Our first reaction to Alien: Romulus hails Fede Alvarez’s film as an ultra-entertaining, gory addition to the franchise

Last Updated on August 31, 2024

No doubt Alien: Romulus has been one of our most anticipated movies of 2024. Despite the overall tepid — or Alien 3-level — response to everything after James Cameron’s Aliens, the franchise maintains a strong fan base. So, how does Romulus rank amongst the other entries? Are we going to check it out on opening weekend or are we going to get away from her?

With Alien: Romulus having screened earlier this week ahead of its August 16th release, let’s check out some of the initial reactions from social media:

Our man @cbumbray just saw #AlienRomulus – an ultra entertaining, gory addition to the franchise. One can feel the influence of Ridley Scott and the desire to continue along the path set by his prequels- which doesn’t always work. But still a blast.

— JoBlo.com (@joblocom) August 13, 2024

The high praise for Romulus is one thing but calling out a stellar third act in particular drums up even more excitement for the movie than there has been before. Indeed, it seems that it will be firing on all cylinders in that finale:

We pretty much knew that the creature designs would be a major draw, too, but it’s awesome to hear that this holds on the big screen. Obviously the Xenomorph designs are some of the most iconic creatures in film history thanks to H.R. Giger. Even in the worst of the Aliens franchise they are still a sight to behold; but now that we know Romulus looks to be ranking possibly in the top three of the series, director Fede Álvarez has a combo that looks to be just what the series needs. (Appropriately enough, Romulus is set between the events of 1979’s Alien and 1986’s Aliens.)

As for other industry reactions, Ridley Scott himself praised Alien: Romulus to the director after a private screening, saying, “Fede, what can I say? It’s f*cking great.” And this is the guy who directed the original Alien! Then again, he is also responsible for Covenant, so…

As for what else we can expect with Romulus, here is the plot: “The sci-fi/horror-thriller takes the phenomenally successful Alien franchise back to its roots: While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.”

Now that the first reactions to Alien: Romulus are out, are you more excited for the movie? Are you surprised it has lived up to the hype?