Directed By Fede Alvarez

Starring – Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux,

The Plot – 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.

Rated R for bloody violent content and adult language.

Alien: Romulus | Official Trailer (youtube.com)

POSITIVES

There hasn’t quite been a one-two punch like ‘Alien’ and ‘Aliens’ for horror, and though the better part of forty years since the latter has been spent unleashing sequels and prequels that range anywhere from awful to good, ‘Romulus’ feels like the film most in-tuned with what made that previous duo such a groundbreaking thrill-ride for cinema. It helps that Alvarez is so obviously a passionate fan of those predecessors, here garnering the isolated and claustrophobic atmosphere of ‘Alien’, the intense action of ‘Aliens’, and even the visual cinematography of ‘Alien 3′, resulting in a transfixingly shot and tense engagement that proves ample amounts of heart and dedication went to avoiding the cash grab sequel tag that so many of these films are drawn together by. For thrills, Alvarez’ use of the practical effects to resurrect his blood-curdling and other-worldly antagonists attains a noteworthy heft and influence that only emphasizes the menacing teeth that he has restored to their designs, with meticulously timed jump scares and an overwhelming vulnerability factor that doesn’t allow the film and its stakes to remain dormant for too long, once they unceremoniously stalk into frame. Between armies of face-huggers and one pissed off xenomorph, Alvarez vividly utilizes what about each creature gives them a distinct advantage against human adversaries, and though the humans in question are limited to seven on board, the brutally protruding pay-offs for violence never relent, making the most of its coveted R-rating with boldly blanketing sound design and detailed make-up and prosthetics that convey the sheer velocity and anatomy of its conflicts. In addition, this is easily the most ambitiously stunning and beautifully shot film from the franchise, with cinematographer Galo Olivares bringing the same kind of environmental ambiance that allowed him to breakthrough in 2020’s ‘Gretel and Hansel’. Externally, Olivares impeccably captures the scope and splendor of the mesmerizing scenery, with galactic imagery that feels like it was borrowed from ‘Interstellar’, while internally navigates the stretches of expanding corridors and confined surroundings with smoothly weaving motions and tight-knit framing so seamless that editing moves like a thief in the night, whose presence can rarely be felt or hindering on the corresponding sequence. While the film initially introduces us to this dark and gloomy world of hopelessness where our protagonists reside, the film surprisingly sheds this layer to sulk in the stars and spectacle of space, offering a breathtaking balance to moments of bloody violence that does allow the tone time and patience to build the tension back up before frivolously unloading. The script has its highs and lows, but the better parts of it pertain to the set-up in plot and unique dynamic between its dual protagonists, which offered refreshing instances to a franchise plagued by interchangeable structures. While this is another example of a small team in space being preyed upon by this terrifying life form, the script’s definition of the objective during the opening act walks a road of its own with the direction that the story takes, and when aided by a sibling bond of Spaeny’s Rain and Jonsson’s Andy at a proverbial crossroads of their own at life, with unearthed truths between them leading to rocky terrains of trust, outlines two characters who I legitimately concerned for, especially in the depths of their respectively compelling portrayals. Spaeny has already had a good year with her tender and adventurous turn in ‘Civil War’, but here her short frame adds to the vulnerability factor of the overwhelming odds that continuously plagues her, and Spaeny delivers emotionally with humbling humanity that ties her to so many of the characters on-board, all the while never sacrificing the resiliency of her transformation that forces her to get physical when the shit does eventually hit the fan. Rain is every bit smart as she is stoic, so in filling the immense shoes of Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley, perhaps the most iconic female lead in horror history, Spaeny rises to the occasion without the need to come across as unnaturally cool or distracting to the scenery that shakes her. The same can be said for David Jonsson, who with a major first act reveal, psychologically shifts the demeanor of his approach to character, where one second he can come across as loving while unloading dad jokes aplenty, while others very stern with unblinking hard-to-swallow truths that blur the intentions of his actions. While these two are obviously on-screen siblings, I like that the chemistry between them feels a bit weathered and battle-tested, as it not only mirrors the realities of their backstories, but it also adds an x-factor to the dimensions of their transformations, which constantly trivialize whether they are in fact on the same side.

NEGATIVES

Not everything goes according to plan with the movie’s originality, as the film toes a bit too heavily on the line of desperate fan service, keeping it in the shadow of those superior predecessors, instead of blazing a path of its own. This obviously won’t be an issue for everyone, but for me personally the callbacks to other films involving artificial likenesses and on-the-nose dialogue recalls were a bit too repetitious for my enjoyment, indulging upon the film’s objective to constantly remind us that this takes place in between the series’ first two films, when a single solitary instance would’ve done just fine. On the subject of that character artificiality, without revealing too much, I can say that a familiar character finds their way back into frame, and while I don’t have an issue with the logistics of how this person is able to be summoned, I do take issue with the still inferior technology of de-aging, which here stands out like a sore thumb to an otherwise picturesque engagement to the imagery. To be fair, it’s certainly evolved since ‘Captain America: Civil War’, but not enough towards feeling natural to the integrity of the depiction, and unfortunately this character is a constant in a film that quite honestly should’ve omitted them from the finished draft. Beyond this, the supporting characters beyond Rain and Andy are quite lackadaisical and unimpressive in both their developments and portrayals, feeling like cliche’d types instead of people, which made it effortless to enjoy watching them shift off of this mortal coil. This is where the film’s praise for the series origins falls a bit flat, especially in that the first two movies have such legendary characters who impact the engagement and corresponding atmosphere whenever they’re unceremoniously disposed of, but here the youthful ensemble feels more excessively annoying than anything, especially the atypical bully character who will obviously survive just long enough to feel the movie’s most brutal death. Finally, the third or fourth act (Depending how you look at it) of the movie will inevitably divide audiences, especially with one major reveal that I honestly wasn’t a fan of. This is the aspect to this film that I truly feel will age the worst in coming years, as it not only visually looks laughably bad and unimposing, but it also wipes the film clean of all of the tension and suspense that it garnered during some truly thrilling sequences, leaving it limping to the finish line, when in reality the first of two endings for the movie would’ve sufficed enough satisfaction to flirt with a grade higher.

OVERALL
‘Alien Romulus’ has plenty of noticeable problems to keep it from reaching the orbit of its iconic predecessors, but it’s easily the series’ next best thing, with intoxicating imagery and vulnerable thrills aplenty that can be heard and felt even in immense everlasting of space. As a longtime fan of the franchise, Fede Alvarez samples the best ingredients of its most meaningful installments, and as a result has his latest feeling like a greatest hits collection of fan favorites that are sure to satisfy, even if scrub its own compelling originality.

My Grade: 7/10 or B-