I went into this one cautiously optimistic and that approach seems to have mostly paid off.
Mostly.
As any semi-regular reader of my reviews can confirm, I’m a HUGE, life-long fan of the Alien franchise, with the second installment, 1986’s excellent insta-classic Aliens, sitting at the top of my Favorite Movies list (I have the tattoo to prove it!).
Over the years since James Cameron’s third feature was released (yes, I’m counting Piranha 2: The Spawning in there), other entries have made their way into the franchise, with decidedly mixed results. Say what you will about certain narrative choices in 1992’s Alien 3 (most of which I would agree with), but I will admit that I have a certain fondness for it (and not just the nostalgia-glasses kind), especially the vastly improved Assembly Cut version.
*Random Note – I saw Romulus with one of my oldest buddies, who reminded me that we last saw an Alien flick together 32 years ago, at a local theatre called The Palace that no longer exists. Hmmm…the sweet scent of nostalgia.
*sighs wistfully*
On with the review…
Back to the Alien films, the less said about the horrid fourth title…the better. I hate Alien Resurrection, going right back to that infuriating first time I saw it. Which amuses me, as I’m a big fan of a significant chunk of director Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s fantastical French output (I HIGHLY recommend his dark 1995 fantasy The City of Lost Children…amazing stuff!).
But in the case of his ‘contribution’ (admittedly he was a mere director-for-hire, in this case) to the Alien franchise…fuck you, Jean-Pierre! And fuck you too, Joss Whedon, for your moronic script!
Sorry. Had to get that out.
Since the Alien vs Predator flicks (2004, 2007) are NOT considered canon (thankfully!), all I’ll say is that the Unrated cut of the first one is a guilty pleasure, that is FAR from perfect, but with just enough ‘cool’ to be entertaining. The second one is an amateurish fucking mess orchestrated by two douchebags who never should’ve have been given the goddamn job to begin with and ended up churning out a sickly turd that effectively manages to insult both franchises.
*I know…I have a friend who was on-set when they were filming in North Vancouver. He said it was miserable. Given the piece of shit that sorry excuse for a ‘movie’ turned out to be, his report didn’t surprise me.
Then Ridley Scott and his ego came back, derailing Neill Blomkamp’s promising revisionist idea for a new Alien 3, instead delving into an un-asked for and unsatisfactory backstory of what has become known in the pop culture lexicon as ‘Xenomorphs’, while also touching on grand existential themes and faux-deep concepts of Cosmic creationism and blah blah blah.
While some of the visuals and sci-fi ideas in Prometheus (2012) are expectedly cool and slick (it IS still a Ridley Scott film, warts and all), I find the characters insufferable, the script moronic and the narrative reach too far flung, straying away from what made the good Alien films resonate so well, even all these years later, and it showed with critics and fans.
The next one, 2017’s Alien: Covenant, fared not much better, though I will admit to getting more entertainment out of Covenant that Prometheus, counting it as another guilty pleasure on par with the first AvP.
But…even though The Man who arguably brought this entire franchise into fruition was twice back at the helm, objectively speaking, neither flick REALLY blew the fans’ skirts up (parts of Prometheus’ script make my blood boil!). Both made money, but the returns were dwindling…and the writing seemed to be on the wall.
Fast forward several years…and they’re at it again.
Only now, ‘they’ is Disney, since ‘they’ absorbed and erased the studio which brought me so much geeky pleasure over the decades, 20th Century Fox, home to both the Alien and Predator franchises, among others.
First, they went after Predator and in defiance of our skepticism (given Disney’s recent track-record of butchering franchises they inherit) they actually delivered, with 2022’s Prey far exceeding expectations, quality-wise.
The one issue was Disney, having a lack of faith in a Predator ‘period piece’, populated almost exclusively by unknown indigenous characters and without extensive use of automatic weapons or machismo, opted to laugh in the face of logic and make this highly cinematic-looking flick a Streaming Original release only, on Hulu, which is such a cheap disservice to the work of director Dan Trachtenberg and Co. With some clever tweaks to the marketing, the modestly-budgeted Prey could’ve made a good chunk of change once the positive-word-of-mouth hit the streets, and I’m confident that it would have. But…we’ll never know.
That being said, it would seem that someone, somewhere, got the memo. The likely suspect is producer Ridley Scott, who allegedly circled back around to an idea that novice (at the time) director Fede’ Alvarez (Don’t Breathe) had pitched him years prior. Not long after Scott officially came aboard as Producer, the idea of this being another Hulu Original went out the window and the wheels were set in motion to get this onto the Big Screen.
And that’s where Alien: Romulus really does belong, given how effectively the tension and spectacle are conveyed, coupled with an obvious love for the franchise by the filmmakers.
Taking place between the events of Alien and Aliens, we open on the off-world colony of Jackson’s Star, one of Weyland-Yutani’s successful terraforming projects, now turned into a sprawling mining operation, weighed down by dangerous conditions and the constant threat of disease epidemics (a fascinating angle to address, IMO). In among the 2000+ personnel, we meet young ‘Rain Carradine’ (Cailee Spaeny) and her malfunctioning android sibling ‘Andy’ (David Jonsson) as she finds herself essentially enslaved for several more years due to bullshit bureaucratic manipulation, when all she wants (and believed that she was entitled to) is a chance to escape the doldrums and danger of colony life, all the more since her parents were killed by a lung disease from the mines a few years prior. She wants to flee the planet and go somewhere that has an actual sun in the sky, but now can’t.
As despair sets in, she’s contacted by ex-boyfriend ‘Tyler’ (Archie Renaux), also a fellow orphan, who may have an answer to their problems. It seems that ‘Tyler’, along with his moody prick cousin ‘Bjorn’ (Spike Fearn), ‘Bjorn’s pilot girlfriend ‘Navarro’ (Aileen Wu), and ‘Kay’ (Isabela Merced), ‘Tyler’s young mother-to-be sister, all also want out. They have discovered evidence that a derelict spacecraft has drifted into their planet’s orbit, destined to be destroyed in the inevitable collision with the ice rings surrounding their world. This motley crew of orphaned teenagers plan to take a cargo skiff up to the ship before it’s orbit decays and ransack it of valuable tech, namely five functioning cryo-tubes, which will allow them to make the trip to the next inhabited planet, Yvaga III, 9 years away.
On arrival, they realize that it’s not actually a ship but a drifting space station called Renaissance Station, comprised of two large modules, known as Remus and Romulus. After gaining access, obstacles are encountered and they discover that the supposedly deserted vessel isn’t as deserted as it should be.
As an Aliens fan-boy / middle aged geek, I got MOST of what I wanted, and hoped for, with Alien: Romulus and I think that maybe…just maybe…the franchise is mostly back on the right track.
Mostly.
*fingers crossed*
One of the aspects I love about the franchise is the retro-future world-building, particularly in the first three films. Knowing that Alvarez and Co. were placing this one smack-dab between the events of the first two flicks, I wanted to see how his ‘world’ would come across, potentially bridging the styles of Scott and Cameron, while adding his own flavour to the mix.
I’m happy to report that they knocked it out of the park when it came to a production design that very obviously was intent on honoring that which came before, while also utilizing, connecting to, and expanding on very recognizable ‘universe’ elements that simply make sense in the grand, multi-picture arc, where narrative cohesion is concerned.
Having scribbled that, I do have to acknowledge a few notable Negatives.
The first that comes to mind is the pacing, namely toward the end of Act 2, leading into Act 3. The first half of the film is paced quite well, taking its time as it whisks us from Jackson’s Star up to the Renaissance Station, but part way through the two-hour run-time, something happens and the narrative experiences some chop. As with all movies, there are undoubtedly scenes that were removed in Post Production, for any number of reasons. It just seems like in the latter half, you can feel that material is MIA, leading to a notable break and a stumble in the story’s flow. Connective tissue seems to be missing and it’s my hope that a Director’s Cut may be in the offering, come its home media release.
The next one is the dizzying myriad of call-backs, the Easter Eggs. If you’re savvy in the ways of the Alien franchise, you’ll begin seeing the tie-ins right away (hell, the 20th Century Studios fanfare fades dramatically into the eerie score…just like the beginning of Alien 3). I’m all for clever call-backs and well-placed Easter Eggs, but admittedly not to the degree that we get them here. After what was beginning to be a noticeable pattern of less-than-subtle call-backs, there was a completely cheap and gratuitous line reference going back to Aliens that my buddy and I both simultaneously threw our hands up at, scoffing.
Narratively, there are some other aspects that do leave something to be desired. A large one is the lack of information regarding what originally happened on the station that led it to its death drift and damaged state. Coupled with that is the whole ‘How did Weyland-Yutani come across the plethora of Xenomorph samples we see?’ question. A partial explanation is given that ties directly into the events of Alien (in a VERY cool prologue sequence), but it still doesn’t explain specifically what we see stored on the station or how they managed to get all of it.
*One of my personal fan-fiction Alien stories that I wrote several years ago (which you can find here – https://thekneejerkreaction.com/aliens-the-lowry-road-incident-new/), also dealt with the ruination of a W/Y medical ship being used to clandestinely research and develop the Xenomorph species for their own nefarious ends. It doesn’t go well. That being said, I can’t help but to wonder if the barely hinted-at backstory of the dying station wouldn’t have been the better choice for the main focal point of the flick, from an entertainment stand point.
The last ‘major’ negative is a *SPOILER* and it comes in the form of a destroyed android that’s found on the station. This ‘artificial person’ is named ‘Rook’…and he’s played by the digital ghost of the late Ian Holm, who of course played the traitorous android ‘Ash’ in Alien. I understand the instinct to put him in here, but it’s wholly unnecessary and very gimmicky. It also doesn’t help that the CG used to bring him back to life was somewhat lacking. IMO, if a damaged android NEEDED to be in there, just make it a different model and cast someone new! There are so many call-backs (too many, as noted) to previous films that deep-faked Ian Holm simply wasn’t necessary. But alas…that’s what we get.
Now that I’ve got my shitting on the flick out of the way, in no particular order, let’s delve into aspects that I DID enjoy:
Jackson’s Star – I appreciate the brief look we get of the bustling colony, all of it backdropped by the familiar shape of an Atmosphere Processing Station of the same type that we saw in Aliens. That last colony we saw, Hadley’s Hope on LV-426, was found in decidedly less-than-perfect condition, so seeing what one of The Company’s “shake n bake” colonies looks like when there hasn’t been interference from a relentless and chaotic alien species.
*I know that in James Cameron’s Director’s Cut we see a fully functioning colony but it’s clear that they were still only at the beginning of their terraforming efforts and that the colony’s population only numbered less than 200 people at that time, with expansion most likely planned once the atmosphere had settled.
The cinematography – Alien: Romulus looks good. If nothing else can be said, at least it looks slick, with lots of effective lighting and compositions on display. I particularly enjoyed the space sequences, especially sequences featuring the planet’s fast moving ice rings. It looked gorgeous. Fans will pick out visual cues tying into other franchise titles, but they’re mostly handled nicely.
The set designs and props – One thing I’ve ALWAYS loved about this series is the attention to detail in the worlds that our main characters inhabit and the lived-in aesthetic that touches everything we’re shown. We’re not given a ton of different locale’s but what we do get has the same lived in, banged up feel that the Scott / Cameron / Fincher flicks so effectively embraced.
Tech expansion – the Alien franchise uses some highly plot-friendly examples of admittedly ridiculous SCIENCE fiction, namely artificial gravity and cryo-sleep; the murky unexplained workings of which may as well be magic. As implausible as both of those concepts are in RL, they are a necessary evil in telling these stories, I’m the first to admit it. I appreciated that this one got the chance to expand on those elements, featuring them prominently in the plot (for a change), leading to more than one surprisingly harrowing scene. The big one, for me, was a tense sequence in zero-g involving drifting splashes of xenomorph blood and Cailey Spaeny fighting to avoid them, while also struggling to take down the former owners of said blood. Very cool shit, that probably would’ve been sweet, had they gone the 3D route. But as is…a new and original use for a story element we’ve been long acquainted with, that looked very cool, and added to the thrills…and that is most welcome.
‘Andy’ – Whatever discussions were had between director Alvarez and actor David Jonsson regarding the creation and performance of ‘Andy’, ‘Rains’ synthetic ‘brother’, clearly hit gold. Jonsson, whom I’ve never seen before, gave a very cool, and at times, creepy portrayal of the well-meaning but glitchy android. Even though he’s very obviously an ‘artificial person’, the performance actually managed to get me in the ‘feels’ a couple times. Nicely done, guys.
Tension – One story-telling element that Fede’ Alvarez seems to have mastered is the use of suspense and tension, and he definitely puts them to use here. There are several sequences that pulled me in and made me feel the stakes the characters were faced with and that’s somewhat rare in movies these days. Or so it seems. Suspense is also something that the Alien franchise needs a fresh injection of, as lately, the once-fearsome Xenomorph has now just become…well…just kinda cool. Which essentially removes them of their ‘teeth’, as onscreen threats go. Here, Alvarez has returned the monsters to the shadows and remade them as a genuine threat, especially the face-huggers. Also nicely done, sir.
All in all, I had a really good time with Alien: Romulus (as did my buddy) and can safely say that, for my two cents, it stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the Assembly Cut of Alien 3, a movie that I do make a point to check out every few years. Romulus definitely has re-watchability too and I look forward to seeing it again, preferably with my own Blu ray copy, cranked on the 5.1.
As noted earlier though, all is not perfect. There are some definite pacing issues, there are a couple odd choices in the bonkers 3rd Act and there are most certainly a few too many on-the-nose Easter Egg references to other franchise titles (“Get away from her, you bitch!” Really?!) for my liking. But those are not deal breakers on this one. A little cheap and obvious, pushing this one dangerously close to the Big Budget Fan Fiction category, but luckily enough cool little details and scenarios continued on around many of these increasingly tiresome fan-service tie-ins to effectively distract.
Fede Alvarez has done a Return to Form for the franchise (though I also think Dan Trachtenberg also deserves credit for how Prey turned out too), while also coming in honoring the influences as he plants his own stamp on the proceedings. To any fan of the Alien franchise, of Fede’ Alvarez’s other films, or just good ole hard hitting R-rated science fiction horror, then I suggest you get your asses to a theatre and check this one out. It’s mostly a gory good time on the Big Screen – blood, bullets and beasts!
Mostly.
Edit – A week later now, I just got back from a second viewing, with my wife this time (she liked it), and I have to admit that some of my initial criticisms were perhaps a little sharper than warranted. Not to say they weren’t valid, as they certainly are, but this time around, the pacing, for example, wasn’t such an issue. It is a tighter narrative that I didn’t give due credit, that starts off patiently but when it gets going, it doesn’t let up. The several call-backs to other franchise entries also weren’t as numerous as I previously recalled…but 90% of the ones that we DID get, we didn’t need. Or ask for.
There is no dramatic change to my review, just some subtle tweaks to the reasoning and overall score.
Alien: Romulus is what I needed in a new Alien movie…and perhaps you’ll feel the same after you see it…which you should. Now.
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