Alien Romulus Movie Review

Love the Alien franchise? I’m sure you do so I’ll let you in on a little secret. You’ll enjoy what director Fede Álvarez (“Don’t Breathe”) has done with it. ​

It feels very similar to James Cameron’s “Aliens,” but I’ll be honest: It isn’t as good, yet it sometimes comes close. However, could it be “as good?” I’m happy to say their auras are the same, but Cameron’s “Aliens” was a masterpiece. Álvarez’s “Alien: Romulus” will be a classic over almost everything else.

We begin with the same themes and landscapes but not in a way that will disappoint. The set and lighting will strike a familiar tone, too. There’s more than one reason that has to be said to you, but you won’t learn why here. You’ll find out when you see it. Sound design is exceptional, the music is off the charts, and I strongly suggest you see this on the big screen, IMAX if possible.

There is still the use of synthetics, with the one you meet here being very close to the human he’s been given orders to please. That person is Rain, played by Cailee Spaeny, from “On the Basis of Sex” and “Bad Times at the El Royale.” She does an adequate job, but she’s no Sigourney Weaver. The synthetic, or Artificial Person in this movie is Andy, played by David Jonsson, from HBO’s “Industry.” Jonsson is stellar. Andy shows compassion when he says, “No.” He’s used to and wants to say “Yes,” but he’s finally faced with a challenge within… and you can see it in his eyes. Rain loves him. She cares as much for Andy, her ‘brother’ as he does her. There’s an unbreakable bond between the two, something the company Weyland-Yutani, who they work for, wouldn’t approve of.

His directives are to help her, so he reluctantly helps her with pretty much anything. She and a group of her friends plan to take a ship and leave their terrible work conditions. When they do, they’ll get to a planet where they can feel the sun on their faces. They get aboard a ship, then find and board an empty, decommissioned space station. They can get some cryo pods from the station so each of them can (in cryosleep) safely reach their destination years later. But not long after getting aboard, they run into a character you might recognize, who is used very intriguingly. No. I don’t mean the Xenomorph or the Chestburster. Those monsters are a given.

Not long in, you will see Facehugger do his thing magnificently as you gag. Then there’s Chestburster. When you first see him, you can’t help but chuckle just a touch, humming a few bars of “Ragtime Gal” from the Chestburster in “Spaceballs.” Thanks, Mel Brooks. But the little creature here is actually kind of cute, a little baby who needs his mama. Now that I think about it, maybe he’s not. He’s scary and this scene is grotesque. There are a lot of practical effects, which help toss you into the storyline, even though there isn’t much to cling to.

I was highly entertained by “Alien: Romulus.” There’s plenty to like, such as references to past movies and adding how things have changed in their technology, but what I wasn’t as thrilled with as I assumed I would be were the characters outside of Rain and Andy. They were very weak for two reasons. They weren’t introduced to us very well and the way they spoke was challenging to understand. Everyone sputtered over one another. It was also these characters that gave the film its slow start. Warning. There was some straight-up robbery of a few lines of dialogue from previous films, verbatim, might I add. Though this was unnecessary, it was fun to hear them all the same.

Some well-produced action-packed scenes will excite you. Consider what would happen when zero gravity meets acid. That can’t be good, right? Out of nowhere, these scenes will make up for anything you may think trivial at this juncture. Then, toward the movie’s end, your jaw will hit the floor. It can’t be helped because of the dreadful thing your eyes will be forced to observe. Don’t look away; I promise you’ll be mad at yourself if you do. You don’t want to miss what will be the most memorable thing about this newest Alien offering.

Again, this is a compelling sci-fi film that you should see on the big screen. It isn’t perfect, and unfortunately, it is somewhat redundant. Still, I believe you’ll delight, overall, in what Álvarez created for you, especially in production design. This does suffer from monotony, but the pleasures you get from an Alien franchise film are here, it’s just that I would have liked to have seen more originality.

And I’m sorry to inform you there are no after-credit scenes.

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