ALIEN: ROMULUS. The best film in the series since “Aliens”? What a joke

As I was returning from the cinema, I noticed a beautiful moon in the sky that night. Once again, for a moment, I felt like I was back in space, reminiscing about the screening. I wondered if the movie was good for me or if it was bad. “Alien: Romulus” is ambiguous. It makes a good impression but gets stuck in shallow waters.

When I was leaving the cinema, I noticed that there were families with children at the screening with me. I’m serious. It scared me a bit because I could see in the eyes of the ten-year-olds that they were filled with emotions they didn’t yet fully understand. I don’t want to use this as an example to criticize the parents who clearly chose the wrong movie. I felt envy. What I missed during “Alien: Romulus” was that childlike fascination and openness to new things and the surprises they bring. The film managed to move me, but interestingly, not during the scary moments. The horror, in my opinion, is illusory here, which I see as the main problem of this spectacle.

I consider the film’s opening not only one of the best in the “Alien” series but one of the best I’ve ever seen. I don’t like it when creators treat the aspect of demonstrating the title of their work dismissively. In the “Alien” series, it has always been an important point, accompanied by appropriate minimalism. Fede Álvarez did his homework because those first few minutes, from the moment the spaceship emerges from the darkness, gliding in silence, to the reveal of the film’s title, are simply magical. The next several minutes, which introduce us to the plot, were also interesting because, perhaps for the first time in the series’ history, we got a close look at the Wayland-Yutani Corporation, seeing firsthand the exploitation that had only been mentioned in other films.

Since my review seems to highlight the advantages of “Romulus” that made my time in the cinema seat comfortable, I should emphasize the huge role of the visual design. This film looks wonderful. The set design deserves an Oscar. The retro-futurism that was talked about before the premiere created an incredibly intriguing atmosphere for the setting. The moments when we get to look at the details of the spaceship and later, the abandoned station, are priceless. If the hidden message of the “Alien” series was always to make the future seem disgusting in every way, including giving the impression that the technology of the depicted world is already worn out, “Romulus” achieves this and more. This film perfectly mimics the idea that it was made in the 1980s.

The problem is that it creates far more pretenses. It pretends to be a horror movie. It pretends to have interesting, nuanced characters. It pretends to have engaging dialogue. It pretends to have exciting action scenes.

Before I get to the point, I’ll allow myself one more digression. I remember the screening of “Blade Runner 2049” like it was yesterday and the emotions I felt at the time. I didn’t believe in that film, but over time, many things worked in its favor. Roger Deakins’ cinematography, used in promotions, looked like a love letter to the fans of the first movie. However, it called for my attention almost too much. As a result, expectations for the film grew astronomically, though during the screening, I quickly realized that I had been fooled again. It’s enough to put the right pieces together, cast the right actors, assemble professionals for the project, and approach the topic seriously and respectfully, to present fans with a sequel to a film they loved in their youth.

But that’s not how it works. “Nothing happens twice,” as Wisława Szymborska once said, and the clever woman was right. I don’t deny that Fede Álvarez put his heart into making “Romulus,” nor do I question his love for the original films. However, I feel that more than being a skilled filmmaker, with this new “Alien,” he turned out to be a skilled illusionist. He showed us captivating interiors of the ship and all its technicalities, and even presented the “Alien” itself with more meticulousness than his predecessors. The fetishization of this character is almost too palpable here. But he forgot to top this trick with something that would give it deeper meaning. His intentions were good, as the references to the Roman founding myth were interesting. But the difficult, almost impossible challenge was that after so long, telling the story of this figure in a way that could still instill any fear in us was nearly impossible.

Álvarez completely gave up on building this story on more solid foundations. Honestly, aside from the fact that I really enjoyed watching the spaceship take off into space, I didn’t really understand why the characters were doing it. I mean, sure, I understood that they had to, that it was necessary because the camera told us so, but personally, I didn’t feel the stakes at all. Another trick that is overused is the overly explicit dialogue, constantly explaining and emphasizing the significance of what’s happening on screen. Everything is spelled out directly. The result is that it dilutes the message and destroys its credibility.

I also had a hard time following the main character played by Cailee Spaeny. She means well, she tries, but she doesn’t convince me with her physicality. Sigourney Weaver had charisma, but she also had the physical presence to face the “Alien.” Cailee Spaeny has charisma, but she is clearly too small to play a heroine in this world. The pulse rifle is bigger than she is, and the scenes where she uses it look comical. I know, I’m exaggerating, but it shouldn’t be that after so many years since the first encounter with the “Alien,” its victims are shrinking, growing weaker, and yet it still loses to them. That’s not terrifying.

Reviews calling “Alien: Romulus” the best film since “Aliens” I consider a joke and a media hoax, thrown to the crowd for their amusement. Yes, there are many indications in “Romulus” that the director did his homework, understood the fans’ needs, and didn’t want to repeat Scott’s mistakes, who, by over-intellectualizing the prequels, strayed from the essence. Álvarez focused only on the essence but, in doing so, completely failed to build intrigue, mystery, and utterly mishandled the tension. What we have here is a checklist of canonical points that should be in the film to generate widespread approval, like that brilliant opening sequence.

Then there’s the first exposure of the “Alien,” its hiding in the shadows, the return of a certain old, well-known character, the unveiling of the dark side of artificial intelligence, the heroine’s farewell to the audience with a routine line, and a few other references that work well as clips but not as something that should be part of a bigger, new meaning. If all the creative effort went into what was shown in the finale of this story, it’s a rather sad conclusion for the whole film. Because we just watched a strange hybrid that no one knows why it was born and, due to its flaws, is unlikely to challenge the status quo of this series.