Alien: Romulus
C+ In space, no one can stop the reboot…
Similar to the xenomorph, 20th Century Studios is continually robust enough to keep on going and going and going. Keep on rebooting franchises, that is. Why create something new when you can just rehash a sci-fi classic? From the off, I will admit, I didn’t mind Romulus. I suppose I am just tired of seeing the same story play out in the same movie universe over and over. A small group of people in space get slowly picked off by an alien; a female survives.
Cailee Spaeny leads as our heroine, Rain, along with David Jonsson as Andy, a reprogrammed endearing android who, with a team of misfits, plans to raid an abandoned ship floating in space that contains cryostasis equipment that will enable them to reach the faraway planet, Yvaga III. Of course, as we all know, an abandoned spaceship is abandoned for a very good reason. Chaos ensues with all too familiar space horror.
If you have seen any of the Alien films, you’ll pretty much be able to call most of Romulus’ plot points near scene for scene. For much of the film, it sticks to the established format which made large chunks of the film quite dull. There are a few tweaks made here and there and the final scenes do take a brave left-hand turn but otherwise it’s the original for a new generation. What was shocking was the incessant callbacks from previous Alien films. There were so many instances of mimicry in callback lines and tropes attributed to the Alien franchise; it felt cheap at times and pandering to the fanbase. In particular, a character from the original returns, which was baffling as to why they were there as it was weird due to the unnerving CGI used to recreate this character.
Still, the acting is terrific and keeps Romulus afloat thanks largely to Spaeny with her gritty performance as Rain. Rain is dogged in her desire for survival which is presented with real desperation but she also shows a lot of compassion. You want her to survive and win; few characters in Alien truly seem to deserve to live, but we root for her from the start. Spaeny is incredible here, portraying a mature young woman, though only recently she played a child in Civil War. The films were filmed a year apart but it looks like Spaeny aged about 8 years.
David Jonsson plays an exceptional role as Andy, the android companion to Rain. His face is perfect for the role. There is this oblique sadness in his eyes with a lack of human expression. It feels like Andy wants to feel emotions around him; he knows when to feel worry or sadness, but his only way to express it is through programming, not genuine feelings. You feel sorry for Andy. He is one of the good guys even though he is not a human at all. Andy represents an android that we would actually want in our future, a significant break from the established androids from previous Alien instalments who were all quite suspect about their interests in protecting the humans around them. This was a refreshing change for the franchise, focusing on Rain and Andy as the main characters: one, a human, and the other, a reprogrammed android with a caring, brotherly love for Rain. Jonsson’s dynamic acting is seen in other ways that showcase his incredible acting skills - to know what I mean, you’ll have to watch the film!
What is also very good about Romulus is its endeavour to bring you back into the 2100s (or, at least, the 1970s and 80s assumption of what the 2100s would look like). Everything looks the part, especially in the beginning. The corridors of the spaceships, the noises, the tech- it all feels so analog. Alongside a strong yet haunting score, Romulus feels scary akin to the first Alien film.
Working against Romulus is that the franchise in general has lost its scary appeal. When the xenomorphs start stalking and killing their prey, it doesn’t feel anywhere near as scary as the original. Watching these scenes, you feel a bit numb, like during a farewell speech at work for someone you barely know or care about, since you’ve been there for over a decade and have seen it all before. The xenomorphs have been overexposed after 8 previous Alien or Alien-related films. They just aren’t as scary as they used to be.
All in all, it is a good film, but like so many rebooted franchises, it resuscitates to a small extent but weakens and cheapens the brand overall. These types of films seem only to upset the generation of fans it initially grabbed in its heyday and fail to latch onto another, younger generation. Most younger audiences see Alien as an old and outdated franchise which they don’t even find scary because they regularly watch much more horrific and real videos on Reddit and TikTok.
Grade: C+