#101: Alien: Romulus
Release Date: August 16th, 2024
Format: Streaming (Hulu)
Written by: Fede Alvarez and Rodo Sayagues
Directed by: Fede Alvarez
3 Stars
Sequels are tough, if you haven’t heard. Some of the best ones ever made - The Godfather Part II, The Empire Strikes Back, Aliens - take the aesthetic and tone of what made the original great and then greatly expand the scope and ambition of the second movie. They are no doubt indebted to the original’s vision, but they are not beholden to it. Like an adventurous child, these sequels leave home and set out to create their own path.
There is another approach to sequels that yields perfectly competent films, if not ambitious ones. This blueprint isn’t focused so much on expanding the original’s scope as it is perfectly recreating the parameters of the original movie and simply telling a new story within those confines. I felt this way when I saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens. At the time there was clearly a desire within the Star Wars fandom for a return to the aesthetics and storytelling techniques of the original trilogy, and by god, Disney gave it to ‘em. With the full might of the Disney empire at his disposal, J.J. Abrams settled for essentially a remake of George Lucas’ original Star Wars entry, A New Hope. He recreated the character arcs, brought back all the familiar faces, and served up a space saga casserole just the way mom used to make it (or Papa Lucas, that is).
It’s a good movie. I remember liking it. I saw it once.
And this is how I felt about Alien: Romulus, a “20th Century Studios” production (which is owned by Disney). The movie looks great, with fun practical sets and props and that same milieu Ridley Scott created 40-something years ago. Shrewdly set between the events of the most beloved entries in the Alien cinematic universe, 1979’s Alien and 1986’s Aliens, Alien: Romulus gets to mine familiar settings and characters and plot details. Like I said, all good fun, but I can’t say I was deeply affected.
Instead we have a well-made, heartfelt tribute to two better prior movies. Worth a watch, but I’m not sure how much more of this Alien universe needs exploring. I’ll guess that Disney disagrees with me.
