Alien: Romulus successfully captures the essence of the original Alien, both in its tone and creature design, while carving out its own place in the franchise. Positioned between Ridley Scott’s 1979 Alien and James Cameron’s acclaimed sequel, writer/director Fede Alvarez (Don’t Breathe, Evil Dead) cleverly incorporates multiple references to previous installments of the popular franchise. However, you don’t need to be an expert in all things Alien to be entertained by Alvarez’s contribution to the sci-fi franchise. A vague recollection will serve just fine.
No one will ever top Sigourney Weaver, but Cailee Spaeny comes in a respectable second. The star of Civil War and Priscilla plays an orphan named Rain who, along with her synthetic brother, Andy, is stuck working in Jackson’s Star mines, a deeply depressing, sunless mining colony. Rain’s dedicated to protecting her Andy (David Jonsson, Industry), who she treats as her flesh and blood sibling. And Andy is, literally, programmed to put Rain’s needs above all else. Their unique relationship is the heart and soul of the film.
Denied an opportunity to leave her bleak existence in the mining colony for a shot at a better life, Rain reluctantly agrees to tag along with her friends on a risky mission. Their plan is to scavenge cryosleep pods from an abandoned Weyland-Yutani space station drifting in the sky above. Rain’s ex, Tyler (Archie Renaux, Shadow and Bone), and his cousin Bjorn (Spike Fearn, Back to Black) don’t really need Rain, but they can’t investigate the ship without Andy. As a biomechanical humanoid created by Weyland-Yutani, he can open doors and access the ship’s inaccessible areas.
The desperate group also includes Tyler’s sister, Kay (Isabela Merced, Madame Web), and Navarro (Aileen Wu), a skilled pilot.
Unfortunately, the six scavengers seeking freedom from life in the mines have chosen the worst possible abandoned space station to explore. As they approach the space station, their first experience with sunlight serves as the sole bright spot as their salvage mission quickly turns into a life-or-death struggle against terrifying creatures.
Fede Alvarez and co-writer Rodo Sayagues’ screenplay begins by establishing the bleak existence in the mining colony and why these young people would risk their lives to leave. Alvarez and Sayagues also immediately establish the relationship between Rain and Andy, setting the stage for the heartbreaking shift in their dynamic on board the abandoned space station. Our opinion of Andy changes as events unfold, and David Jonsson’s performance perfectly captures his evolution from naïve and childlike to cold and calculating.
It turns out that Cailee Spaeny is terrific as a badass action heroine. Rain’s smart, fiercely loyal, and, although terrified, doesn’t cower in the face of a nightmare situation. Rain’s also the most sympathetic character of the crew, and her emotional attachment to her synthetic sibling – the only remaining link to her parents – makes it easy to root for her to emerge as the final girl.
Fede Alvarez chose to shoot the film in chronological order and opted for practical effects, including the massive Xenomorph, dozens of facehuggers, and the chestburster. The terrifying creatures’ familiarity triggers the desired reaction from the audience. Alvarez’s Alien: Romulus team nailed the creatures, right down to the slime. These are the nightmare aliens that terrorized audiences back in ’79. And the environment they’re stalking the humans in should feel familiar to any Alien fan, as the two halves of the space station–Remis and Romulus–were designed to resemble Alien and Aliens, respectively. The care and attention given to even the tiniest elements of the massive sets pay off; watching Alien: Romulus (on as large a screen as possible) is an immersive experience.
Fede Alvarez’s admiration for the franchise is obvious, and the multiple nods to the previous films mostly worked without being overly intrusive or jarring. One throwback actually earned a quick round of applause during the press screening. But then one that should have landed was met with crickets. Still, there are more hits than misses in Alvarez and Sayagues’ script. And the production design, sound design, and cinematography are flawless.
The film gets a little crazy and goes off the rails in the third act, but by then, it’s earned all the goodwill it needs to stick the landing. Alvarez doesn’t reinvent the wheel with Alien: Romulus, but he definitely delivers a fresh take that’s one of the better entries in the franchise. It’s both a masterfully crafted wild ride and a love letter to Ridley Scott’s Alien.
GRADE: B+
MPAA Rating: R for language and bloody violent content
Release Date: August 16, 2024
Running Time: 1 hour 59 minutes
Studio: 20th Century Studios
