The Alien Franchise

[Silver Nemesis]

Romulus felt feels like a greatest hits remix rather than a bold new chapter. Recycled dialogue, visuals and plot beats - and a big one - the xenos didn't feel dangerous. The film needed a bigger cast to inflict more kills. A 6/10 film at best.

This is what I expected. I still haven't seen Romulus, but I'm planning to check it out in the next week or so. Based on the trailers and reactions I've seen, I get the impression it's a safe Force Awakens-style sequel that appeals to the familiar without doing anything new or innovative. But I'm hoping I'll enjoy it and will find some positive qualities to highlight.

[Silver Nemesis]

The trailer for Predator: Badlands (2025) has been released.

Why am I posting this in the Alien thread? Because Elle Fanning's character is a Weyland-Yutani android. You can see the Weyland-Yutani logo in her eyes in the following shot.

It looks like Disney is reconnecting the Alien and Predator franchises. Does this mean there's a new AvP movie on the horizon?

[The Joker]

I only just watched Romulus last week, despite having the blu for months, I don't know, just haven't been in the mood, but I'll echo TDK's comments that it's alright, but more of a by-the-numbers entry in the series, than anything else.

Admittedly, I was very underwhelmed by what they did with Big Chap (though sure, Chap's actions are felt throughout the movie, I just wanted to see Chap a bit more, as I've always viewed Big Chap as THE Xenomorph), but the stuff with the synthetics was done pretty well, and I can imagine Ridley Scott must've been happy with that considering Prometheus/Covenant. The depiction and threat level involving the Hybrid, or whatever it's called, was, I thought, excellent, however the effect you're left with, is that I think it does diminish the Xenomorph threat level to some degree. Yeah, I know, the stakes have to be risen in each film, and the Hybrid achieves this, but you have to be careful with stuff like that, as you never want to lower the Xeno's in any capacity. They are forever the franchise.

[Silver Nemesis]

Yet another teaser for Alien: Earth.

I'd prefer a full trailer, but I suppose this is modern marketing for you.

[Silver Nemesis]

I finally watched Romulus. To be honest, it was better than I expected. Maybe it's because I went in with low expectations, but I mostly enjoyed it. The criticisms about it being a greatest hits showcase are spot on, and I was annoyed by all the reused dialogue from the earlier films. I particularly disliked the 'Get away from her' line, which didn't seem like something Andy would say and is only there to reference Ripley's line in Aliens. All those constant echoes of the earlier movies are unnecessary and merely underscore the vein of unoriginality running through Romulus.

I thought the storyline and characters were largely uninteresting and I didn't really care about where the plot was heading. The movie is essentially a series of set pieces strung together by a thin narrative thread. That said, the set pieces are well staged and for the most part exciting. The only character I found interesting was Andy, and David Jonsson's performance alternated between companionable and sinister in a way that added some much needed intrigue to an otherwise straightforward plot. As with Prometheus and Covenant, the most interesting character in Romulus turns out to be a synthetic.

Speaking of synthetics, I'm not sure how I feel about the Rook character. The special effects in Romulus are generally excellent, but the digital techniques used to resurrect Ian Holm aren't quite on a par with the rest. There's also the whole ethical issue of using a deceased actor's voice and likeness. And again, I didn't like all the recycled lines from the 1979 film. Maybe they should have cast Michael Fassbender instead, or failing that a new actor. If they'd done something unexpected with Rook, like have him turn out to be a good guy, then the use of Ash's likeness might have been justified as a way of subverting audience expectations. But there are no surprises in Romulus. The film delivers a solid workmanlike retread of the familiar Alien formula. For better or worse it delivers on the promise of the trailer.

But I can't say it's a bad film. As I've already noted, the special effects are mostly excellent, the set design is superb, and the direction, cinematography and editing are all solid. For what it is, it's competently made. Director Fede Alvarez succeeds in recapturing the classic Alien atmosphere, and I could tell he was influenced by Alien: Isolation as much as the franchise's earlier cinematic entries. I also detected the influence of classic Star Trek in places. The best set piece is the zero gravity shoot out (switching off the gravity was a smart solution to the problem of how to battle xenomorphs without having their blood eat through the hull and depressurize the ship), which reminded me a lot of the massacre on the Klingon ship in Star Trek VI. The scene in the lift shaft reminded me a little of Star Trek V. However, the most blatant influences are those harvested from the earlier Alien films.

I don't know how well Romulus will stand up to repeated viewing, but after seeing it once I'd say it's a middling albeit well made entry in the series. It didn't frustrate me as much as Covenant, which I felt squandered the potential set up in Prometheus. But it's also creatively unambitious and doesn't try to expand the lore in any meaningful way. For all Prometheus's problems, I admire the scope of its ambition. Scott was trying to make a serious thought-provoking science fiction film that would break new ground for the franchise and not simply retread the tried and tested formula. His aim fell short of the mark, but I respect him for aiming so high in the first place. In contrast, Alvarez is content to stick to the proven formula. He aims to make a typical Alien film that evokes the high points of the past without rocking the boat with innovation, and he hits his target dead centre. In some ways, Alvarez's film is more competent than Prometheus, but I find Prometheus the more interesting of the two movies owing to its artistic ambition.

For that reason, I'd rank Romulus below Alien 1, 2, 3 and Prometheus, but above Resurrection, AvP 1 and 2, and Covenant. That places it smack in the middle of the series. For fans of the franchise, it's worth seeing. Just don't expect anything inspired, original or deep.