seemed like cannon fodder in the greater scheme of things, being quick and gnarly deaths for the Xenomorphs. Another aspect of the cast that was frustrating was the accent of the British cast members. Some of the dialogue was difficult to understand as their accents were the thickest kind of British (and I say that as someone who spent a semester in Scotland). This on top of some loud sound mixing in the background made for a few rough dialogue sections.
Outside of a mostly strong special effects effort, there is one particular aspect of the film that drove me nuts. There is a character that is brought back from previous films. However, the actor who portrayed him had passed away. His character is created using some sort of deep fake technology. It looks awful, where the mouth moves at a different pace than the dialogue. The filmmakers could have easily used a new character in the same vein where the plot would have been equally as effective. In fact, the film would have been stronger if they used a live actor. This would have avoided the controversial return of the character and abysmal CGI. There are also some very obvious nods to previous films. I enjoyed many of the callbacks, but there is one line of dialogue that is one of the best lines of the franchise. It is directly repeated in this story in a much cheaper way. I bet the studio mandated the usage of the line to make fans go, “See! See! Remember that line!?”. It wasn’t nearly as impactful this time around.
Conclusion:
“Alien: Romulus” is a return to form in many ways. The tense setting, excellent practical effects, and leading performances all stand out. The creatures have never been more terrifying. There are also some unexpected twists in the third act that are some of the most terrifying sequences in the franchise. Unfortunately some of the other cast members aren’t so great, on top of a digitally added character that noticeably brought the quality down. Fans of the franchise will likely be satisfied as the story is a return to simplicity. Come for the creatures and cinematic experience, not for the inventive story.
