Alien Franchise (1979-?)

[jazzo]

I think I am, too. I don’t believe I’ve hated two recent franchise films more than Prometheus and Covenant, and for my money, Don’t Breathe was infinitely more effective than anything in those two pictures.

[Finch]

The very last shot in the trailer felt like a homage to the famous shot in Alien 3.

[therewillbeblus]

I think I am, too. I don’t believe I’ve hated two recent franchise films more than Prometheus and Covenant, and for my money, Don’t Breathe was infinitely more effective than anything in those two pictures.

I just wish his former muse Jane Levy was leading this. She shoulda been a Star by now

[jazzo]

Yeah, she’s great. What happened to her? Loads of screen presence.

[therewillbeblus]

She's in an alternate Twin Peaks universe somewhere in Lynch's head, and I want it out

[The Curious Sofa]

I enjoyed both of Fede Alvarez's horror films and this looks like it could be fun, but it also looks uninspired. It looks exactly as it was announced, a cross between Alien and Aliens with twentysomethings. While Neill Blomkamp's films since District 9 have been disappointing, the concept art for his Alien sequel hinted at something that could have taken that franchise to another level, whereas this looks like more of the same, people running through the corridors of a spaceship/station.

[colinr0380]

The final Alien: Romulus trailer, which I may warn against seeing if you want to go in fresh, as it potentially might be spoiling too much!

[reaky]

You’d have thought the precedent of Jaws 2 would have taught the producers that putting a bunch of teens up against your franchise monster is not a good idea. Perhaps at the end someone whips a mask off the alien and we find it’s actually their mean old head teacher.

[flyonthewall2983]

I’m rewatching the Quadrilogy documentaries. Every one of them feels more honest than these studio-funded pieces most times are. With regards to the first two, the way the difficulties are absolved by it’s success feels closer to studio meddling but understandably so. Certainly the stories of audience reaction to any classic horror movie is entertainment of its own.

The third one is a beast all of its own, namely by Fincher's direct absence except in what they had of him during filming, which is certainly captivating of its own seeing a visionary almost in his element and all but cursing out Twentieth Century Fox for putting him through it. The rest of the crew interviewed were fascinating in how much they perhaps kept a stiff upper lip about the difficulties.

[beamish14]

I’m rewatching the Quadrilogy documentaries. Every one of them feels more honest than these studio-funded pieces most times are. With regards to the first two, the way the difficulties are absolved by it’s success feels closer to studio meddling but understandably so. Certainly the stories of audience reaction to any classic horror movie is entertainment of its own.

The third one is a beast all of its own, namely by Fincher's direct absence except in what they had of him during filming, which is certainly captivating of its own seeing a visionary almost in his element and all but cursing out Twentieth Century Fox for putting him through it. The rest of the crew interviewed were fascinating in how much they perhaps kept a stiff upper lip about the difficulties.

I’m amazed that they got Vincent Ward to speak on-camera, as he’s completely MIA from the Blu-Rays of his features. It’s been too long since we’ve had a feature from him

[flyonthewall2983]

The crew members in some of these are really good interviews too. And Giger obviously is fascinating. He is more directly engaged in The Alien Legacy, which accompanies the first dvd release. That particularly pays attention in greater detail some of the production techniques that the expanded Lauzirika version doesn’t touch on, as much as Legacy avoids the whole trouble between the writers and producers.

[flyonthewall2983]

I think Jonesy is a god damn robot

[Altair]

I have to say, that while Alien: Romulus looks as though it is doing nothing new, I am sorely tempted to go to the cinema to see it, just because it seems to have slickly captured Scott's original aesthetic.

[Mr Sausage]

I have to say, that while Alien: Romulus looks as though it is doing nothing new, I am sorely tempted to go to the cinema to see it, just because it seems to have slickly captured Scott's original aesthetic.

Right on all counts. It's cobbled together from every other movie in the franchise, but it's cobbled together well. It picks the stuff from the previous movies that worked and presents it all effectively. The lo-fi analog tech of the first is properly expanded into a brutal working class world dominated by a faceless corporation that's only a modest extension of our own contemporary corporations. And Alvarez uses that tech properly, with all the mechanical doors, pull handles, keys, and freight elevators forming the backbone of his set pieces. The physical world of the movie and how the characters interact with it plays an intimate role in developing suspense, and allows for some pleasing creativity and invention in how obstacles are overcome. There's a very good trapped in a maze quality to the film that's ultimately why it works as well as it does. The movie feels like it was made by someone who adored the physical qualities of Scott's original and sought to make them a character in their own right rather than mere decoration. Maybe the least interesting element is the creature itself, which appears late in the run time, does relatively little, and feels oddly obligatory. The facehuggers provide a lot more excitement and creativity than the titular creature. That said, the movie does the best job of any Alien movie of using the acid blood as a functioning part of the plot, again proving that Alvarez has a great understanding of the physical realities of the world of these movies.

Alvarez's entry is a more successful movie than anything since Cameron's sequel. But at the same time, while it's not as uneven and messy as Fincher or Jeunet's entries, it's also blander and has no authorial stamp. It's easier to like, but easier to forget. But it's also so much better than Alien Covenant and such a necessary reigning in after that disaster of a movie that I'm pleased to get a sensible, watchable film in a franchise that's been pulverized out of shape by its own creator. Alvarez has made an effective B-grade horror thriller on par with with Don't Breathe. But like Don't Breathe, the characters are bland and forgettable, the drama merely there, and the overall effect intense but fleeting. Fede Alvarez is a solid craftsman, but rarely brilliant.

A good brainless time at the movies. If you like the series even a little, you ought to see it on a huge screen with booming volume.

[Monterey Jack]

5/10



The same beverage we've been imbibing since 1979, only poured into a new, leakier container, Romulus is efficiently (re)packaged by co-writer and director Fede Alvarez, and for about 90 minutes or so, is a mildly diverting Greatest Hits package of familiar series plot points and imagery, but, like Jean Pierre Jeunet's Alien Resurrection, it goes into the toilet alarmingly fast in the last half-hour, trashing whatever good aspects preceded it. Alvarez generates some solid tension in spots, and Benjamin Wallfisch's score does a good job remixing motifs from Goldsmith, Horner, and even Harry Gregson-Williams' fine Prometheus theme, but the movie's "final boss" is every bit as misconceived (pun definitely intended) as that ludicrous "Newborn" from Resurrection, and thus what should be a terse climax devolves into unintentional comedy. Add to that an obligatory Deepfaked "cameo" from a now-deceased actor (which makes little logical sense) and a cast of generically-pretty twentysomethings who look like fetuses compared to the salty space truckers from Ridley Scott's original film (or the motley crew of grizzled Marines from Cameron's sequel), and you've got a movie that plays more like a franchise museum tour (or luxe videogame) than a compelling narrative. There are some fitful moments of creativity (especially a nifty zero-G "thread the needle" sequence), but, coming from the gifted Alvarez, this is a major letdown that makes 2022's Prey seem like a masterwork in comparison.

[Yakushima]

thus what should be a terse climax devolves into unintentional comedy. Add to that an obligatory Deepfaked "cameo" from a now-deceased actor (which makes little logical sense) and a cast of generically-pretty twentysomethings who look like fetuses compared to the salty space truckers from Ridley Scott's original film (or the motley crew of grizzled Marines from Cameron's sequel), and you've got a movie that plays more like a franchise museum tour (or luxe videogame) than a compelling narrative.

I was going to unload on this sorry excuse for an Alien sequel, but Monterey Jack did a fine job of it already. On top of all of the above, this film commits a mortal sin of being mind-numbingly boring and tedious. For a time I thought that the dumb-fest Prometheus was a rock bottom of the franchise, but now we have a serious new contender.

For the record, I love the first four movies. Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection grew on me considerably over the years, especially after I watched the director's cuts. IMO, those two aged better than Cameron's entry, and at any rate, I turn to them more often nowadays than to the first two films. Covenant, despite all its pompous silliness, remains a guilty pleasure for some visual flourishes, strong central performances, and a couple of neat action sequences. Both Prometheus and Romulus are strongly in the "never again" category for me.

[tenia]

I thought that for all its unimaginative clichés issues, Romulus was a positive experience, a solid 6/10. My biggest issues remain that deepfaked cameo, a bad idea and a technically dubious execution that made me want to say F... you to the movie, but also that it has too many ups and downs in tempos. I didnt mind most of its callbacks, that I didnt find that intrusive (save for a couple of them), and it otherwise felt like a Terror Train set in the Alien universe, like an Alien Isolation video game would do. But it had too many segments that should have been scarier and tenser but weirdly weren't.
Also : major chunks of the movie are fuelled by decisions at the opposite spectrum of what survival instinct would imply, but it seems like it's a conscious choice, judging by the androids' exchange. Still, it's repeated too many times not to feel, at some points, like lazy writing.

[therewillbeblus]

I thought this was just okay - liked it for a lot of reasons Sausage stated and didn't for reasons everyone's said - but the biggest thing that was hard to get past for me was the hypocritical thematic focus. The theme of camaraderie was pitched with a flag-waving sociopolitical superiority at-odds with the survivalist aspects that should've existed in step with Álvarez and co's pragmatic approach to the content.

Spoiler

The final choice to return to the alien cave to save her robot brother when they were home free just read so backwards in a film designed to take the science and threats more seriously. But only part of it's treated seriously, and the rest is fluffy pandering in a time when seemingly everyone needs to remind everybody else that empathy exists, should exist, and must exist above all else.

The humanist vs capitalist theme has always been there but never this thinly revealing or irritating

[ex-cowboy]

Saw this the other day and rather enjoyed it. As a fan of the original tetralogy, it definitely hit certain notes and borrows quite a lot from those films, but I never felt like I would have rather been watching one of its predecessors. I'd agree with most of the criticisms by others who liked it here, but it's worth saying that David Jonsson's performance is very good. He's given a lot (relative to other 'characters') to do, but does it very well. Despite not having much in the way of characterisation, Spaeny leads the film well too. The retro-futurism is well-realised, and Alvarez very economically world-builds before we quickly get into the main narrative. There's a shot very early on, possibly the first shot of the outside world, that really put me in mind of the theory that the Alien and Blade Runner series are occurring in the same universe. The sound-design is also very good. The scene when they leave the mining colony is genuinely thrilling. A big improvement on Covenant and probably overall a better film than Prometheus, the return to a smaller-scale film, from a series that was becoming increasingly bloated, is welcome. I love the first three films, and in the case of Alien 3 am a passionate advocate for that film not only being in some ways equal to the first two, but also, being one of Fincher's best. I'm not sure where I stand on this film in relation to Resurrection. The latter has issues, but a unique feel to it that this film lacks. But I'm happy to see them returning to other authorial voices to direct, if the series is to continue, as that is one of the major strengths of the original tetralogy.

[Mr Sausage]

I’d be happy to get a mid-range horror film from a different capable director every few years. Turning the franchise into big budget sci-fi epics of ideas was a mistake.

[domino harvey]

Alien Romulus will be getting a VHS release from 20th Century on Dec 3-- is this the first VHS from a major studio in the last decade?

[pianocrash]

Alien Romulus will be getting a VHS release from 20th Century on Dec 3-- is this the first VHS from a major studio in the last decade?

I had no idea the last major studio VHS release was A History Of Violence in 2006, but aside from any indie houses/outside licensors, I cannot think of another.

I do always appreciate when a VHS rip appears as an easter egg on an hi-def release (City Of The Living Dead, for instance), but, then again, retro physical product to anyone around the age/maturity line of 25 years old is munny in th' bank.

[Never Cursed]

Alien Romulus will be getting a VHS release from 20th Century on Dec 3-- is this the first VHS from a major studio in the last decade?

Of all things, there was apparently a Transformers: Bumblebee VHS. It probably didn't/wouldn't cost too much money to make.

[pianocrash]

Alien Romulus will be getting a VHS release from 20th Century on Dec 3-- is this the first VHS from a major studio in the last decade?

Of all things, there was apparently a Transformers: Bumblebee VHS. It probably didn't/wouldn't cost too much money to make.

Now all they need to do is authorize a fully licensed & actually working Optimus Prime-styled VCR and sell me that, too, but I'll settle for a dual Weyland-Yutani Corp. box if that's the path we're venturing into here (RIP all these VHS that will probably be eaten by unmaintained VCRs, natch).

[brundlefly]

Trailer for Noah Hawley's Alien: Earth series.