Alien: Romulus

Ah, the Alien Franchise… I have had a complicated relationship with this movie saga with plenty of ups and downs, elations and frustrations, and the occasional threat of cutting off all communication. The original “Alien” film was haunting and amazing. The sequel, “Aliens,” was thrilling and exciting. “Alien 3” was dark, depressing, yet interesting. “Alien: Resurrection” was… campy, strange and gross. “Prometheus” was audacious and frustratingly uneven. “Alien: Covenant” was bi-polar trying to build on the confusing lore yet falling back to the same formula. And no, we are not talking about AVP here. So even though there have been more disappointments than successes, here I come crawling back to the new offering of “Alien: Romulus” in hopes that there will be a pleasant surprise waiting for me.

Well, I can definitely say I walked out of the theater experiencing a newfound love for the franchise which I haven’t felt in a long, long time. Thanks to director Fede Alvarez (“Evil Dead” 2013) we have a return to form of the haunted house in space feel of the first “Alien” movie. I was really excited about this entry as I walked out of the Dolby Theater, yet there were some disappointments as well because… you know… it’s an “Alien” movie. So let’s begin… again…

“Alien: Romulus” takes place between the events of the original movie masterpiece, “Alien,” and the action-packed sequel, “Aliens.” It begins with some interesting world building on an unlit and unfit planet named Jackson’s Star which is 76 light years away from Earth. The inhabitants are employed to work at Weyland-Yutani’s corporate mining operation that mine ore for the corporation’s nefarious plans. The hours are long and the work is deadly (even showing a miner carrying a canary in a space-age cage) so the dream of most young people living there is to get off-planet as fast as possible.

We are introduced to miner Rain Carradine (Cailee Spaeny, “Civil War”) and her adopted and damaged android brother Andy (a delightful David Jonsson). Andy has an overriding objective from Rain’s deceased parents which is to do what is best for Rain, always.

Rain has a deep love for the awkward Andy and has protective feelings for him as well. Rain is almost done with her time working for the corporation when bureaucracy drags her back in for another several years of service in the mines. In a rage, Rain runs to her young friends who also seem parentless as well: ex-boyfriend Tyler (Archie Renaux), Tyler’s sister Kay (Isabela Merced) and cousin Bjorn (Spike Fearn), as well as Bjorn’s girlfriend/pilot Navarro (Aileen Wu). They all have a dream to escape to somewhere better and that is the planet of Yvaga III which is a long way away.

To make the trip they will have to go into suspended animation, yet they have no way of making this happen… but their luck is about to change.

Apparently these young ones know about an abandoned space station that just entered the planet’s orbit which contains an answer to their problem of getting off this depressing and dead-end planet. The Renaissance space station (actually it’s a dual space station with the two sections named Romulus and Remus after Roman mythology) contains cryo-units that can house and incubate them as they pilot their own spacecraft to the better, safer planet of Yvaga III. All they need to do is get to the space station and steal these units. Simple, right?

They happen to have a working space ship at their disposal and they all take off from the surface of the planet and head to space (because in the future no flight permission is needed apparently). When they get there they search for the cryo-units and also run across dozens of weird creatures in suspended animation that we know as face-huggers.

The set design looks great and the “used universe” look made popular with “Alien” and “Star Wars” really comes across as authentic. The lighting is perfect and the shadows are intimidating and deep. As this young team heads deeper and deeper into the space station they find more and more disturbing experiments that were done for the Weyland-Yutani corporation.

As with many modern films, we have a group of very young characters who can do things that normally a much more experienced team would have trouble with, such as finding their way through a confusingly huge space station and knowing how to operate and fix anything they run across. Well, it’s only a two hour film, and there’s lots of things to find, so no time for learning.

And yep, they find the cyro-units but also find that those darn face-huggers hatched and are running all over the place leading to one of the crew being attacked and impregnated, creating a xenomorph to terrorize the survivors.

The chase scenes in Romulus are done well with lots of tension in claustrophobic spaces.

The cast is dispensable, as with many “Alien” movies, but the relationship between Rain and her android brother is the heart of this film. An interesting plot twist has him changing his programming with another destroyed android aboard the space station. This not only changes his personality but also his directives to make for a few tense scenes.

As far as plot goes, there isn’t much more to be said other than the crazy last 15 minutes will either get you way on board with this movie or drive you into deep space. Personally, I loved the audaciousness and horrific elements it presented. There is also an awesome zero gravity scene that involves a shootout with aliens and acidic blood making for a deadly obstacle course.

If you are a fan of the franchise you will be rewarded with many visual, auditory, and character callbacks of other “Alien” movies. There is also a very special cameo by a character from the first “Alien” movie that has a lot to contribute when it comes to brother Andy. I was ticking all the boxes of the fan-servicing callbacks and loved it. Some may find it tedious or cheap, but I’m a sucker for moviemakers who are fans of the movie franchises they’re a part of.

The practical effects are amazing. Fede Alvarez has been bragging about these sets and effects, and well he should. However, when an important CGI character pops up (many times) I was shocked how shoddy the CGI looked. It really stuck out like a sore thumb and kind of took me out of the movie for a bit. Other than a few plot contrivances and limited character development, this is a white-knuckle ride that will appease any “Alien” fan and will have you remember why you loved the series in the first place.

Warning: This is a very R-rated movie. I call upon the “Goodfellas Rule,” where if it gets past 50 F-bombs you can stop counting the curse words. I am always amazed at Hollywood’s (and Netflix’s) fascination with peppering the F-word in it’s productions so often. Do people really talk that this in normal life? I will have to say the F-bombs do get a lot more rare once a certain character is killed off. There are a handful of Sh**s, A**H**e’s, B**ch*’s and B*strd’s, and where the Lord’s name is taken in vain.

There is no nudity but PLENTY of visceral violence, including bloody alien violence, chestbursting, impalement, weapon wounds, disturbing body horror, and lots of blood and gore. There are also many alien pods and nests that take on obvious vaginal properties. There is smoking and drinking along with a horrific birth scene.

The heart of the movie is the relationship of Rain and her android brother Andy. They both have the same directive in their heads, albeit one by program and one from sibling-love: To do what’s best for the other. They show over and over again what it means to have a self-sacrificial love for each other as they charge into harm’s way to protect each other from the dangers that swirl around them. Jesus said,

“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” —Matthew 7:12

Treating others as we would like to be treated means we must be willing to set aside our own preferences, rights, and desires in order to serve those in our lives. As a parent loses sleep, sacrifices financially, and cares for the children she/he loves, so we are to give up our own comforts for the good of others.

This sacrificial love is shown most powerfully in God Himself coming to Earth as a human, Jesus Christ, and sacrificing His life for us who knew Him not, yet would be counted as children of God if we accept Jesus’ sacrifice and ask Him to enter our hearts and lives (Romans 6:23; 10:9). His sacrifice and resurrection give us all a clear understanding of the extent of what self-sacrificial love is.

So if you are into the “Alien” movies, I will recommend this one highly. For me it’s the third best movie of the franchise. And for all my franchise friends I leave you with this: Take heart, “Alien” fans of old. We have a new day dawning of good movies ahead with goop, slime, and steam shooting from steel mesh floors. Peace, love, and facehuggers to you all.

• Violence: Very Heavy
• Vulgar/Crude language: Heavy
• Profane language: Moderate
• Drugs/Alcohol: Moderate
• Wokeism: Minor
• Nudity: None
• Sex: None
• Occult: None

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