Alien: Romulus

In terms of plot, Alien: Romulus is more sophisticated than Prometheus and Covenant combined, but it’s not much more clever than Alien vs. Predator. Ridley Scott understood that if he wanted to appeal to a new generation of viewers and successfully continue his Alien campaign, he would have to pass the baton to an energetic craftsman, such as the one who gave an intense restart to the Evil Dead franchise for young viewers. The characters in Romulus are teenagers, a fact that is unacceptable for us lovers of the original, serious genre pillars of cinema. Fedez Alvarez blends together the previous Alien films' iconic moments, which will not surprise the connoisseurs, but will thrill young viewers who are unfamiliar with them. We can appreciate the effort to make an upgrade through innovations (the fine resurrection of Ian Holm), but without using them in a well-thought-out way in the plot, they are there only superficially for effect. The film almost ceased to hold my interest when the characters failed to close behind themselves the huge door to the room containing the facehuggers, in which they had previously increased the temperature so that they could safely pass through it. And there is more such sloppiness that negates the newly shown rules of the Alien world even for novices. And that’s a shame. (08/18/2024)

A pop horror flick that appeals to Generation Z and won't offend the oldies. On the positive side, I'll take the superb and highly talented Cailee Spaeny and the fantastic last half hour, and on the negative side, the simple fact that the other teens are all interchangeable, I didn't find my way to them at all and didn't care if the monster made a sandwich out of them. Yes, it's nice to look at, it has the hallmark of the 70s technique Ridley Scott established in his masterpiece, the atmosphere is nicely depressing and claustrophobic, but for the first two-thirds the film painfully lacks in any kind of tension, because apart from Cailee I - as I've already written - hadn't built up any rapport with the characters and consequently didn't experience the threat of the facehuggers as such at all. Fortunately, there are enough references and allusions to previous episodes, and as a connoisseur I appreciate how "disjointed" it is in that respect: the first third is slowburn old Alien, the second the warlike Aliens, and the last one is a return to the first one, with Fede Álvarez literally quoting it. So yeah, I actually had a decent time, and since Álvarez unloaded a few scenes I hadn’t seen in this genre before, I give the film four spits of acid. (08/19/2024)

Fede Álvarez, director of the best Evil Dead and Don't Breathe, one of the best original modern genre films, delivers for the third time (I’m ignoring the existence of The Girl in the Spider's Web). But flawless perfection it is not this time. He does well what he does best: offering an intense horror ride full of attractions that slowly makes it impossible to breathe. But what I have the biggest problem with regarding the new Alien is time and space. Once it gets going, it feels insanely fast-paced. For one thing, the development of the monsters is absurdly fast, and for another, I would have liked the human characters to have time to pause for a moment and let it sink in how much shit they've got themselves into. And the space, I found the action awkwardly cut at times in terms of orientation. Especially the elevator scene and its ending I didn't get at all, maybe a chunk of the film had to be missing there (?). The much criticised fanservice didn't bother me, or rather I didn't pay much attention to it and it didn't actively distract me – though I have the "advantage" in this that I very rarely watch films repeatedly, so I certainly don't know any of the Alien movies by heart and can't quote from them. I found all but one moment (at the end of the aforementioned elevator scene) unworthy. The criticised digicam is totally fine, I really don’t know what the problem is, it looks completely appropriate given the state "it" is in right now. The final ten minutes are easily the best part of the film; and the main pair of characters realistically have a lot more charisma than anyone who came after Ripley in the franchise. 8/10 (08/16/2024)

After the excellent trailers, it wasn't hard to become excited for Alien: Romulus, but there was still a little red light in my head. It subtly reminded me that behind the camera was Fede Álvarez, a man who certainly has a lot of talent, but not for the horror genre. I suffered through his Evil Dead, and Don’t Breathe was fine at best. And unfortunately, I should have listened to that red light, because while Romulus has its merits, it disappoints in the most fundamental way, it doesn't work as a genre film. Alien: Romulus looks great, and I enjoyed the analog computers, the grey metals, the industrial atmosphere full of hissing pipes, likewise with unexpectedly good actors and interesting characters who behaved surprisingly smart. But that’s not enough when Álvarez can't build a scary atmosphere and his scares are dull and uninteresting. Part of the problem is that this is more a game of referencing and quoting old films, leaving little room for the new. As a result, it's a nice fanservice from someone who knows how it should look, sound and work, but he just can't quite put it together into a workable horror film. Álvarez may be a good producer with an interesting vision, but unfortunately he's not a good director or executor. (08/14/2024)

A passable genre best-of remix that lacks the factor of being significantly memorable, which was a feature of the worst films in the franchise. FedEx delivered a commemorative aesthetic parcel wrapped up in the skilfulness that one would expect from it after Don’t Breathe. However, it’s impossible to shake off the impression that all of the really distinctive moments merely comprise a derivative of the better instalments in the Alien franchise. (08/23/2024)

I must say that I feel a little disappointed. I had hight expectations for Alien: Romulus, as it was expected to be the horror film of the year and the experienced Fede Álvarez with his spectacular trailers had a promising start, but unfortunately it didn't deliver. Admittedly, if I let go of expectations, this is solid sci-fi horror, the likes of which hasn't been around for a while, with some very impressive elements. But there were a few things that bothered me. The actors didn't wow me all that much, David Jonsson as the Android is the most interesting character, but the vaunted Cailee Spaeny didn't grab my heart. The opening is quite slow and by the time the Alien appears half the film is gone. Audiovisually it's great, the ship looks awesome and the music is also very effective, the cramped atmosphere is good and the gravity/acid scene is a highlight for me. The final monster was a bit over the top for me, though, I could have done without it and the Alien was perfectly fine. But what I see as the biggest problem and disappointment is that we get almost no gore. Álvarez made one of the most brutal horror remakes with Evil Dead, so I was expecting a proper Alien carnage, but the body-count is too low for that and most of the deaths are out of frame or simply don't stick in the memory. I didn’t expect Ridley Scott's Alien: Covenant to have twice the carnage of Alvarez. Even compared to Prey, Alien: Romulus falls far short. That I would leave the cinema feeling that seeing it once was enough is something I really didn't hope for. Four stars it deserves without a doubt, but the expectations were simply elsewhere. 7/10. (08/19/2024)

A journey into famous waters that I never really wanted to take. I never believed Fede Alvarez had it in him to take on a legend of these dimensions, I didn't believe in the much-trumpeted genre setting of thoroughbred gore, but when critics, viewers, and box offices scoffed at Ridley Scott's misunderstood Alien: Covenant years ago, there was probably no other path left to go. And yet it works – and the combination of modern editing with dirty and oily technique is aggressive and beautiful from the very first minute. The aggressive creature is given enough space, the human crew makes mistakes that are understandable yet still manage clever and logical decisions at key moments. There is so much winking at the past that I was daydreaming, knowing that with a bit of exaggeration I could imagine I was watching Alien 1.5. Not to mention that finally, after years of waiting, the lines drawn from the classic tetralogy and the mythology of Prometheus have finally been combined, which is a gift that I never expected to receive. Thanks to this enrichment, Alien: Romulus is truly more than just a fun horror film, nor is it merely a side chapter the series could have done without. It's a reward for those who never completely gave up on Alien (and who can see beyond the first twist and don't mind that the script plays a bit subversively with them with iconic lines). I understand the arguments about the polarizing final chapter; without it, I would be happier than I am with it now. On the other hand, I must applaud the courage that even the brave and visually deconstructed genre film Alien: Resurrection was lacking almost thirty years ago. The fact that the result of such an experiment did not meet my expectations is my problem. Everyone who sees the saga as a whole and not just as a space for the eternal (and nowadays really endlessly tiresome) argument about which of the first two installments is better should also give it a try. (08/16/2024)

It is necessary to make full use of resources obtained at great cost, even if the result is only some kind of bastardised mutant. This is true for Weyland-Yutani and its real-life equivalent, The Walt Disney Company. The most surprising aspect of Alien: Romulus is its anti-originality. This time around, the Disneyfication of the franchise doesn’t have the feel of a refresh with new characters (as was the case with Star Wars: The Force Awakens), nor does it work as cultish fan-service along the lines of the serial clones from Marvel. Fede Alvarez and Rodo Sayagues wilfully turned out a CGI remix of the Alien franchise’s greatest hits, which lends itself to a game of bingo on the theme of “which cult scene, popular one-liner or iconic shot from the preceding films will be paraphrased in the next scene”. The charm (and uniqueness) of the original Alien tetralogy consists in the fact that it comprises diametrically different and stylishly and supremely distinctive films (I won’t even say anything bad about the fantastically crackpot fourth one. Alien: Romulus is only a derivative, or rather the film equivalent of an Alien-themed ride at Disneyworld – we passively pass by a series of well-known scenes that are impressively yet lifelessly rendered and something occasionally amuses or scares us, but we walk away completely unmoved at the end. Though Prometheus was silly nonsense and elicited exasperation and hatred, it is still better than this precisely crafted definition of the term “content” from the vocabulary of media corporations. (08/15/2024)

I didn't expect a groundbreaking film from Fede Alvarez that would push the boundaries of the genre and elevate the Alien theme to a new level. However, I secretly hoped he could rely on solid craftsmanship and create a functional genre film that would pay homage to the original series and overcome the bitter taste left by Ridley Scott's ambitious yet unfortunate attempts. With several reservations, I believe that as a summer genre flick meant for entertainment, Alvarez's work holds up. His approach clearly targets a young audience that drives movie theater attendance, and this is reflected in his choice of characters. The actors certainly don't perform poorly, but their characters are bland, and the chemistry between them is lacking. Alvarez doesn't attempt to bring an original auteur style, but instead continually winks at the series' fans, trying to evoke everything that once worked on screen. He successfully builds horror tension, particularly during the phase where a group of desperate individuals infiltrates an abandoned base, navigating through debris and exploring the unknown spaces of a giant wreck. However, since Alvarez is making a film for teenagers, he needs to accelerate the plot, even at the expense of basic logic and the legacy of the first installment. Facehuggers gain the speed of a racing motorcycle, and a human mutant transforms from a newborn into a giant creature within two minutes. Nevertheless, as an adventurous action sci-fi with good production design, the film reliably works. If I were to measure the film by the standards I apply to smart, top-tier productions, my rating would drop. But for what Romulus aims to be, it fulfills its purpose. Since my initial expectations were low and, not least, because film fans have very few reasons to visit the movie theater nowadays, I raise my final verdict to four stars and a 70% overall impression. (08/19/2024)

I have another piece for my collection of Andy's slow-circuit films. You know what they should call the stepbrother Rain? Rain Man. The concept feels schizophrenic, just like an android whose control chip keeps switching back and forth. Set between the first and second installments, Fede Alvarez wanted to cover everything up to Covenant, but at the same time, he didn’t want to suppress his own talent. The result? A generic installment that just tortures the franchise further. Similarly, Benjamin Wallfisch's music, which borrows from Goldsmith and Horner, suddenly slams in something akin to a romantic ballad. Everything clashes horribly, and I don’t just mean the new Vasquez with an endless magazine, but rather the attempt to please everyone, including the corporate producers. This is partly explained by the fact that while the average age of the crew on the Nostromo was 39.7 years, here it’s 24.4. A junior with a PC game face and a body drenched in 33% cream, naturally, doesn’t fit into the statistics. (08/21/2024)

The fourth star is for the effort. Everything from the first tones to the last font of the credits breathes the desire to please fans of the Alien franchise and get that money-making machine running again. Ingredients from the first and second film and unfortunately a little of the worst of Prometheus are mixed into a mostly well-functioning nostalgic throwback to the good old days. Personally, I liked the part in the Remus better, where we're just discovering and the cast, led by the excellent Cailee Spaeny and a larger-than-life David Jonsson, who steals every scene, stupidly defrost the fridge. Fede Álvarez has taken care of everything, he just wanted to please a lot of people with the script (Ridley) so instead of being more his own he, unfortunately, borrows the worst from Prometheus: the ending. If he had stayed with Alien the die-hard fans would have been happy. If he had been more original we could have all sat on our asses, but the middle way he chose spoiled the flavor a bit. We definitely want more, but with original ingredients and not lame solutions to dead-end situations. The ideas just didn't end up in the hole. I'd take the proposed director's crossover with Dan Trachtenberg's Prey with great pleasure. (08/18/2024)

The film wanted to collect plus points mainly with references to Alien and Aliens and at first it succeeds, but the references soon got boring, the actors turned out to be completely uninteresting in the vast majority and one stupid situation after another started happening (the temperature in the corridor, the acid in weightlessness), until Alien: Romulus completely annoyed me. In the results, it's a spectacle almost on the level of Aliens vs. Predator that doesn’t bring anything new, in fact it probably didn't even try to. And that's a great shame. Ridley Scott's (imaginative!) Prometheus is somewhere else, and in fact so is Shane Black's The Predator. (08/25/2024)

In space, no one can hear you cringe. The Disneyfication of Alien was a success. And much like the Predator: Prey, apparently most audiences are fine with it, but I'm not. That Fede Álvarez was only going to come out with a straightforward slasher film with lame characters that here merely replicate the template of the trivial characters of his previous films was clear from the start. But that the film would offer nothing more than perhaps good production design and practical effects, even if these too only skillfully copy and purposefully recall the original, and would only be a variation of what we had seen before, lacking all the tension, directorial invention and, in short, characters in which we could invest our fears, was not something I wanted to believe. To add to that, my fears that it would come to a mindless repetition of elements and catchphrases from the original films, the plague of all contemporary follow-ups to classic franchises, were realized and here it downright hurts. The opening still holds up, but then you can practically identify the turning point in the film when it all starts to go to shit. Last year's Infested was a better follow-up to Alien than this corporate fanservice product, and even managed to do one of the key would-be action-horror scenes more effectively. If you want inspiration from the greats in independent waters and outside of established franchises, you won't find it at Disney. (08/14/2024)

The latest contribution to the Alien universe has stirred up a variety of opinions here, and I can understand any assessment. I was impressed with Alien: Romulus in the cinema, and I'm probably glad that it wasn't as scary a horror film as it was presented before its release. The storyline is quite simple, the characters are not very well drawn out, and there are a few holes in the logic, but I liked the film as a whole and it managed to make me tense while watching it whether it was the acidic weightlessness or the final confrontation with the unexpected spawn. We even got one return from the "grave", for which I give it a thumbs up. As I wrote at the beginning, not everyone will like this return to the world of the xenomorphs, but for me it worked very well. (09/06/2024)

Fede Álvarez has made one of the best sci-fi films of our time. I haven't seen any Alien movies (yes, I'm a philistine), so I can happily judge based on the qualities of this film and not on my bias or love for the entire franchise, which makes my rating far more objective, and even then I have to say that the result is simply flawless. 1) The atmosphere on the ship is suffocating as shit, all the wanderings in it are filled with tension and I was waiting to see what would happen next. 2) The scares work as well, there are no heart attacks, it's more like scene work and the situational jump-scares are casual and clever. 3) The characters are fine, no one is irritating, and even better, no one here acts like an idiot, the decisions are rational, and most importantly there is not a single scene scene of sentimental bullshit or extensive debates and sadly stating the death of a partner. I can’t remember when was the last time I saw a movie this thoughtful. 4) The visuals, the sets, the varied environments of the ship, the look of the Xenomorphs and in general the whole face to face monster and human scenes are absolutely brilliant and breathtaking. You can feel the acid sizzling off the screen, sweating along with the characters and just devouring every scene with those insanely naturalistic monsters. 5) The use of the ship is literally flawless. All the rooms, the gadgets, the work with gravity, the acid, the cryo-chamber, you can see perfectly well that someone has put some work on that, that there's a team behind it that knows what to deliver. I simply have nothing to complain about here, and I haven't been this satisfied with the sci-fi genre in a long time. It's all the better that both fans of the franchise and the uninitiated will find something to enjoy, as this is a full-fledged, stand-alone film that introduces the viewer with all the necessary "what, when, where and why" information so they feel like they actually know the franchise. I have no words - EXCELLENT!! (08/15/2024)

The most anticipated film of the year has finally hit domestic and global screens. Since the first announcement, I've been following every update from the shoot. As more and more information about the new Alien began to surface, my expectations kept climbing higher and higher. After watching it, I can definitely say that Fede Alvarez did not disappoint. The return to the proven roots, namely the dense atmosphere of the first film, was almost spot on. Why almost? I was a bit disappointed that Alvarez relied heavily on fan service, with scenes we've seen in some form before. I had hoped for a few fresh ideas from his repertoire (the acid scene and the X-ray were certainly pleasing, but more would have been better). As for the characters, the main heroine Rain was surprising, but David Jonsson as the android was the standout for me. He handled his role excellently. Technically, I have no complaints. Audiovisually, the film kicks the ass of most of its sci-fi competitors (video game players might notice that Alvarez drew a lot of inspiration from "Alien Isolation"). And the story? There's nothing particularly innovative for us as viewers, but the ending did catch my attention. I didn't expect such an ending for Romulus, not even in my wildest dreams. That deserves a thumbs up. So, in conclusion, it is a technically excellent and atmospheric product with a brilliant final 20 minutes. However, I didn’t experience a real WOW effect while watching. Still, it is a more coherent genre film than Prometheus and Covenant combined, that’s for sure. I give it 7.5/10. (08/18/2024)