A group of people goes aboard an abandoned space station where aliens are waiting for them. So that’s nothing new. Haven’t the stupid idiots watched any Alien movies before? Stupid idiots!
Alien: Covenant was a huge disappointment, so I wasn’t looking forward to watching Alien: Romulus. The story is set between the first and second movies. The director of Alien: Romulus, Fede Álvarez, is the guy behind the Evil Dead remake, which was fantastic, and he also has a good eye for cinematography and ears for fitting sound effects.
But the problem with Alien: Romulus is that it doesn’t need to exist. It’s a lazily written movie that doesn’t add anything new to the Alien universe. It’s the same old formula, and there are way too many aliens in this movie, which I’ve never been a huge fan of because it takes away that creepy atmosphere found in the first movie.
The first hour is boring, feeling like we’re following The Goonies in space, and the characters are for the most part forgettable, except for David Jonsson, who plays the android. He’s the best actor in the movie, and it’s interesting to see him play two different personalities. He’s caring at the start of the movie, but then he meets Jesus in space and becomes cold and calculated.
Cailee Spaeny is also good, but it’s David Jonsson who steals the show as the android.
What’s not okay is seeing Ian Holm coming back from the dead, which was completely unnecessary. It’s a freaky experience studios should stop doing, but you know, they’re a bunch of freaks and sick people, so the result is Ian Holm resurrected as Jesus.
The first hour is boring as hell, where nothing exciting happens. It’s the same old sneaking around a huge space station, following characters you don’t care about, and the actors—except the ones I mentioned—are subpar.
Hollywood has a huge problem with young talents, and it doesn’t look good at all because most of the actors supposed to replace the old guard don’t have it in them. They all feel the same. Where the hell are the talents and strong personalities we once had?
But after the boring first hour where nothing happens, the movie gets better in the last 40 minutes. There are some really cool and suspenseful scenes combined with great cinematography and sound effects that make the moments more intense—like the director did in the Evil Dead remake.
Even though the last 40 minutes are pretty entertaining, you have to ask yourself if this movie adds anything to the Alien universe. And no, it doesn’t. I can’t remember anything from Alien: Covenant, which was a huge disappointment. I know many people don’t like Prometheus, but come on—that movie is really entertaining. It’s the last good Alien movie, even though Ridley Scott said it wasn’t supposed to be one. What a liar!
Alien: Romulus has some terribly written characters, especially the white trash clone of Bill Paxton we found in Aliens. There are just two characters who have souls, but in the end, I really didn’t care about the last human standing. She’s no Ripley.
It’s the last 40 minutes of the movie that’s worth watching, which makes Alien: Romulus a braindead action-thriller, but a predictable one.