From Jeff Nelson

The Alien mythology lends itself well to many sci-fi sub-genres, from Ridley Scott’s claustrophobic horrors to James Cameron’s fiery action. Scott returned to the franchise with prequels in 2012’s Prometheus and 2017’s Alien: Covenant, which traverse deeper into the world’s mythology behind the violent Xenomorph species and the Engineer species that developed it. Now, Fede Álvarez takes a bite out of this thematic universe with Alien: Romulus.

A group of young space colonizers scavenge a dilapidated space station for the opportunity to pursue a new future. Together, they discover company Weyland-Yutani’s darkest secrets and the most dangerous organism in the universe. 

Alien: Romulus introduces a new heroine to take center stage in Rain (Cailee Spaeny), who dreams of escaping the eternal darkness of Jackson’s Star – a mining colony that never sees the sun. She cares for a naive decommissioned android named Andy (David Jonsson), who now operates under the directive of acting in Rain’s best interest. They’re recruited for a seemingly simple mission to escape Jackson’s Star by Tyler (Archie Renaux) and his rag-tag group, including Bjorn (Spike Fearn), Kay (Isabela Merced), and Navarro (Aileen Wu). Of course, nothing goes according to plan.

Álvarez and Rodo Sayagues’ screenplay sets Alien: Romulus 20 years after the 1979 classic, five years after the canon video game Alien: Isolation, and 37 years before the 1986 sequel. Meaning, Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley is still in hypersleep after besting the Xenomorph that killed her crew. Rain doesn’t measure up to the legendary character, nor is she more enthralling than Prometheus’ Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace), but she has a compelling dynamic with Andy that remains the steadfast narrative core. The rest of the group is forgettable, lacking defining personalities to make the audience root for their survival.

The uncomfortable thematics that define the Alien franchise are all present. Early set pieces involving Facehuggers in relatively small spaces are legitimately terrifying and armrest-clutching. Unfortunately, Álvarez disregards some of the universe’s rules, including a nonsensically short incubation period from Facehugger attack to Chestburster birth. Alien: Romulus doesn’t require much knowledge of its predecessors to follow its plot, but there’s no doubt that this legacy sequel still wants to fulfill its fan service, even when it doesn’t make sense to do so. Some famous lines are directly regurgitated and one familiar character is inorganically forced into the narrative.

There’s no question that Jonsson absolutely steals this movie as Andy. He hits every beat with ease, capturing the recognizable cadence we expect from an android while infusing the character with a special spark that makes his character intriguing. Between his delectable performance in the 2023 rom-com Rye Lane and Alien: Romulus, this is likely only the beginning of a lengthy career.

Álvarez promised an Alien movie with plenty of practical effects and he delivers in spades. The Facehuggers and Xenomorphs have a textured, tangible look to them that makes them intimidating. However, the sparing CGI on a legacy character and a particular monster effect are jarring from an otherwise satisfying world. Naaman Marshall’s stellar production design and Galo Olivares’ atmospheric cinematography are top-tier.

After Álvarez’s gnarly 2013 Evil Dead remake, it’s surprising to see him behind the camera of an Alien legacy sequel that’s less mean and violent than Scott’s prequels. Other than a peculiar third-act direction, he essentially goes down a checklist of franchise expectations, going through the motions of re-establishing iconic moments from earlier installments, rather than forging his own path.

Alien: Romulus entertains as a standalone horror adventure set in the Alien universe, but the forced franchise callbacks dampen its greatest qualities. Aside from a shaky third act, Álvarez goes the distance to satisfy fans and newcomers alike, although the film would have benefited from more naturally incorporating its original elements into the mythology established at this point of the timeline, rather than collating great moments we’ve already seen – including events that actually haven’t even happened chronologically. It’s a solid Alien movie that nonetheless achieves its basic goals.

Rating: 3/5

Alien: Romulus hits theaters on August 16th, 2024.

Follow Jeff