MIDNIGHT REVIEWS Alien: Romulus
Midnight Reviews features reviews and thought pieces written and edited by a parent, at night, after bedtime.
Alien: Romulus (1hr 59mins)
Directed by: Fede Alvarez
Featuring: Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Not Ian Holm
Synopsis: Whilst attempting to scavenge fuel from an abandoned Weyland-Yutani space station, a ramshackle crew come face to face with the second deadliest species in the Universe (the first being Man, of course).
Review: Alien: Romulus’ place in science fiction, and indeed every other instalment of the much-loved series, can easily be summed up with comparisons. Compared to other stories of the same genre, we are not following professionals of the highest calibre, at least not all the time. In Ridley Scott’s original, we have the closest to a professional team suited to their job, until things change and they’re forced to pick up an overly aggressive hitchhiker. In Aliens, marines sent in to clean up a mess by making a new mess woefully underestimate what they’re up against. And on and on as the series continues.
The thread that keeps every version together is that, whilst the characters might not be awful at what they do, there’s always the sense that they are far from the best.
This idea plays out as the rag-tag group docks with a nearby space station. In order to escape a horrific cycle of work, disease, death, this group are hoping to board this nearby station, pilfer what they need to get to a more palatable star system and escape. The station is due to crash in 36 hours due to its falling orbit, but raiding the place should only take a half hour, right?
The docking sequence, very reminiscent of Interstellar, accentuated the task these characters cannot possibly know and where the Alien series sits amongst its science fiction brethren. Because instead of a professional crew, the best of the best, having problems docking due to imperfect contact with an astronaut transformed into a quasi-Captain Ahab, Alien: Romulus features half a dozen or so bob-a-jobs descending through the mouth of Hell. Forget relativity. Relativity doesn’t matter when acid blood’s heading at your face.
A barefaced haunted house movie in space with nihilistic overtones.
And Romulus does try very hard to ape the original Alien. It achieves this in some ways, but not in others. There is not just the look but the tactile nature of the equipment; almost every interaction with a tool seems to be shot in close-up. There is also the slower start. A short prologue threatens to start things off far too quickly, but this is a red herring and Romulus’ pacing is controlled. There’s a natural feel to how Romulus makes its way through story beats, with two hours not feeling like two hours at all.
In a similar way to the very first, reportedly made as a response of sorts to Star Wars’ cowboys in space tone, Romulus is also a barefaced haunted house movie in space with nihilistic overtones. With some decent jump scares found therein, Romulus does a moderately good job but the world doesn’t feel as real. Certain settings don’t feel lived-in, creating a movie where the lack of atmosphere is not just confined to deep space.
Whether you enjoy his output or not, Ridley Scott is a master of defining images. Think Maximus, sword in hand, spinning slowly as he admonishes a crowd. The wide shots of a mega-city in Blade Runner. And the image of that very first xenomorph, flashing to life in the air ducts.
Romulus has its moments where certain image stand out. There are some interesting, imaginative visuals as Rain (Spaeny) must duck and dive in zero gravity past floating globules of deadly xenomorph innards. The first image we see of the newest creature to enter the pantheon of Weyland-Yutani creations is effectively creepy. It’s almost a shame this new version is introduced so late.
Does a serviceable job.
The film also attempts to borrow elements from James Cameron’s Aliens. These moments are rarer, but this is something to be thankful for. Each inclusion feels forced, particularly a drawn out sequence where Rain fires her gun at a pack of aggressors (the only part of the film that feels long) and a cringe-inducing moment where a character just happens to quote Cameron’s masterpiece.
All in all, Romulus does a serviceable job but can be summed up by its characters. As with most Alien movies, it’s whoever plays the android who gets most to do. Jonsson shines as he shows off the dual personalities of Andy, each with their own directives. Unfortunately, other characters don’t stand up to as much scrutiny. The script mirrors this; invention and twists that freshen a movie series that’s almost forty years old, alongside two-dimensional characters and sequences that fail to get the blood pumping.
Rain, like Romulus, is a serviceable version of what came in the original. Others are easily forgotten. Even though they weren’t quote-unquote ‘major characters’, fans of the series can still remember Parker and Brett skulking and complaining down the corridors of the Nostromo together, or Vasquez and Hudson giving each other shit as they prepare to exterminate what they’ve never seen before. Would Romulus be as successful as it has been if it weren’t a sequel to these already-beloved movies?
The movie features too many plot contrivances to count. Like the xenomorphs, any focused human mind will fixate and easily hunt these contrivances down, but will be unable to do anything with them once they’re found. Sometimes, the xenomorphs are quick and agile enough to beat Usain Bolt and Simone Biles; other times we jump cut and our heroes have escaped a near-miss, the xenomorphs being good sports and staying behind to count to one hundred.
Not Ian Holm being included is another starting point for talking about Romulus. Even amongst other poorly made CG models the character stands out as incredibly janky, the visuals unconvincing even when the character is seen on a tiny vid-screen. The vocal performance of Daniel Betts, however, is impeccable, and the character’s inclusion is an interesting way to turn the efforts of our main characters on their head.
Like this android, Romulus is brilliant and scary in a number of ways but falls far short in others. Perhaps this will be much-loved by those who are truly enamoured with everything in the series; others might consider giving it a passing glance if they have spare time.
Matthew D. Smith likes to overshare his views on movies and TV shows whenever and wherever he can. Indulge him, and follow him on Twitter or listen to the podcast he co-hosts with Leslie Wai.
