Look, I’ve been waiting for a decent “Alien” franchise movie for the better part of a decade, and the moment I heard about “Alien: Romulus” I was instantly on board to see it as soon as possible.
After the popularity of 2022’a “Prey” that highlighted the alien hunter known as the “predator,” I knew it wouldn’t be long until we got another Alien installment.
The most interesting trivia fact for me regarding Romulus is that it used the same special effects crew as the second film - “Aliens” (1986).
The flick is dark, and gritty and revives the fear of the unknown and outer space travel in a way that feels both nostalgic and refreshing.
Alien: Romulus is a 2024 American science fiction horror film directed by Fede Álvarez, who co-wrote the screenplay with Rodo Sayagues.
Produced by Scott Free Productions and Brandywine Productions, it is the seventh installment in the Alien franchise, set between the events of Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986).
The film stars Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn, Ian Holm (facial and vocal references), and Aileen Wu.
Clocking in at 119 minutes long, the movie is rated R for bloody violent content and language.
Twenty years after the events of Alien, a Weyland-Yutani space probe investigates the wreckage of the USCSS Nostromo and ends up collecting an organic object containing a Xenomorph.
Orphan Rain Carradine (Spaeny) works at the Jackson’s Star mining colony with her adoptive brother and reprogrammed cyborg Andy (Jonssson).
After her contract is forcibly extended by Weyland-Yutani, she agrees to join her ex-boyfriend Tyler (Renaux) in traveling to a derelict Weiland-Yutani spacecraft to retrieve cryostasis chambers.
These chambers will allow Rain and her friends - Tyler, his pregnant sister Kay (Merced), cousin Bjorn (Fearn), and Bjorn’s girlfriend Navarro (Wu) - to escape to the planet Yvaga.
Andy’s ability to interface with the onboard computer system is crucial for the mission.
Rain is hesitant to send Andy, but is convinced by Tyler and Andy to allow him to assist.
They fly the hauler Corbelan to the spacecraft, which is revealed to be a research space station divided into parts Romulus and Remus.
While retrieving stasis chambers, Tyler, Bjorn, and Andy accidentally revive frozen facehuggers and trigger a lockdown.
To override the lockdown, Rain installs a chip from a damaged android science officer into Andy which grants him access to the station while also updating his thought processing and general efficiency.
Unbeknownst to the others, this also changes his “prime directive” of helping Rain, making him loyal solely to Weyland-Yutani.
As the group flees the chamber, a facehugger manages to latch onto Navarro.
Rain decides to reactivate the damaged science officer who introduces himself as Rook (Holm) and he then discloses that the station’s crew was killed by the Xenomorph and its clones.
While Tyler tries to remove the creature, Rook warns it may have implanted a “seed” in Navarro and therefore makes her a liability to everyone.
From there, it’s the same as every other Alien franchise movie even though I found it to be perfect in that regard.
After all, it’s always entertaining when foolish humans are brought down a peg in their thinking that they are the pinnacle of evolution – even in outer space.
Plus, it also reinforces just how evil corporations and greed can be.
Romulus is a great love letter to fans of the Alien franchise and honestly worth the experience on the big screen.
