'Alien: Romulus' Spoiler-Free Review

Xenomorph

Image Source: Bio Central

If you want a movie full of terrifying xenomorphs, facehuggers, and a terrifying creature during the last half hour, then Alien: Romulus is the movie for you. Don’t go in expecting Alien, however, as the movie gives off more of an Aliens vibe, which isn’t a bad thing. While the characters aren’t the best, the action, cinematography, and jump scares will keep you entertained.

The movie starts on land, something the original movies did not do. Here we meet our main character, Rain Carradine. She is a miner trying to get off the planet for years. However, her quota has been increased, due to a shortage of workers. She is accompanied by her brother, a synthetic human, Andy. After being denied passage off, she gets a call from a friend and goes to visit him. There she sees her other friends, and they tell her of a plan to break into a decommissioned Weyland-Yutani ship, steal the cryo pods, and then head to the planet of Yvaga. Rain reluctantly agrees, and the group heads into space. Surprise, it wasn’t a ship after all, instead, was an abandoned space station. The group splits up, and heads to the station, where nothing goes as planned. They encounter face-huggers and later xenomorphs. Yes, multiple of them. The last half hour however gives us the most terrifying, creature I have ever seen. Not only is the creature terrifying but how it’s born is also very gross. You have to see it for yourself, because it is messed up, and the most terrifying part of the entire movie.

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Space suit

Image Source: Wall Street Journal

The characters in this movie are far from as good as in the original movies. Rain is no Ripley, which is okay because you can never recreate Ripley. Rain and Andy are the two most likable characters in the movie. While you feel bad when certain characters meet their demise, their idea to go onto an abandoned space station was dumb.  Yes, they didn’t know there were aliens aboard, but why would you want to take a chance with something in space? There were so many signs to leave, but instead, they kept exploring. They were the low point in the movie for me. 

The cinematography was beautiful and some of the best I have seen this year. Each shot was a masterpiece. The framing and the lighting added so much to the film, that without it it would not be the movie it was. It also added to the creepy atmosphere of being completely alone in space, with one of the most terrifying aliens in movie history. Fede Alvarez did an incredible job directing the film. He understood what the franchise is, and was able to add his own style to it. 

Scene from Alien: Romulus

Image Source: GameSpot

Alien: Romulus is more action-oriented, similar to Aliens. The movie will keep you on the edge of your seat, and just when you think it's over, something else happens. There are many callbacks to the original films, which fans will appreciate. It takes a little while to get going, but once it does, it never stops. If you’re a fan of the original franchise, I recommend checking out Alien: Romulus, and in a theater if you can, because it makes the entire movie more terrifying.

Rating: 8/10

Alien: Romulus is now playing in theaters everywhere.

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