Have the xenomorphs reclaimed their position as the apex sci-fi villain? Or is "Alien: Romulus" another flaccid entry in the beloved franchise?
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00:00Have the Xenomorphs reclaimed their position as the apex sci-fi villain, or is Alien Romulus
00:05another flaccid entry in the beloved franchise?
00:10While things look pretty grim for this new batch of space colonists who stumble upon
00:14the facehuggers this time around, the Rotten Tomatoes critics' score make the film look
00:18pretty promising.
00:19As of this video, it has a whopping 83 percent, with critics around the world sounding off
00:24about the latest installment's return to form.
00:26Should this trend continue, the film will likely end up as the third-best-reviewed film
00:30in the Alien saga of all time, topping the various Alien vs. Predator films, Prometheus,
00:36Alien Covenant, and the last two films in the Sigourney Weaver quadrilogy, Alien 3 and
00:40Alien Resurrection.
00:42While a great critic's score only means so much, we can't help but feel hopeful that
00:45their opinions will align with the masses.
00:48Kevin Mayer of The London Times is one of the reviewers who were completely swept away
00:51by Romulus.
00:52He called it the best Alien film since the original, praising the combination of tension
00:57and gore as well as the performances.
00:59Director Fede Alvarez was also singled out for praise thanks to his choice to combine
01:03thrills with goop.
01:04Mayer wrote,
01:05"...here he excels, pacing the movie flawlessly with the longer, calmer early scenes providing
01:10vital backstory, interpersonal conflict, and an ingenious set piece featuring the station's
01:15anti-gravity machine."
01:17The BBC's Nicholas Barber agrees, declaring the film awe-inspiring and clever and saying
01:22it's as close to perfect as the franchise has gotten in years.
01:25Meanwhile, Entertainment Weekly's Jordan Hoffman had praise for lead actor Kayleigh Spaney,
01:29who steps away from more demure roles, such as that of Priscilla Presley, to become an
01:33action star.
01:34"'Stay behind me!' he wrote.
01:36Her petite nature may not scream action hero, but, as has long been established, in space,
01:42no one can hear you scream anyway."
01:44Looper's own Matthew Jackson praised the movie for its tension, saying,
01:47It's the most purely frightening alien movie in nearly 40 years, a vision of what the franchise
01:52can achieve in the right hands, and hopefully a stepping stone to even more stories in the
01:56universe.
01:57RogerEbert.com's Brian Tallarico was a bit more reserved in his critique, giving the
02:02film three stars.
02:03He praised its sense of fun and tension, but called the movie up for its lack of originality.
02:08He observed,
02:09"...Honestly, it's so artistically connected to the films that came before in terms of
02:13its top-notch production quality that I think that's what makes the blatant callbacks more
02:17frustrating.
02:18It doesn't need them to be an alien movie, maybe even the one people have wanted for
02:21almost four decades."
02:23Other reviews are a bit less rosy, with many critics agreeing with Tallarico about how
02:27the film is bogged down by callbacks and references.
02:30Since Fede Alvarez's career has largely seen him adapt remakes or create sequels to other
02:35films, it perhaps isn't too surprising that his foray into the alien franchise has been
02:38criticized for its egregious fan service.
02:41On the other hand, Soren Anderson of The Seattle Times called the film out for its weak writing.
02:47Wretched Excess, with the emphasis on wretched, is the operating principle here.
02:51The movie's unrelenting sensory onslaught is exhausting.
02:54It's torture to sit through.
02:56IndieWire's David Ehrlich agreed, writing,
02:58"...Unfortunately, Romulus starts to go off the rails before its ill-fated rabble of twenty-somethings
03:03even reaches the Renaissance, as the movie is in such a hurry to kill them that it never
03:06gives us the chance to care if they die."
03:08Meanwhile, the Associated Press's Jocelyn Novak made note of the film's final minutes,
03:13which she claims may induce giggles in those watching.
03:16Very curious to see what she means by that.