Alien: Romulus

'Alien: Romulus' is actually very good.

Of the more modern day releases from this franchise, this is the one I've enjoyed the most. When I was immediately coming out of the cinema I was just plainly thinking of it as being solidly good, however the more I think about it the more I had fun with this seventh installment.

The plot, or at least the set-up to it, is quite uncreative, as in I feel like so many films - from this series included - have a crew make-up of similar people and similar characteristics/motivations; 'Crater' and 'I.S.S.' (both very good, don't get me wrong) are recent examples that spring to mind. Happily, though, the rest of the flick makes up for any weakness in that area.

Cailee Spaeny and David Jonsson are the...

I gather director Fede Alvarez made a conscious - and probably expensive - decision to keep the use of CGI to a minimum here and it really does work. "Rain" (Cailee Spaeny) and her "brother" are looking to get off-planet but she can't get travel papers from the all-powerful mining company. Desperate, she and "Andy" (David Jonsson) are offered a chance by wide boys "Tyler" (Archie Renaux) and "Bjorn" (Spike Fearn) to raid a decrepit old spacecraft that appears to be in a decaying orbit, so they can pinch it's cryogenic pods and enable them all to escape to another planet out of reach of their enthralling taskmasters. Off they set onto the "Romulus" and that's where, well you just know what's going to happen now, as they inadvertently turn th...

Whilst not as awful as the Aliens franchise films that came after the excellent first and second films, starring Sigourney Weaver, Alien Romulus is not without its shortcomings.

Whats immediately noticeable, in spite of the rugged, industrial setting, is a cast that look like they just escaped from the set of Beverly Hills 90210. Youthful, fresh faced, physically unimposing, with not a grease stain or blemish in sight, they feel badly out of place.

If you can put the sense of disbelief regarding the casting aside (I couldn't) the actual story fares only marginally better. It feels like a borrowed affair, where its taken aspects of the first two successful films and tried to craft a newer iteration.

The results an alright, if at t...

Color me thoroughly surprised at how much I was delighted by Alien: Romulus, a highly creative, beautifully executed, pulse-pounding science fiction film from director Fede Alvarez. This sequel is a rare gem in the world of big budget franchise flicks because it not only respects its predecessors with thoughtfully well done homages, but also pushes the boundaries of the universe it inhabits with inventive set pieces and a plausible story. Fans of the series and the genre are in for a real treat.

Going back to the roots of the Alien franchise, the film tells the story of a group of young space colonizers (Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Aileen Wu, and Spike Fearn)who are looking for a way out of their current ...

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://movieswetextedabout.com/alien-romulus-review-an-audiovisual-triumph-held-back-by-reverence-to-the-past/

"Alien: Romulus is an impressive technical spectacle that highlights Fede Álvarez's talent in creating an atmosphere of tension and horror, raising the audiovisual standard of the saga to new heights through immersive sound design and Galo Olivares' stunning cinematography, which deserves countless accolades.

However, its excessive reliance on references to the past prevents it from reaching its full narrative potential, as well as achieving a thematic impact similar to the franchise's best installments.

Despite this, the captivating performances of Cailee Spaeny and David Jonsson, along with a ...

Alien: Romulus is a love letter to the 1979 classic, and while I dug the whole philosophical space-god thing in Prometheus, this stripped-down, back-to-basics approach had me hooked from the first frame. It's been a while since an Alien film truly captured that sense of claustrophobic dread, and Romulus nails it.

This movie is gorgeous, plain and simple. The lighting, the camera angles, and Benjamin Wallfisch's score it all blends together to create this constant tension that just sucks you in. There's this one scene where Rain, Andy and Tyler are being chased through the research station, the way they use the shadows and movement, it's like a masterclass in suspense. It totally reminded me of the most terrifying moments from the origi...

This was a great movie and a great continuation of Alien series. I think it deserves solid, perfect 10/10. I couldn't see any flow, everything was great.

This is a great B-movie for people looking for a bit of a thrill.

Maybe the best "Alien" movie after "Aliens", but at least as good as Prometheus (but in a different way)

I enjoyed this movie a lot. It didn't try to be edgy or special - it seems to be directed by a guy who loved the first 2 Alien movies from the 80ies and wanted to add a movie as best as he could do in our time which is still faithful to those 2 original movies and could be considered a worthy addition to the original "Alien" storyline.

The acting was overall very good. Cailee Spaeny as the lead actress gave a solid performance as expected. But the surprise of the movie was David Jonsson as her android "brother", who was the highlight of the movie actingwise for me.

Another main thing to mention are the effects and set desing...

"Alien: Romulus" is a visually admirable film, but it really has nothing new to show us and even worse than that it has nothing fresh to say. It is merely content to plunder inspiration from the preceding films and the only entry in the series which appears to be left unplundered is "Alien 3" (1992), but then this omission can hardly be described as surprising. After all, it isn't held in particularly high regard by the legions of loyal fans who absolutely adore these films for their often groundbreaking achievements and idolise the inexhaustible resourcefulness of Ellen Ripley. Unfortunately, these same loyal fans aren't going to find anything worth adoring or idolising in this latest effort. It is still a reasonably entertaining motion pi...

The Alien franchise has had its ups and downs with mostly the latter in recent years. This latest one, which takes place in between Alien: Covenant and Alien in the timeline, is a solid entry from Fede Alvarez and is more in the vein of the first film in terms of look and tone. The story is pretty basic and no real twists that we haven't seen before in the franchise, but I did like the lead actress Cailee Spaeny. The classic line, "Getaway from her you bitch" was delivered as great as Bale's "I'll be back" from Terminator Salvation (meaning not very well). Still, an all around entertaining sci-fi horror film that has great effects, both practical and CGI. 3.5/5

Fede Álvarez delivers a film in Alien: Romulus that tries to revitalize the franchise but stumbles on several key aspects. While visually appealing and faithful to the oppressive atmosphere characteristic of the saga, the movie lacks a solid narrative and memorable characters.

The script relies too heavily on genre clichés, with bland dialogue and unconvincing decisions from its protagonists. Attempts to explore philosophical themes about survival and human nature remain superficial, leaving the impression that the film tries to tackle more than it can handle.

Álvarezs direction, which has shone in the past with more intimate horror projects, feels overwhelmed in such an established universe. The moments of tension and terror fail to ...