(No spoilers.)
Dad, Mia, Aaron, and I took in Alien: Romulus last night. Set between Alien and Aliens, it’s the first new entry in the series since 2017’s Alien: Covenant.
(Don’t you have to see a new Alien movie on the big screen? Of course you do.) BLUF: I liked it.
The storytelling is engaging, but a bit tentative. Though there remain some interesting things to discover, the plot is “safe” in a way that reminded me in passing of the similarities between A New Hope and The Force Awakens. It never feels tired or recycled, but there was more room to stretch here than it seemed the filmmakers believed there was. The young cast, headlined by Cailee Spaeny as Rain, does a fine job with a mostly fine script, and leaves the door open for direct sequels.
The special effects are one of the stars in any Alien film, and they deliver mightily in Romulus. The creature effects remain familiar in the ways that you want, but with some fantastic new angles and wrinkles that I found highly satisfying. Aaron noted an increased sexualization to some of the sequences, and I agree. This isn’t over-the-top, but it does ratchet up the creep-out factor a bit more. (And who knew there was room for that in this cinematic universe?) I also really enjoyed the wide ship sequences, which are both grandiose and a little disorienting, just as genuine outer space maneuvers would be.
I found admirable line-walking and attention to detail in the production design. It can be difficult to plausibly portray the future and simultaneously harmonize with a portrayal of the future that is now several decades old. (In fact, some productions of this description say “oh well” and don’t even attempt it.) From instrument panels to tools to sounds, both background and foreground, Romulus nails it. There are also numerous nods to earlier films throughout. Mia found this a little heavy-handed, but it didn’t bother me.
The only real irritant I experienced was early in the film, when there was a lot of rapid-fire conversation in heavy British accents backed by considerable industrial noise. I could catch maybe half of it, and said to myself a couple of times “well, I hope that wasn’t critical information.” (I can’t turn captioning on at the Cinemark.) It’s a sloppy, unforced error in an otherwise fine production.
The facehugger, the chestburster, and the full-on xenomorph are legitimate contenders for the best movie monsters ever, and Alien: Romulus is an effective showcase for them. Throw in some satisfactory additions to the Alien mythology and a promising young cast, and it’s an eminently worthy watch.
7/10