Alien: Romulus (2024)

What separates Alien: Romulus from previous entries in the series is neither overall quality nor a sharp departure from the source material but the character-driven nature of the film. The soul of the film is the relationship between Rain, a young miner yearning for a better life, and a synthetic named Andy, her brother in the form of found family. Their dynamic is apparent immediately: Rain plays half-hearted interference against humans who mistreat Andy, whereas Andy possesses a core directive to devote himself entirely to Rain's well-being. The friction between those roles is the foundation of this film's entire conflict.

Cailee Spaeny brings an expressiveness to the role evident in her first sight of the sun as well as her deep horror at realizing Andy has been reprogrammed. Similarly, David Jonsson excels in his multi-pronged role, his even and gentle voice perhaps the most important part of the performance.

Andy's change to corporate Andy is important because it changes the power dynamic; Rain, who was uneven in her treatment of Andy, now realizes that the playing field has shifted. This acts as a catalyst for Rain to reevaluate Andy's circumstances and understand that she has not been as benevolent to him as she had imagined. The conflict resolves when, making a safe escape, Rain leans into Andy and assigns him a new core directive: "do what's best for us".

As a positive note on practical effects, Fede Álvarez honors the series tradition of practicality, with the puppeted face huggers standing out in particular. Tactility and practicality act as important connective tissue with the original entries of the series.

Unfortunately the film is let down by a poorly paced final act, with the film drifting past one or two natural ending points and continuing on. The digital recreation of Ash was nothing short of visually grotesque, existing deep within the uncanny valley. The digitally imposed face is poorly placed and seems to float on the head. This does further damage as the digital deformity makes multiple minor appearances. Additionally, while the new monster is a creative and welcome addition, the lore behind it is potentially unsatisfying when compared with the original Alien mythos. These weaknesses marred an otherwise excellent experience.

A more than worthy entry in the series that remains beleaguered by a few notable issues, Alien: Romulus manages to break free of its greatest weaknesses to deliver on the promises of horror and action with significant success.