There’s something about the Alien series that has always had such legs. Created 45 years ago, Ridley Scott brought us a creature straight from our space nightmares. The lifecycle of the creature so well throughout, and the consequences so dire, it’s easy to just put them in any environment, and just let them run wild. Yet filmmakers seem intent on constantly trying to “evolve” the Alien franchise past this point of perfection. So we’re going to get into some of the issues present in the recently released Alien Romulus. And yes, we’re getting fully into the spoilers so watch out.
Spoilers for Alien: Romulus. Read at your own risk.
Alien Romulus released this weekend (Check out Chris Bumbray’s 7/10 review) and I agree with most of his points. And if there’s any prominent feeling I have, it’s one of disappointment. Because there are elements of the film that are so good, I thought we were getting an all-time great Alien movie. With Rain, Andy, and this intriguing story about a derelict space station with a dark secret. But instead, by the end, this felt closer to Prometheus than anything else. And as someone who absolutely hated the Scott prequel films, this was one of the worst outcomes. Because boy do I hate black goo.
I hated the concept of the black goo when it first happened and it’s not much better here. The idea of reverse engineering from the original Alien doesn’t entirely break the narrative (though this movie does pretty much make Ripley’s triumph at the end a bit muted since we now know she didn’t actually kill the creature) but it feels sloppy and convoluted. Up until this introduction, I was actually really feeling very positive about the film. But it seems intent on connecting to every single film in the franchise in some way, with the story really needing a strictly Alien/Aliens approach. Get that Ridley Scott Prometheus shit out of my Alien movies!
Despite being told constantly how much the Xenomorphs are the perfect creature, filmmakers always seem to want to move past them. And Romulus decides that its big creature fight at the end isn’t even going to involve a Xeno, but in fact will be this weird Engineer/Alien/Human hybrid. Reminded me of something out of the end of Alien: Resurrection (which will never be a compliment). Why can’t we just have a showdown with an Alien? Why does it have to be this weird elongated creature that looks silly and moves awkwardly? After an entire film of moving through the life cycle of the Xeno, the fact that we’re only treated to a few scenes with them feels undercooked. The Engineer/Xeno simply took time away from a legitimately terrifying creature.
I also feel the need to bring up Rook AKA CGI Ian Holm. I’ve seen a lot of people very upset with this, but it doesn’t really hamper the film for me. As Fede Alvarez stated, Holm’s model is the only one we haven’t seen in other film entries, so I don’t mind him appearing here. I think we’re getting to the point with CGI where audiences are being too picky. Is it an exact recreation? Absolutely not, but to treat it like an abomination is a tad over the top, given its photorealistic nature. And with the family supporting the decision, I’m also not going to be the one to be upset about his likeness being used. If his family is okay with it, so am I.
I don’t want this to be entirely negative as I still really liked the film (just think it has flaws) so let’s discuss the characters. Andy is easily one of the best characters they’ve added to the Alien franchise since Newt, Hicks and Bishop in Aliens. As much as I love the series, big arcs and character moments aren’t as prevalent as I’d like. Yet Andy brings such a vulnerability to the proceedings. His broken and glitchy operating system contending with a new Weyland-Yutani upgrade is very intriguing.
And I know everyone was worried that Rain would simply be Ripley-lite, yet they managed to separate her enough, personality-wise. Sure, her character, and the film in general, has an issue with just recreating moments from the franchise (elevator rescue, settling down in underwear only for the alien to attack, etc). But she’s not just a perfectly black-and-white character (not telling Andy about the No Android policy) who clearly has human flaws. And the fact that they’re orphans of Weyland-Yutani workers helps add to the dystopic world of Alien.
Despite my gripes, I really enjoyed Alien Romulus overall. It’s just that it came so close to sticking the landing that it’s upset to see all the obnoxious excess elements. This could have been a very simple Alien movie that really worked as a good reset for the series. What we got was a mixed bag of mythologies that is never truly satisfying. Admittedly, I would be interested in a Romulus sequel, but that’s mostly for the characters of Rain and Andy and the slight hope that they’ll fix mistakes from this film. But if they pull an Alien: Covenant and change the clear direction from the end of the movie, then a rewatch could easily be ruined. So here’s hoping that doesn’t happen. There are a million things to talk about with this movie, and I think it will be the center for many horror chats in the foreseeable future.
What did you think of Alien: Romulus? Do you think it’s more Alien or Prometheus? How would you rank the Alien series now? Let us know in the comments!