ALIEN: ROMULUS -or- ALIEN: MODICUS AKA A perfectly serviceable movie.
Release Date 16Aug2024
This movie is very OK.
ALIEN: ROMULUS is the 9th film in the ALIEN series, starting with ALIEN (1979), following with ALIENS (1986), then ALIEN³ (1992), finally concluding the movies starring SIGOURNEY WEAVER with ALIEN: RESURRECTION (1997). Two turdly butt-muffin spin-offs were sharted out in 2004 and 2007 (ALIEN VS PREDATOR & AVP: REQUIEM). Two seriously misguided "sidequels" were produced, PROMETHEUS (2012), and its sequel ALIEN: COVENANT.
Directors such as RIDLEY SCOTT, JAMES CAMERON, DAVID FINCHER, JEAN-PIERRE JEUNET, PAUL W. S. ANDERSON, The BROTHERS STRAUSE, and here FEDE ÁLVAREZ have all made their mark (skid or otherwise) on this franchise.
Then there's this. NO SPOILERS.
This movie, set 20 years after the original, and 37 years before Aliens, concerns a group of young miners on a sunless Weyland Yutani mining colony who want to make their play at a better life by scoring some sweet salvage. They find their way to an abandoned research station where a bunch of f#ckery awaits.
The movie looks good, let's start with that. The film's creative team has plumbed the depth of this series' visual language (leaning specifically on the '79 and '86 films) and came up with something that feels and sounds right. The story however, while adding to the existing lore in some intriguing ways, relies too much on narrative convenience to completely sell it. On the bright side, I was able to get through most of the film maintaining some interest.
One MF thing stuck in my craw. You may or may not have heard about the use of a recently deceased actor's voice and likeness. Not gonna lie, there was absolutely ZERO reason to do this. It's tasteless, pointless, looks like blanched scrote, and wipes its arse with the legacy of a truly great actor with 63 years of work to his credit on stage and screens. THE F#CK OUTTA HERE.
THE GOOD:
The movie looks fantastic, with plenty of atmosphere to spare. There is a great attention to detail, and a clear understanding of what has come before - even including design nods to the video game "ALIEN: ISOLATION". The creative team took great pains to use practical effects as much as possible, and the results are nice to see. One big thumbs up, and the brightest spot in the film is British actor DAVID JONSSON as the android ANDY. He totally knocks it out of the park. The rest of the cast serve the story well enough. The score by BENJAMIN WALLFISCH is a nice entry to the series, blending in cues from other entries with an effective original suite that fits right in.
THE BAD:
The aforementioned character that involves the use of a dead actor's likeness, and a voice actor's impersonation. It's unneeded, tacky, and off-putting. You totally know who is gonna die in this movie. Word to the wise: the audience should feel that anyone could go at any time in these movies. THE MF CALL-BACKS - just stop it, it isn't fun anymore... unless you have a head injury. The ending: while done better than the series entry that it cribs from, it still had me shaking my head.
SEE IT:
Sure. It's better than 5 out of 9 of the Alien movies, and looks/ sounds good on the big screen. Otherwise, STREAM HO!
DON'T SEE IT:
I don't care what you do. Hump a beanbag, snort Folgers, shave your teeth - IDGAF.
Comments