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Join UsStar Cast: Cailee Spaeny, David Johnson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, and Spike Fearn
Director: Fede Alvarez
What’s Good: Alvarez delivers on the gore and tension department, and also there is a bonkers third act that might be the best thing in the film.
What’s Bad: The first act and the characters are a bit tepid, and they ruin the film a little.
Loo Break: The first act might be your best choice for a break because when the film finds its footing it is all chaos and speed until the end.
Watch or Not?: Yes, the film makes for an excellent theater experience, even if it isn’t the most memorable one.
Language: English (with subtitles).
Available On: Theaters
Runtime: 119 Minutes.
User Rating:
Opening:
2024 continues delivering nostalgia trip after nostalgia trip, not only with the ton of legacy sequels that studios are releasing, and remakes from old classics, but also, in forms of interquels like in the case of Alien: Romulus. The film will try to fill the gap between the legendary first and second films in the Alien franchise, a franchise that has been plagued with very lame and messy installments that have hurt the audience’s perception of it. Alien: Romulus will try to fix things by delivering probably the most violent and tense Alien film to date.
Alien: Romulus Movie Review: Script Analysis
The Alien franchise has never been known for its complex stories, if fact, the first two films are pretty basic when it comes to story, but their themes, symbols, and characters are so strong that some of them are still remembered to this date, especially, the character of Ellen Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver, a character that can be easily labeled as one of the best characters in cinema history, and while Alien: Romulus doesn’t reach that kind of highs, it is still a fun ride thanks to a simple but intense plot.
In many ways, Alien: Romulus might be the simplest of the Alien films, presenting a group of young scavengers stumbling upon the wrong place and, of course, meeting the xenomorph, who just like Ellen Ripley remains as one of the best monster designs ever created. Can the young scavengers do anything to survive their encounter with the creature, that is the movie, and the plot pushes the characters into more and more dangerous situations until the final act arrives, serving as a big and satisfying climax to the picture.
However, while Alien: Romulus is quite effective when it comes to delivering thrills, it fails to create a new hero like Ellen Ripley or to create any sort of thematic commentary like the first two installments did, and in that sense Alien: Romulus feels more like a rollercoaster ride than anything else, it is a very good rollercoaster ride mind you, but the movie might find it hard to live in people’s mind outside the experience of watching it in the theater. The film is still your money’s worth, especially if you love any of the films in the franchise, but this is not the back to form of something like James Cameron’s Aliens.
Actually, Alien: Romulus feels like a more adult and gory version of what The Force Awakens was for the Star Wars franchise, a movie that plays as a collection of callbacks to its better peers, and while fun, doesn’t really hold a candle to those classics, why? Because it lacks the character depth that made those classics, and instead becomes just another exercise is nostalgia baiting, just like all other revival installments from other franchises.
Alien: Romulus Movie Review: Star Performance
Alien: Romulus’ cast is composed a by a number of young actors who all have the potential to make it big in the coming years, but because their characters are so weak, some of them definitely fall into the trap of feeling like only cannon fodder for the creature, and to allow the movie to have several kills throughout its running time. Spaeny and Johnson are definitely the big winners of the cast because their characters actually have more than just one personality trait, and both actors are definitely charismatic enough to catch the audience’s attention.
Spaeny especially seems to be on a roll this year, thanks to her work in Alex Garland’s Civil War, a flawed movie that managed to grab the imagination of America at least of a bit, becoming A24’s second most successful film at the box office. Spaeny has the looks and the acting chops to become a huge star in the next couple of years, and she can only hope that Alien: Romulus is also a success.
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Alien: Romulus Movie Review: Direction, Music
Alvarez is an amazing director, there is no doubt about it, and thanks to films like Don’t Breathe and Evil Dead, he was definitely ready to tackle an Aline film, at least from a technical point of view, making Alien: Romulus one of the prettiest horror films of the last decade, and while some things are a bit too clean, and the dirt and chaotic nature of the first two films is definitely missing, Alien: Romulus does what it must do, and departments like visual effects, production design, and sound design really stand out.
The visuals are also pretty good, especially on the cinematography front, thanks to the work of Galo Olivares, who also shot the equally gorgeous Gretel & Hansel, directed by Osgood Perkins, a couple of years ago. Alvarez’s directing is on point, but he has done this movie before in the shape of Don’t Breathe and Evil Dead, and while that is quite fun, I cannot but wonder when Alvarez will level up in regard to the thematic and narrative relevance of his films, because when it comes to the technical it definitely feels like he has mastered the field.
Alien: Romulus Movie Review: The Last Word
Alien: Romulus is a fun ride, as Fede Alvarez brings all of his technical prowess to the fold in order to deliver a film that is full of tension, and thrills, and also displaying a high level of technical ability from all departments. Sadly, the film relies too much on nostalgia, and not enough on good old-fashioned storytelling when it comes to the construction of its characters or story, resulting in a film that feels more like a ride and less like an actual narrative effort. It is still worth watching, but Alvarez should level up in his next couple projects, because that can only mean a win for him and his audience.
Alien: Romulus Trailer
Alien: Romulus releases on 16 August, 2024.
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