Synopsis - While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.
Cast - Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced.
Crew - Fede Álvarez (Director/Writer), Rodo Sayagues (Writer)
Runtime - 119 minutes
"I can't lie about your chances. But you have my sympathies."
Are we stuck on a time loop? Is this like a twisted version of Groundhog Day? This is reality but sadly this is also how Hollywood feels nowadays, we are constantly being reminded of the past through different media, from film reboots and legacy sequels to new Television adaptations and spin-offs and even the constant referencing in music and album covers. It is starting to dwell on the audience that, if they want to see something original they might need to search deeper into the sea of "content" that is available every week by streaming services or pray a studio to release something that is not IP-based in the theaters. New experiences and bold ideas get shunned and treated as something that should have never been made in the first place, why "waste" 200 Million dollars on something if nobody will go see it? Is the only reason for art to exist making money?
For what it's worth, I don't believe remaking properties or revisiting ideas is something wrong, many of what we consider the greatest movies of all time are sometimes sequels (The Thing, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy), and these new perspectives given by everyone working on a certain project that makes them unique and worth watching. For the Alien franchise, Alien: Romulus is not an improvement or even a new take on the whole series, instead, is a way to sell this property to a new audience in a very low-risk effort by the studio. Is there something wrong with that? Perhaps not, Rogue One, a movie that uses a lot of references to the main Star Wars universe, feels the exact same way but in the context of the franchise it is not too far-fetched, in the case of Alien: Romulus, there is a series of films that all try to present something new, so when compared to those films it lacks the profundity, ambiance, and attachment to the themes Alien tries to display and it is simply a fan-film using some of the tools left by Ridley Scott, Dan O'Bannon, Ronald Shusett, and H.R. Giger.
Its unwillingness to tell something new is what makes this a bad film. Alien is a unique series of movies that, when compared to other franchises shines on the power of filmmakers to push it to new levels, each of the four (now five) auteurs has given each of their respective films new themes to explore, a distinct aesthetic for each of the places the story is set, the introduction of new concepts and background story to fill the voids and the non-repetition on each of their voices. What Fede Alvarez brings to the table is nothing more than a rehash of all the previous films, from the grittiness of Alien, the pure action of Aliens, the religious and spiritual themes of Alien 3, Alien hybrids from Alien: Resurrection, and the creation, destruction, and AI ideas from Prometheus and Alien: Covenant.
After the movie finished I could only think that the studio may have feared a box office disappointment for the franchise and maybe a critical reception that could tank the film after it was released, what they accomplished was the satisfaction of those people who were more motivated to find references to the previous films, give a positive reaction when several characters start giving one-liners and MCU-ifying the whole project.
Rain as the main character portrayed by Cailee Spaeny is perhaps the modern example of the so-called Mary Sue, and while this term has been abused so much by right-wing commentators, especially in the Star Wars franchise I consider this to be appropriately used for this instance. The android Andy played by David Johnson serves no purpose in this film other than to aid Rain in her quest for a better life, and it also provides a weird and quite problematic depiction of a neurodivergent person. And above all else, the digital necromancy of Ian Holm's Ash is now playing a new character called Rook. This dates the movie as soon as we see its weird and lifeless facial expressions, there was absolutely no need for Fede Alvarez to approve this, especially when the only reason for his existence is to lead Andy to betray the crew and follow the orders of the company, it could have been any actor on the face of the Earth, it could even have been animatronic like the one we see in Alien 3 but sadly we will be forced to watch this monstrosity for the rest of this franchise existence. Who knows, maybe, like the first 4 films we get a "Director's Cut" or a different version than the one we can currently access but I doubt it.
Alien: Romulus is yet another attempt made by executives to capitalize on an "unused" IP and revitalize it. It lacks any sense of direction and it only serves as an excuse for people to have the slight feeling they are watching something unique and going on an adventure, missing what makes an adventure engaging and eye-opening, which is the exploration of new ideas, the curiosity to take new paths, the creativity to push beyond what everyone has ever done and finally, the courage to take risks and the will to make what we imagine a reality.
Are we stuck on a time loop? Is this like a twisted version of Groundhog Day? This is reality but sadly this is also how Hollywood feels nowadays, we are constantly being reminded of the past through different media, from film reboots and legacy sequels to new Television adaptations and spin-offs and even the constant referencing in music and album covers. It is starting to dwell on the audience that, if they want to see something original they might need to search deeper into the sea of "content" that is available every week by streaming services or pray a studio to release something that is not IP-based in the theaters. New experiences and bold ideas get shunned and treated as something that should have never been made in the first place, why "waste" 200 Million dollars on something if nobody will go see it? Is the only reason for art to exist making money?
For what it's worth, I don't believe remaking properties or revisiting ideas is something wrong, many of what we consider the greatest movies of all time are sometimes sequels (The Thing, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy), and these new perspectives given by everyone working on a certain project that makes them unique and worth watching. For the Alien franchise, Alien: Romulus is not an improvement or even a new take on the whole series, instead, is a way to sell this property to a new audience in a very low-risk effort by the studio. Is there something wrong with that? Perhaps not, Rogue One, a movie that uses a lot of references to the main Star Wars universe, feels the exact same way but in the context of the franchise it is not too far-fetched, in the case of Alien: Romulus, there is a series of films that all try to present something new, so when compared to those films it lacks the profundity, ambiance, and attachment to the themes Alien tries to display and it is simply a fan-film using some of the tools left by Ridley Scott, Dan O'Bannon, Ronald Shusett, and H.R. Giger.
Its unwillingness to tell something new is what makes this a bad film. Alien is a unique series of movies that, when compared to other franchises shines on the power of filmmakers to push it to new levels, each of the four (now five) auteurs has given each of their respective films new themes to explore, a distinct aesthetic for each of the places the story is set, the introduction of new concepts and background story to fill the voids and the non-repetition on each of their voices. What Fede Alvarez brings to the table is nothing more than a rehash of all the previous films, from the grittiness of Alien, the pure action of Aliens, the religious and spiritual themes of Alien 3, Alien hybrids from Alien: Resurrection, and the creation, destruction, and AI ideas from Prometheus and Alien: Covenant.
After the movie finished I could only think that the studio may have feared a box office disappointment for the franchise and maybe a critical reception that could tank the film after it was released, what they accomplished was the satisfaction of those people who were more motivated to find references to the previous films, give a positive reaction when several characters start giving one-liners and MCU-ifying the whole project.
Rain as the main character portrayed by Cailee Spaeny is perhaps the modern example of the so-called Mary Sue, and while this term has been abused so much by right-wing commentators, especially in the Star Wars franchise I consider this to be appropriately used for this instance. The android Andy played by David Johnson serves no purpose in this film other than to aid Rain in her quest for a better life, and it also provides a weird and quite problematic depiction of a neurodivergent person. And above all else, the digital necromancy of Ian Holm's Ash is now playing a new character called Rook. This dates the movie as soon as we see its weird and lifeless facial expressions, there was absolutely no need for Fede Alvarez to approve this, especially when the only reason for his existence is to lead Andy to betray the crew and follow the orders of the company, it could have been any actor on the face of the Earth, it could even have been animatronic like the one we see in Alien 3 but sadly we will be forced to watch this monstrosity for the rest of this franchise existence. Who knows, maybe, like the first 4 films we get a "Director's Cut" or a different version than the one we can currently access but I doubt it.
Alien: Romulus is yet another attempt made by executives to capitalize on an "unused" IP and revitalize it. It lacks any sense of direction and it only serves as an excuse for people to have the slight feeling they are watching something unique and going on an adventure, missing what makes an adventure engaging and eye-opening, which is the exploration of new ideas, the curiosity to take new paths, the creativity to push beyond what everyone has ever done and finally, the courage to take risks and the will to make what we imagine a reality.
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