Alien:Romulus
ALIEN: ROMULUS IS DIRECTED BY FEDE ALVAREZ WHO DIRECTED the EVIL DEAD REBOOT IN 2013, DON’T BREATHE (2016), AND THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER’S WEB (2018).
WE OPEN ON A SUNLESS PLANET COLONY JACKSON'S STAR WITH RAIN (CAILEE SPAENY), WHOSE PAPERS HAVE BEEN DENIED TO LEAVE THE PLANET FOR YVAGA BECAUSE HER WORK IN THE MINES HAS BEEN FORCIBLY EXTENDED MAKING IT 6 YEARS TILL, SHE CAN LEAVE. BOTH HER PARENTS HAVE DIED AND SHE IS LIVING WITH AN ANDROID PROGRAMMED BY HER FATHER, CALLED ANDY, (DAVID JONSSON), THAT SHE CONSIDERS HER BROTHER. THEY CROSS PATHS WITH RAIN'S EX-BOYFRIEND TYLER (ARCHIE RENAUX), AND HE WANTS THEM ALONG WITH HIS SISTER (ISABELA MERCED), COUSIN (SPIKE FEARN), AND THE COUSIN'S FRIEND (AILEEN WU) TO TAKE RAID OF A DECOMMISSIONED SPACESHIP FLOATING ABOVE THEIR ATMOSPHERE. ONCE ABOARD THEY DECIDE TO TAKE THE CRYOPOD FUEL TANKS TO MAKE IT TO YGAVA. BUT GETTING DEEPER INTO THE SHIP, THE RENAISSANCE - DIVIDED INTO TWO PARTS REMUS AND ROMULUS, THEY REALIZE THAT IT WAS USED PRIMARILY FOR SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENTS WITH THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF FUSING ALIEN DNA WITH HUMANS TO ENHANCE OUR SPECIES TO INHABIT EVEN MORE PLANETS ON TOP OF THE DEFENSE CAPABILITIES, BUT ALSO LONGEVITY IN EXISTENCE. EVERYTHING FELL APART WHEN THE SCIENTISTS CAPTURED AN ALIEN, BEGAN EXPERIMENTING ON IT, AND GREW FACEHUGGERS IN A LAB. IT ULTIMATELY BECOMES THIS FIGHT OF SURVIVAL FOR THE GROUP AGAINST THE ALIEN INFESTED SHIP TO GET THE CRYOPOD FUEL BACK TO THE ORIGINAL SHIP.
BEING A FAN OF FEDE ALVAREZ'S WORK I HAD BIG EXPECTATIONS GOING INTO THIS FILM. IT MADE SENSE ON WHY HE DIRECTED THIS FILM, BUT AT THE SAME TIME THE VISION FELL SHORT ON THIS ONE. OUT OF THE SEVEN FILMS WITHIN THIS FRANCHISE, THIS ONE IS BY FAR THE WEAKEST.
WHEN IT CAME TO THE SCRIPT AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHARACTERS, THEY WERE NOT FLUSHED OUT ENOUGH TO DEEPLY CARE ABOUT THEM SO WHEN HIGHER STAKES CAME IT DID NOT REALLY MATTER WHO DIED OVER THE COURSE OF THE FILM. THE ACTION PAID HOMAGE TO THE FILMS OF BEFORE, BUT TO THE EXTENT IT FALLS FLAT. THERE WAS ONE MOMENT THAT WAS TRULY EXCITING AT THE END, BUT THAT WAS IT. THE ACTING WAS AVERAGE AMONGST THE CAST ADDING TO THIS FEELING OF NOT CARING ABOUT ANY OF THE CHARACTERS.
THE STORYLINE RESTED HARD IN THE FAMILIAR TERRITORY OF THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY INVESTED IN CREATING A NEW HYBRID ALIEN / HUMAN SPECIES. ACROSS THE SIX FILMS THIS IS A MAJOR THEME OF THE FRANCHISE WHERE A PERSON IN A POSITION OF POWER SEE’S THE ALIEN AS BEING A SCIENTIFIC MARVEL AND GOES BEYOND ETHICS TO TRY TO CHANGE HUMANITY BY RUNNING DIFFERENT EXPERIMENTS. ON ONE LEVEL IT IS UNDERSTANDABLE WHY THE WRITERS AND THE DIRECTOR WOULD TAKE THE FILM IN THIS DIRECTION. BUT AT THE SAME TIME WHEN WE AS VIEWERS HAVE BEEN THROUGH THIS CONFLICT SIX TIMES IT’S TIME TO CHANGE IT UP AND DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT. THIS WAS THE TIME TO FINALLY ABANDON THAT THEME AND CONFLICT TO HEAD IN A NEW DIRECTION. DUE TO THE FAMILIARITY FACTOR ON THIS THE FILM BECOMES BORING FAST.
ALIEN: ROMULUS IS STILL PLAYING IN THEATERS.