Released: August 2024
Director: Fede Alvarez
Run Time: 119 Minutes
Rated R
Distributor: Disney/20th Century Studios
Genre: Science Fiction/Horror
Cast:
Cailee Spaeny: Rain
David Jonsson: Andy
Archie Renaux: Tyler
Isabela Merced: Kay
Spike Fearn: Bjorn
Aileen Wu: Navarro
When it comes big movie franchises, I have a few huge favorites: Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Indiana Jones, Predator, Terminator, and of course: Alien. Some of these franchises have been taking a huge pounding over the last 20-30 years with entrees that don’t quite measure up to what the original film delivered, while sometimes taking a franchise into a different, ill-advised direction. I’ll be one of the few that will defend nearly the entire Alien franchise, despite some of the flawed movies that were made. I’ll even go so far as to defend Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. But I can’t deny that those last two movies put the franchise into a real tailspin. Predator suffered a similar fate until one movie came out and turned it around: Prey. The film-makers went back to the series’ roots and made an incredibly entertaining prequel that was back far enough in the past that it didn’t actually affect any of the other movies. Well, Alien just got it’s shot in the arm with Alien: Romulus, and let me tell you: It’s back.
The film is set about a decade after the events of Alien, when Lt. Ellen Ripley destroyed the Nostromo and sent the xenomorph hurling into the void. The film focuses on Rainer, a young colonist that’s stuck on a mining colony with no hope of a better future. Rain and her companion Andy are approached by Tyler, an old acquaintance of Rain’s, and is offered a chance to head to another colony. The catch? Tyler and his team need to infiltrate a Weyland-Yutani ship to grab fuel for their cryotubes, and Tyler needs Andy to help access the ship. Only the ship turns out to be a derelict Weyland-Yutani space station. It’s orbit is deteriorating, so they need to find the fuel quickly. What they find on board instead is one of the most devastating life-forms ever encountered. I really like the fact that this movie is set between Alien and Aliens. It has continuity with the visual style of Ridley Scott’s original film. The story is really simple. It’s about a group of people who are fighting for a better life only to come up against one of the universe’s deadliest creatures. The movie disposes with any of the existential nonsense that plagued the previous two movies and focuses on being a tightly wound, atmospheric thriller. It succeeds in ways that I never thought possible. A lot of people thought that the franchise was dead. Oh, no it isn’t. Not with director Fede Alvarez at the helm. I’ve loved his movies since the Evil Dead remake, so I’m probably biased.
First off, can we acknowledge that practical effects in this day and age are still the best way to convey absolute terror? The creature design in Alien: Romulus is spectacular. The late H.R Giger would be proud. Not only are these still terrifying, but we’re also given a look at a stage of the creature’s life-cycle that we’ve never really seen before. It should’ve been obvious in the original movie, but here, it kind of takes a page from the movie Species in which the creature cocoons itself to grow into the monstrous beast that it does. It makes absolute sense. The facehuggers are still creepy as fuck, and we’re given a close-up view of what happens when they latch on to you. The gore is also practical and grotesque as it should be, but the CGI effects are actually really good here, but Alvarez made it a point to use practical effects whenever possible and only rely on CGI when it’s not. The best part? The cinematography is outstanding. The film is claustrophobic, as was the intent, yet you can still see what’s happening. Which is more than say for a certain other film in the franchise. Yes, Aliens Vs. Predator: Requiem, I’m looking at you. From what I’ve been able to see, most of the sets are practical. But there are a few shots where CGI is used to create a location, but it seems the most practical solution for that problem.
The acting in Alien: Romulus is stellar. Cailee Spaeny, just off her outstanding performance in Civil War, takes the lead as Rain. This young lady’s got a future in the business, I can tell you that. She’s tough when she needs and vulnerable when the situation calls for it. Archie Renaux plays Tyler, the head of a group of colonists that want to leave the planet behind, and he’s a take-charge kind of guy that still has enough heart to care about the people that he’s with. Aileen Wu, plays Navarro the group’s pilot and the love interest of Spike Fearn’s Bjorn. Every group has someone that you hate with a passion, and Bjorn is it, even though he has a reason for being that way. But the real star of this show is Andy, played brilliantly by David Jonsson. This has to be one of the best performances of the year. The way he goes from this meek and mild companion to Rain, to a more stoic character because of a chip, to a total bad-ass is incredible. He’s so damn good. The pacing of the movie is just right. It starts of a little slow, but that’s for establishing the characters and story, but when it all hits the fan, it never lets up.
While I absolutely think this movie’s phenomenal in every way, I’d be doing a disservice if I didn’t mention some things that might rub the people the wrong way. First of all, the final act of the movie is batshit crazy, and I love it, but there’s going to be people out there that it won’t work for. I won’t spoil it, but it’s kind of a big deal, plus the fate of one of the characters is absolutely brutal. Another issue is the appearance of a certain character is going to ruffle the feathers of some fans. Ultimately, there’s nothing here that I don’t like. It all comes together incredibly well, with Fede Alvarez’s direction being tight, deliberate, and exciting. Alien was one of the first real sci-fi horror films and Romulus takes us all the way back in terms of tone and tension. It’s wonderfully made, with great acting, excellent effects, and amazing presentation. Before I wrap this up, I also want to mention that at the showing that I went to, there was a little teaser of the Alien tv show that’s expected to hit the small screen next year called Alien: Earth. I don’t know what it’s about, but if Noah Hawley’s involved, it’s going to be good. Alien fans should be really happy with Alien: Romulus, though. It’s easily the best entry in the series since James Cameron’s Aliens. Like the Predator franchise, I’d given up Alien for dead. However, like Predator, Alien got a movie that really understood why people loved this franchise in the first place. We don’t need an explanation for who created the Xenomorph or why. We just needed a movie that was willing to scare the pants off its audience, and Alien: Romulus does just that. I think this movie’s going to have legs and I actually want to see a sequel to this. I really do. I hope it gets one, and hopefully a direct one, but if not, I think Alien is in good hands with 20th Century Studios under the Disney banner. I never thought I would ever say THAT. I was always worried about Disney watering it down. They didn’t. They went the opposite. This movie goes hard and it’s all the better for it. I think this is one of my favorite movies of the year and I can’t wait for the TV show. Fede Alvarez does it again.