At times writing a review is a tricky thing. It’s not always easy to encapsulate the experience I’ve had with a film and know whether to recommend it to my readers or not. Everyone knows I’ve had a rough year when it comes to blockbusters so frankly I’m just glad when I enjoy something at all these days even if I’m not in love with it (small victories!) Such is my experience with the newest release Alien: Romulus. It’s from director Fede Álvarez and overall I’d say it’s an entertaining, well-made little thriller that should be a crowd-pleaser for the R-rated sci-fi horror loving crowd. It definitely has its flaws but I’ve seen it twice and had a good time at both watches.
The reason I had to see it twice is a complicated one. First, I went to the critics screening at one of our local IMAX theaters. I’m not sure what is the problem at Megaplex but the IMAX screens are terrible. Sure the screen is large but the sound is always a mess blaring it too loudly or with a mix that is off. This was the case on Monday and at first it seemed like I was the only one bothered by this but then some of the other critics mentioned it. It’s a real problem.
My experience was so impacted I went to see the film again at the XD Dolby screen at Cinemark and overall had a much improved experience. That said, Álvarez has decided to go with the Christopher Nolan brand of muddled sound design that I will never understand. Particularly with the male characters it is challenging to comprehend what they are saying. An AI character named Andy played by David Jonsson is almost completely incomprehensible which is a problem because he is meant to be the emotional heart of the film.
At least this sound design wasn’t as large of a problem in Alien: Romulus as it was in Tenet which also had an incomprehensible plot where this is relatively straightforward. The film is set in-between the events of Alien and Aliens and focuses on a woman named Rain (Cailee Spaeny) who along with her group of friends and ‘brother’ Andy are trying to get away from the mining corporation they’ve been working for and get to a distant planet Yvaga. Desperate they decide to commandeer an abandoned vessel which then of course they find it to be infested with xenomorphs- face hugger, chest exploders and fully standing adult varieties.
Enjoyment of this movie is pretty simple. If the chase between the xenomorphs and the team is engaging for you than you’ll like it. If it feels too same-old than you will not care for it. It certainly won’t win you over with its deep characters or sci-fi metaphors. They try with a plot reveal and extended cameo but that completely falls flat. I’m not enough of a franchise expert to catch all of the Easter eggs but basically Alien and Prometheus come into play so you want to watch both of those before seeing the film.
I must admit the second time seeing the film it was less engaging. It all felt more predictable and less gripping/scary. However, I do appreciate it is one of the few action blockbusters of recent memory to be under 2 hours and not feel bloated. Álvarez keeps the pacing going so we are never left wondering about the more lazy elements of the script.
In the end despite the sound issues and the lazy plot reveals I had a good time with Alien: Romulus. It’s well made, paced and acted and captures the horror feel of that first Alien film. Especially if you are a big fan of the franchise you’ve got to check it out.
Smile Worthy (but don’t see it in the imax!)
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