Who doesn’t know the Alien Franchise at this rate? Having been 45 years since the original, we’ve gotten a slew of Alien movies, some great, some fine, and some bad. With the ‘David saga’ from Ridley Scott, which includes the films ‘Prometheus’ and ‘Covenant ‘, and Neill Blomkamp’s proposed but ultimately canceled ‘Alien 5 ‘, it wasn’t clear where this franchise was going. Well, here we are with ‘Alien: Romulus (2024)‘. A movie that does what it does well and gets better as it goes on, even with a shaky start.
I imagine studios felt that, as long as the film was halfway decent, they could kill at the box office with another alien flick better suited for high-stake thrills, especially since horror does so well nowadays with younger generations. Money talks. Romulus’s biggest con is its set-up. The plot is simple: Rain Carradine (Cailee Spaeny) works a mine on a planet that never gets sunlight. She believes her hours are satisfied with the mining company, potentially allowing her to leave the planet and live a better life, only to learn the opposite, forcing her to stay for another decade and work.
❝I would’ve liked some more time to get to know Rain.❞
After confiding to her friends, she discovers the gang plans to raid a space station floating above the planet that can grant them the tech to fly far away. So, theoretically, all she’d need to do is tag along, get on board, take the tech needed for the journey—pods that, if used correctly, can take them seven light-years away where they’d be free of their corporate overlords—and arrive in a new galaxy. What could go wrong? Unfortunately, the set-up happens very quickly, and while I understand the necessity of building into the action and the alien parts we all love dearly, I would’ve liked some more time to get to know Rain.
What works best, even in the set-up, is Rain’s “brother” Andy (David Jonsson). Andy is a synthetic whose sole objective is to care for Rain like a sibling, and the feelings are reciprocated by Rain. There’s an interesting discussion of programming vs human emotion that could’ve gone on a separate tangent, but the film did a good job bringing it up in spurts to keep the action flowing.
The film excels when Andy’s objective changes due to a software update (no spoilers) and when the Gen-Z group realizes they’re not on the ship alone. Yes, it’s a giant rehash of all the other Alien movies, but it does it well and has plenty of references showing deep respect to the franchise, which will surely resonate with the fans.
❝It satisfies Alien fanatics with a faithful and respectful sequel that sticks the landing.❞
This showcase is more of an imitation rather than a separate story. However, given the length of the franchise and the years it’s been around, I think that’s okay. It’s better we get a good alien movie rather than a giant swing that could result in a miss. It operates like 1979’s Alien, and as it falls into the latter act, it calls back to 1986’s Aliens, while the plot plays homage to Prometheus. I will say that I didn’t enjoy the old character resurrection in the movie and found it to be another case of a poor-looking CGI revival. Why not bring in a new character with the same plot objective?
Tonally, it carries the demented tone the franchise is known for and doesn’t fall to the demands of Hollywood screenwriting that refuses to take risks. It’s okay if a character dies Hollywood! There’s a lot to love about Alien: Romulus, and I think there’s value in it, even if you have a soft spot for the franchise. The payoff makes the journey with it, even with a questionable first act. ‘Alien: Romulus (2024)’ satisfies Alien fanatics with a faithful and respectful sequel that sticks the landing.
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