Alien Romulus
The special effects is what made this lackluster film “fede interesting.”
By Tracie Reddick
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A. The actors were all amateurs.
B. The dialogue was as basic as the boring plot.
Those A and B factors made it easy for me to “see” myself watching something else. Hey, I couldn’t resist — especially since the film directed by Fede Alvarez was full of dad jokes.
Blame it on Disney, which now owns the franchise rights to the alien films and is probably why the animatronics were the highlights of the movie.
Not that there is anything wrong with that.
They were cool — right down to the creepy talking head with the mutilated torso bearing an uncanny resemblance to Ash, the android from the original film but was actually an AI-generated replica called Rook. Whew! That was a mouthful.
Reanimating Ash was a point of contention since Ian Holm, the actor who brought the beloved character to life is now deceased.
It’s the same debate that raged after Harold Ramis passed away and he was resurrected as Egon Spengler in Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021).
Not sure what all the fuss is about. It’s horror. You’re suppose to see dead people.
Any way, Romulus felt more like a film reel highlighting refurbished scenes and repurposed dialogues from past alien movies, along with Easter eggs that included the rebranding of the Reebox sneakers, the neon bar sign and the rotating water birds.
Whether you found those things annoying or amazing depends on your love of science fiction.
Only thing that irked me was raggedy Andy.
We view films from our own cultural perspectives and experiences.
Therefore, I find subtle racism just as offensive as overt stereotypes and there seemed to be some subliminal messaging going on when you consider the only black robot was an inferior model that kept malfunctioning.
On the flip side, Andy did have the most interesting role, making it possible to show his redeeming qualities. So, there’s that part.
Back to Romulus. Set between Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986), the film felt like this weird alternative reality where the original older crew was replaced by a bunch of naive gen-zers.
They escape a mining colony run by the capitalistic Wayland Corporation by commandeering an abandoned vessel dubbed Romulus.
It’s a reference to the Romulus-Remus myth about twins born to a mother raped by the God Mars and were later banished to a forest and raised by wolves. Romulus kills Remus in a dispute then goes onto to establish Rome.
In this film, the craft is divided into two parts, with the xenomorphs and face hugging creatures occupying Remus and Romulus being the safety zone the crew must get to in order to survive.
During the battle scenes, the film infuses scenes from various alien movies. And I guess imitation is the sincerest form of flattery cuz it also injects parts from other movies like Species (1995), They Live (1988), Pitch Black (2000) and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978).
Bump all that.
For me, it was all about the cinematography.
Alvarez created a dreary, intergalactic world that was devoid of sunlight and still managed to make it visually appealing.
And the special effects, wow! How about that amazing freefall plummet in space’s sunken place, the spectacular acid blood downpour and the freakish chimera birthed at the end of this seemingly never-ending story that was awesomely ugly.
All I can say is take a bow, Fede Alvarez. When it comes to special effects, you are an inspirational role model.
As for the plot, well, watch out for those rotten tomatoes.
At least you provided some new information about the heat-seeking creatures. Turns out they can’t hunt in the cold, so the key to surviving them is to turn up the what: thermostat. Plus, if you’re being hunted, just move at a quiet pace.
Wait a minute. That’s … another example of a film ripoff.
Told you so.
