Romulus only has 45-year-old ideas and the most beautiful sci-fi pictures of all time cannot change that

“Don’t mess things up“, franchise creator Ridley Scott told Alien: Romulus director Fede Álvarez about the film. Visually, Alvarez’s sequel to the sci-fi horror franchise is a success across the board. But perhaps Scott’s ambition scared him. He pays homage to great role models like the first Alien, instead of showing real new ideas.

This is perhaps no surprise, as the Don’t Breathe creator has to bear the burden of a 45-year-old universe, which is also at a crossroads: Scott’s prequel projects Prometheus and Alien: Covenant were not successful enough for a third film. Instead, a young horror master and declared Alien fan must now give the celebrated series new impetus.

Alien: Romulus is the most beautiful sci-fi horror ever

Alvarez’s story approach is simple: A group of friends around the young Rain (Cailee Spaeny) want to make it possible to escape from their home planet using technology from an abandoned space station. When they arrive there, the ruin floating in orbit quickly turns out to be Death trap out of here.

Check out the latest trailer for Alien: Romulus here:

The inconspicuous story approach is helped from minute one by a Optics on the legs that are second to none: Anyone who claims to have ever seen more beautiful sci-fi horror than Alien: Romulus must have memory lapses.

80s retro technology with toggle switches, heavy plastic shells, tube monitors and metal frames is reminiscent of the original films. Between leathery brown cosmonaut suits, terrifying automatic rifles and massive spaceship models, no detail was left to chance. There is a layer of dust, a greasy film, over everything. Such effort has become far too rare not only in genre cinema, but in the Hollywood film business in general.

Computer technology also delivers consistently great images, for example when a station is torrent of an asteroid belt is being destroyed by explosions and towers of fire, while an alien sun bathes the spectacle in a dazzling light. In this respect, Romulus has nothing to hide from any of its franchise predecessors. Alvarez has earned his place in the Alien universe for this reason alone.

Nothing about Alien: Romulus is really new

But unfortunately, in the entire film, apart from the visual highlights, not a single scene that could surprise me. That’s odd for a filmmaker whose finale in Don’t Breathe left millions of people open-mouthed. Why is that?

Nothing about Alien: Romulus is really new to the franchise. Not the space troop with their flippant sayings, not the abandoned space ruins, not the morally ambivalent android, not the mysterious disappearance of an entire crew.

Not the time limit, which is suddenly reduced by half, not the cosmonaut suit, which is the last straw that makes the space trip possible. Not the bizarre combination of alien infection and pregnancy. Not the female lead character, who has to prove herself as a fighter while her male comrades are dying like flies. Spaeny and colleagues find it difficult to break out of their familiar roles; at best, David Jonsson breathes new life into his android role Andy.

Two scenes from Alien: Romulus will divide sci-fi fans

Were the authors Álvarez and Rodo Sayagues so taken by the magnitude of their task that they didn’t want to disappoint anyone and brought together the most proven ideas from the previous franchise? Scenes in which the fan service reaches its highest levels thanks to dialogue quotes suggest this.

Two moments in the film will undoubtedly cause controversy among fans. They are only relevant to the quality of the film insofar as they create a far too strained arc through the franchise: Alien: Romulus seems as if the makers have curbed their ambition to return to simple roots. But such moments, which have the meta reference of a Marvel credits scene, fall out of the concept.

The result is simply not unique enough to remain entertaining until the end. Even if the final act, which some people praise, piles one twist on top of the other, you already know them all.

Does the Alien franchise have a future?

But one must ask whether this Alvarez’s guilt With one exception, the Alien films, even the best of them, have followed the same pattern for 45 years: a group on a mission first finds an abandoned location and then the alien brood. The group is decimated by 3/4 or more. At the end, a heroine, hardened by the fight for survival, continues her journey.

Nevertheless, Prometheus and Alien: Covenant raised entirely new questions in this context, even if their departure from the franchise’s roots is controversial among fans. New impulses are possible, even if they may not be apparent at first glance.

Alien: Romulus, on the other hand, is a kind of greatest hits album. Not a remake, but a remix. 45 year old ideas in a new guise. What saves it is the love that went into this Best of Alien: This film bows with the utmost respect to its franchise, its fans and its genre.

Whether sequels will follow, The box office will decide. I for one don’t necessarily need to know what happens next with Rain. However, her character has a lot of untapped potential.

So did Alvarez’ ““Mucked up”? No. It wasn’t a bad continuation of the franchise, in a way it didn’t continue it at all. Just as the film bows to its role models, I bow to the love of its creator. But his work will not stay in my memory. Alien: Romulus is flawless in its reference to the outside world, like a copy of the Mona Lisa or a perfect wax figure. In 1979 it would have been a masterpiece.