Watching a wide swath of folks recently realize that both Prometheus and Alien: Covenant are actually fantastic is enough to put a smile on both mouths of a xenomorph. If we spent more time applauding when folks change their minds instead of lording superiority over having been “right” earlier than others, maybe people wouldn’t treat every single opinion like an article of faith nailed to a church door. At any rate, can we at least all immediately agree that Alien: Romulus is a textbook entry for the franchise, for better and for worse?
Writer/director Fede Alvarez and cowriter Rodo Sayagues deliver precisely what whiners griped was missing from the aforementioned cosmically profound, theistically terrifying prequels from Ridley Scott. Although not quite a beat-for-beat remix like Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Romulus looks like a Frankenstein’s monster of appendages hewn from previous entries in the franchise. Set between Alien and Aliens, the film follows Rain (Cailee Spaeny) and her flawed android “brother,” Andy (David Jonsson), as they attempt to flee from hard labor on a mining planet that is cloaked in permanent nighttime for a sunny paradise. It doesn’t go well!
Tyler (Archie Renaux), Bjorn (Spike Fearn), Navarro (Aileen Wu), and Kay (Isabela Merced) hatch a plan to steal cryopods from a broken ship in near orbit so they can escape the clutches of the evil Weyland-Yutani Corporation. Any guesses what broke that ship found in near orbit? Once aboard, the sci-fi Scooby gang quickly deduces that there’s no angry old white guy behind a monster mask but a ship chock full of “Uh oh” and a few fun surprises. That is “fun” if you enjoy slimy, sexualized creature designs and boatloads of body horror.
The somewhat indulgent first hour is easily excused thanks to some good casting and quality atmosphere. The grungy, grimy world of Alien has always been “capitalist hell in space,” and Alvarez and company fully get it. They also know that androids are both the axis on which each movie turns and the canvas upon which each new entry gets to paint a new impressionist portrait. We’ve seen evil and noble ‘bots, but Andy is wholly original. Glitchy and sweet, he’s the standout of the film, partially because Jonsson’s depiction is so wildly sympathetic. Spaeny is solid enough as the Ripley replacement. She’s not doing a Sigourney impression, which is nice, but she also isn’t really assigned any defining characteristics.
The back half is loaded with the best of what the franchise has to offer, ratcheting up the space-based survival shenanigans with zero-gravity acid avoidance and a gloriously grotesque bridge between Prometheus and Alien: Resurrection. Were it not for some pacing issues, a general feeling of “we’ve screamed this breathless scream before,” and one dodgy CGI decision, Romulus would be right up there with the series’ best.
And just to lay cards out on the table, the proper ranked order now goes: Alien, Prometheus, Alien: Covenant, Aliens, Alien: Romulus, Alien 3, and Alien: Resurrection. Miss me with that Predator crossover fanfiction nonsense and hit me with that Noah Hawley Alien: Earth TV show that’s on the way. Will Timothy Olyphant’s android have a nipple piercing to match Jon Hamm’s in Hawley’s Fargo show? We can only dream (of electric sheep).
Grade = A-
Other Critical Voices to Consider
Walter Chaw at Film Freak Central says “There’s meat on this bone, enough that the fact that there isn’t more speaks loudly to the compromises made. Still, Jonsson’s Andy is so…dear, a Flowers for Algernon character (complete with reference to a rat in a lab given a dose of a special tincture) Jonsson takes from innocence to cruel wisdom and back again with a star’s magnificent ease. He’s so good that I’ll see Alien: Romulus again, so good that I wonder how he’s doing right now–not Jonsson, Andy.”
Sarah G. Vincent says “Alvarez managed to do what Ridley Scott has not since Alien while simultaneously alluding to one of Cameron’s greatest hits. He managed to remain faithful to the source material, embrace the new mythology without losing sight of the original Dan O’Bannon story then confidently fitting his film into the overarching franchise.”
Lupe R. Haas at Cinemovie says “Alien: Romulus works as a stand-alone movie, and is probably a better experience if you come in cold, without any knowledge of the franchise. Alien fans bring in too much baggage and rarely can we be satisfied.”