Fede Alvarez’s Alien: Romulus is as superficial as it is thrilling. While previous Alien films – both classic and hated – pondered the creation myth, Romulus takes audiences on a blood-soaked rollercoaster ride.
There’s nothing wrong with the cheap thrills of Alien: Romulus. In fact, it’s probably the best thing about the film. The film’s most important scenes are loud and over-the-top violent, acting like high points of the rollercoaster ride before the audience plunges into the depths and watches the characters talk for a while.
While the action-packed moments are a real blast, everything in between leaves a lot to be desired.
The two main characters, the orphan Rain, played by Cailee Spaeny, and Andy, played by David Jonsson, have a unique dynamic.
Even though Andy is an android, the two share a brotherly bond. Andy was programmed by Rain’s father to do what was best for Rain, so when Rain gets the chance to escape her bleak living conditions on a corporate mining planet, Andy helps her.
Unfortunately for the siblings, Rain and her band of scrappy young thieves plan to break into an abandoned spaceship and steal its cryosleep capsules in order to transport it safely across the galaxy to a utopian planet. Unbeknownst to the crew, this abandoned spaceship has been torn apart by aliens.
The film’s structure is much more compelling than what happens in the middle of the film. The story of a quirky group of fighters desperately trying to escape the harsh living conditions caused by the capitalist fascism of a futuristic mega-corporation has the potential to tackle relevant themes.
But the sense of the story is quickly lost when a computer-generated recreation of actor Ian Holm from the original 1979 film “Alien” enters the story. Holm posthumously plays an android named Rook who, in accordance with company policy, plans to sacrifice the thieves to the aliens.
From here on, the film degenerates into merciless fan service and, with a budget of $80 million, becomes the most expensive fan film of all time.
Every scene and action sequence is a direct recreation of a scene from a previous film. There’s an explosive shootout like in Aliens, a thrilling chase like the original film, and a particularly disturbing scene involving gross space goo and an alien pregnancy.
“Romulus” feels like a compilation of the greatest hits of the “Alien” series, but seems to forget to develop its own identity and instead relies on the audience to remember cheesy one-liners from an 80s movie.
It’s still an entertaining ride, but the largely forgettable content doesn’t do justice to the series’ legendary status.
