Alien: Romulus is a fun new addition to the beloved Alien franchise. The movie follows Rain who is stuck working as a scientist in the dark and miserable mining colony Jackson’s Star.
When her friends invite her and her synthetic dad-joke loving brother, Andy, on a haphazard mission to collect fuel from the abandoned Romulus station she eagerly accepts for the chance to escape to the Planet Yvaga. But their journey is quickly cut short when they come face-to-face with the franchise’s famous face-hugging aliens. The heartwarming sibling bond between Rain and Andy provides an engaging emotional aspect to a gruesome film.
Andy’s actor, David Jonsson, gives an incredible performance switching between the naïve and loyal friend to a ruthless mission-oriented robot. While the rest of the film feels like a rollercoaster with alien animatronics constantly jumping out, their earnest friendship is like the light at the end of the tunnel.
The film is a stunning out of this world cinematic experience that successfully balances visuals and sound to build suspense that keeps audiences on the edge of their seats. Director, Fede Álvarez expertly transports viewers across the galaxy with his visually beautiful juxtaposition of lights and shadows. It’s clear through his direction that Álvarez pays homage to Ridley Scott’s first Alien movie which celebrates its 45th anniversary this year.
Just like the original, the film lures the audience into a false sense of security by finishing with a horrifying twist in the third act. Right when you think it’s over, something worse happens. Overall, Alien: Romulus is an exciting and thrilling film that shouldn’t be taken too seriously. To prove this point, it is one of the few movies where the central conflict can be solved with the joke “I bought a book about gravity. I couldn’t put it down.”
Alien: Romulus is now in cinemas
119 minutes
Rating MA15+
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