romulus review Flashcards
1
Alien. It’s an old, out-dated, predictable film that hit the big screens in 1979 and fails to live up to it’s many awards. I mean ,sure, at the time the special effects might’ve been something spectacular but do they really justify the release of seven more equally predictable and equally boring films? Alien: a series of films that continues to waste my time. However, Alien:Romulus is the only exception.
2
Predictable, boring and mediocre are the words that ring through my mind when I think of the Alien franchise. Surprisingly, a 2 hour film can sum up the rest of the franchise as Romulus uses the same plotline that’s been done thousands of times before and does it millions of times better. What the plot lacks in originality is made up for by the carefully crafted setting. The space station, which the characters are trapped in, is menacing and feels like a character in itself with a mind of its own and such a crucial part of the story. The horror element throughout the film is created through the isolated setting and the tense build up created by the calculated unpredictability of the alien.
3
Directed by Fede Alvarez he brings the film to life with an undeniably talented cast that almost made me forget about the films predictability. Cailee Spaeny, who plays the heroine, helps to showcase the struggles of being good and moral in a space station designed to kill you. David Jonsson, playing the robot Andy, manages to both unsettle and draw sympathy from the viewer with his dual nature. The rest of the cast though is arguably meaningless as they play characters designed to be killed off in brutal, horrifying and twisted ways and whose sole purpose is to make the Alien seem even more terrifying.
4
Romulus brings with it a modern take on the old-fashioned Alien franchise which has the only redeeming quality of being a “must watch” for sci-fi lovers. In which case I would ask: did we watch the same films? Unlike previous films, Romulus was immersive. The visuals? Stunning. Despite my earlier criticisms of Romulus this is by far the best film in the eight-part franchise and I would argue one you have to watch.
