Yahoo Movies Alien: Romulus ends up being too faithful for its own good
Alien: Romulus revives the long-running series seven years after Alien: Covenant underwhelmed at the box office, seemingly ending Ridley Scott's aim of telling a prequel trilogy to his 1979 masterpiece.
We might now never know what David would have done next, the cheeky flute-playing scamp, but at least Xenomorphs are back on the big screen where they belong in Fede Alvarez's direct sequel to Alien.
Set 20 years after the first movie, Alien: Romulus was originally said to be a standalone movie when it was set to be a streaming exclusive. However, Alvarez later clarified that it was connected, meaning he hasn't done a Halloween and ignored everything but Alien.
And once you've seen Alien: Romulus, you'll know it can only have been done by a fan of the entire Alien series. It's faithful to its own detriment, a blend of some truly great sequences with recycled ideas that don't land as well as you'd hope.
It's 2142 and Rain (Cailee Spaeny) is not having a great time of it living at the Jackson's Star mining colony. They've just upped her quota, meaning she'll have to stick it out for more years which, like it did with her parents, will kill her.
Salvation arrives when Tyler (Archie Renaux) alerts her to a decommissioned Weyland-Yutani station, the Renaissance, which is coming into their orbit. With the help of Rain's synthetic 'brother' Andy (David Jonsson), Tyler thinks they can use the technology on board to escape Jackson's Star.
You don't need to have seen any Alien movie to know that this mission will not go exactly as planned. Shortly after arriving onboard the Renaissance, the group find themselves in an intense battle to survive against the universe's most terrifying lifeform.
As with the first two movies, Alien: Romulus doesn't rush into the acid-blood carnage, giving you time to admire the terrific craft on display. Filmed on detailed and vast sets, there's a lived-in, tactile nature to the movie which is impressively shot by cinematographer Galo Olivares.
It might be a 'modern' Alien movie, but Alvarez has taken care to evoke the original movies, so much so that it feels like it could have been released in-between Alien and Aliens. When the various forms of the Xenomorph come to play later on, the practicality extends to the visual effects too, enhancing the ickiness of the movie's gorier beats.
When Alvarez unleashes the terror, he stages several effective set pieces that are a mix of inventive spins on classic setups (facehuggers just trying to get their end away) and entirely fresh concepts (what happens to acid blood in zero gravity?).
In terms of thrills, Alien: Romulus delivers and – depending on your tolerance level – terrifies. The familiarity could mean that long-term fans might not be as scared as they'd hope even if, one Aliens-coded sequence aside, the movie veers more towards the survival horror of the first movie.
The problem comes when this faithfulness to the Alien series extends to the plot. It's tricky to discuss in spoiler-free fashion, but there's one major connection not teased in any of the marketing that feels unnecessary at best and distasteful at worst, and lingers throughout the movie.
Prometheus fans might be pleased to know that Ridley Scott's prequel movie also has a notable part to play. Here though, Alien: Romulus doesn't do enough with the link to make it feel like anything other than a rehash of what we've already seen, likely confusing you if you think too much about the logic of it.
It all culminates in a finale that early reactions have been talking up as a big swing and, sure, it certainly goes to a bold place. But it's not all that weird in the grand scheme of the Alien franchise and the design work here falters, moving too far away from the faithful HR Giger vibes of the movie's Xenomorph.
What holds Alien: Romulus together through its story wobbles is the talented cast, even if the development of the supporting characters rarely extends beyond their introduction, despite solid work from the likes of Isabela Merced and Archie Renaux.
Cailee Spaeny steps into the Ripley-esque role with ease, commanding the screen and not just doing a retread of the Strong Female Heroine archetype. It's David Jonsson who's the real revelation, though, capable of breaking your heart with puppy-dog expressions and also terrifying you with synthetic-human coldness.
Rain and Andy's sibling bond keeps you invested throughout as the Xenomorph shit hits the fan and things get weirder. As talented as Jonsson is, however, there's one particular iconic-line callback here as a result of their bond that makes zero sense and is truly dire fan service.
And that's the thing with Alien: Romulus. For every one of its strengths – like the superb craft on display and its nailbiting set pieces – there's another element that halts its momentum and stops it truly standing on its own as it leans too heavily on nostalgia.
Still, at least it never gets desperate enough to homage Alien vs Predator, so there's always that to be thankful for.
Alien: Romulus is released in cinemas on August 16.
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