ROMULUS gives an edge-of-the-seat experience

Alien: Romulus (English) Review {2.5/5} & Review Rating

Director: Fede Alvarez 

Review Synopsis:
ALIEN: ROMULUS is the story of young space colonists fighting a dangerous creature. In the colony named Jackson’s Star, Rain Carradine (Cailee Spaeny), an orphan works as a farmer with her adoptive brother Andy (David Jonsson), who’s a synthetic human. She’s hoping to get free of her contract from the megacorporation Weyland-Yutani Corp so that she can migrate to her home planet Yvaga. Sadly, the contract forcibly renews her contract for 5 more years. A dejected Rain is approached by her ex-boyfriend Tyler (Archie Renaux). He along with his sister Kay (Isabela Merced), cousin Bjorn (Spike Fearn) and Bjorn’s girlfriend Navarro (Aileen Wu) plan to escape to Yvaga using a spacecraft hovering above the colony and believed to be abandoned or decommissioned. Rain and Andy join them as the latter is required for his ability to interface with the on-board computer system, a crucial step for the success of their mission. Rain, Andy and the rest of the people manage to reach the spacecraft. Sadly, things go wrong for them and they come face-to-face with dangerous aliens. What happens next forms the rest of the film. 

Story Review:
Fede Alvarez and Rodo Sayagues’ story is imaginative as it is set after the events of the first part and throws light on what happened on the ill-fated spacecraft. Fede Alvarez and Rodo Sayagues’ screenplay is gripping and does scare the viewers, more so with its gore. The dialogues are conversational and some of them give an homage to the previous parts.

Fede Alvarez’s direction is decent. The execution is a bit old school and hence, it feels like it is made at the same time as the first two parts. This is evident in storytelling, background score, etc, and even the futuristic technology shown in the film (which interestingly looks vintage by today’s standards, giving it a nice touch). A few scenes keep viewers on the edge of their seats like the zombie-style attack by the aliens, characters compelled to go through a room full of aliens in silence, etc. The change in personality of Andy and the revival of Rook add to the drama. The finale is also quite tense.

On the flipside, the biggest issue with the film is that its makers assume that moviegoers have seen ALIEN [1979] and would understand the goings on. However, it came 45 years ago and a majority of people, especially youngsters, don’t have an idea of the series. As a result, they’ll get confused with certain plot points and they might even lose interest. And if viewers have seen the first part, they might find the scenes repetitive. Secondly, there are a few cinematic liberties, especially the way in which the protagonists are able to fight the aliens with ease in certain scenes. Lastly, the ‘A’ rating might restrict its audience. 

Performances:
Cailee Spaeny has the maximum screen time and she puts her best foot forward. David Jonsson gets to play the most interesting character and he shines. Archie Renaux lends able support. Isabela Merced is okay in a small role. Aileen Wu and Spike Fearn are fair. 

Alien: Romulus music and other technical aspects:
Benjamin Wallfisch’s music is exhilarating. Galo Olivares’s cinematography will leave viewers spellbound. The VFX is in sync with the ALIEN films and at the same time, also has a modern touch and matches global standards. The action is disturbing. Carlos Rosario’s costumes are appropriate while Naaman Marshall’s production design is grand. Jake Roberts’ editing is good but it’s slow in the first 25-30 minutes when nothing much happens. 

Conclusion:
On the whole, ALIEN: ROMULUS gives an edge-of-the-seat experience to the viewers. However, it has a strong connection to the first film of the series, which might not be seen by youngsters as it was released 45 years ago. This and competition from STREE 2 might affect its collections.

ALIEN: ROMULUS gives an edge-of-the-seat experience. But it’s strong connection to the first film might affect its collections.