PREMISE
While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonists face the most terrifying life form in the universe.
THE GOOD STUFF
FEDE ALVAREZ- I can only assume there is an interview with Fede Alvarez where he geeks out about horror films for about 30 minutes. This is not the work of a director who simply does enough homework and respects the material without truly being a fan of the genre. This (like Alvarez’s EVIL DEAD remake) is a film made with love from someone who grew up watching it a bunch of times. And it doesn’t seem like he was just in love with the Xenomorphs. The Xenomorphs in this film aren’t presented in some grandiose fashion; they’re presented as disgusting monsters, which is how it is supposed to go. I have this feeling that Alvarez is a true horror nerd of the highest order.
DAVID JONSSON- One of the biggest breakout performances of 2024 and unquestionably the best part about this movie. Jonsson doesn’t exactly carry the film, but the energy does kind of sway with whatever his character has going on. Because he is playing an android, certain elements in play allow him to play two polar opposite sides of one character. There’s a kind and gentle version, and then there’s a cold kind of militaristic version. When the militaristic version of this character is on screen, that is when the movie truly shines, in my opinion. He has the most to do in this film by far, and without him being this good, this movie would not have worked at all.
STYLE & SIMPLICITY- In making an ALIEN film with love, it seems as if Alvarez also understood that these are creature features at the end of the day. From 1979 until 2012, ALIEN films were about being trapped in a place with the Xenomorph and trying to kill it or get the f*** out of there. Very abc. Some things don’t have to be complicated. The goodness in making one of these films comes from as much style as you can put alongside this simple kind of plot.Â
Oddly, there have been nothing but great directors who have directed ALIEN films thus far, and only a couple of them really know how to stylize this sort of thing without making it too… fancy). For all the styles this film has to bring, it is also simple enough so that when you use the bathroom and come back, you do not miss anything you cannot instantaneously pick back up.
THE BAD STUFF
THE FINAL BOSS- I’m going to tread lightly by saying this, but it needs to be said. I appreciate the audaciousness in presenting something that this franchise has never seen before. I respect what happens here, but I don’t like it all that much. This is a movie that thinks it ends with a crescendo, and it does not. It really does not at all.
THE UGLY STUFF
JUST A BUNCH OF CHUMPS- Folks, I’m not even 25 minutes into this film, and I wanted a Xenomorph just to interrupt all of the storytelling proceedings, burst through the background, and start snuffing some of these bozos out. What a bunch of angsty, whiny, unlikable, and absolutely unintelligent group of chump ass bums (Outside of the two main characters).
If you’re going to create a drinking game for this movie, just know that a really good thing to put in that list of drinking criteria is to take a drink every time this group of losers has an opportunity to not put their lives in danger but do so anyway despite getting multiple warnings from multiple different people.
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Metaphorically speaking, a good ALIEN film is like a good AC/DC album.
Are a lot of the same chords being played in the songs as there were in previous albums? Sure. Are the structures of the songs laid out exactly the same way they’ve been for the last 30 or so years? Yes.
But is the album bad? Is the band still fun to listen to? Do the songs still rock the house when played in a way that’s nostalgic or played in a way that only they can play it?
A good ALIEN movie is as good of a creature feature as you can ever get. It shouldn’t matter if you recognize stuff from before. It just matters if this franchise can still rock the house. And this one does.Â
ALIEN: ROMULUS is in theaters now
