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Alien Romulus

I saw the original Alien film in the theaters when it first came out back in 1979, and I was instantly a fan of the film, as well as its director, Ridley Scott. I followed this film series as one movie after the other was released over the years, and found myself really enjoying them, even if some of the films weren’t that great. The last film in this series was 2017’s Alien Covenant, a Scott-directed sequel to a prequel (!!!) which did so badly that I figured the Alien film franchise was finally over and done with.

But, forty five years after the release of the first Alien, we finally get another in the series: Alien Romulus. I was genuinely (and pleasantly) surprised to see this, with 20th Century Fox, the studio that made and distributed the Alien films, having been gobbled up by Disney. The behind the scenes story was that Alien Romulus was only going to be released on Hulu, but that Disney executives saw something in the rough cut that made them change their minds and give the film a theatrical release. And I’m very glad they did so.

Alien Romulus, directed and co-written by Fede Álvarez (Don’t Breathe, The Girl in the Spider's Web), is a direct sequel to the original 1979 film, taking place right after it and before Aliens. Cailee Spaeny (Civil War) stars as Rain, a young woman who lives on a Weyland-Yutani colony world with her adopted brother, Andy (David Jonsson). Rain’s home planet is a dreary place that has no sunlight, and she’s working a dangerous, dead-end mining job that killed both of her parents, and so she dreams daily of leaving.

Rain’s friends and fellow miners have spotted a large ship that has entered the orbit of their planet, but which remains undetected by the authorities. They plan to commandeer a short-range vessel and board the ship (which later turns out to be a derelict space station) and salvage its cryostasis equipment--this will enable them to survive the long journey to a distant and more hospitable planet that’s not affiliated with Weyland-Yutani. It turns out that the station, named Renaissance, had salvaged the original xenomorph that killed most of the crew of the space freighter Nostromo from the original film. And the crew of the station did lots of experimenting.

Alien Romulus (named after one of two sections of the space station, the other called Remus) is an highly enjoyable romp that does a great job at reviving the Alien series, while giving us something fresh. The whole ‘acid for blood’ scenario has been very nicely recharged in a tense sequence, here. Álvarez and crew are so respectful of the series and its past films that they include a lot of call backs--but there’s so many references (“Get away from her, you bitch!”) that the film is in danger of becoming derivative at times.

Yet Álvarez does a great job at keeping the action running, and everything fresh, while being careful to not neglect the characters. Andy is revealed to be an android from the beginning, and his caring relationship with his protective big sister Rain really struck a pleasant chord within me. Cailee Spaeny and David Jonsson did such a great job of displaying their compassionate relationship that I cared for their characters from the first moment I saw them. As a fan of the Alien film for forty five years now, I’m satisfied with Alien Romulus; it’s an entertaining addition to the Alien series. And given it’s box office success, here’s hoping there are more. --SF

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