Alien: Romulus' most egregious element prevents it from being the great movie it wants to be (Review)

Fede Álvarez at the helm of a new Alien movie has all the makings of an awesomely gross sci-fi horror film that you won't forget, and at the end of the day, that's what Alien: Romulus is. But there's one part about the movie that I simply can't get over, and it doesn't seem like I'm not the only one. The film, which marks the seventh installment in the movie franchise but takes place between Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986), hit theaters today, August 16.

Starring Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, and Isabela Merced, Romulus checks the boxes for me in terms of strong performances, practical effects, and the extraterrestrial carnage we've come to expect from this franchise. Álvarez, who I've been a fan of since his 2013 Evil Dead re-imagining, creates an atmospheric film that's meant for the big screen, with thrilling action from start to finish and, of course, lots of gore. So where does the movie go wrong? And is it still worth watching despite this? Let's discuss.

WARNING: Spoilers for Alien: Romulus are below.

Romulus follows a group of people living in a mining colony in space, desperately wanting to leave. There are zero days of sunlight on this planet, and protagonist Rain (Spaeny) is determined to relocate to a planet called Yvaga with her android Andy (Jonsson) who she's treated like a brother since she was a child. So when the opportunity arises to check out an abandoned spacecraft nearby that might have cryogenic chambers that will get them to another planet, she takes it, though not without apprehension.

Alien: Romulus has a lot going for it

Alongside Andy and her friends Tyler (Renaux), Kay (Merced), Bjorn (Spike Fearn), and Navarro (Aileen Wu), Rain embarks on a trip into the unknown, and, as expected, it turns out to be much more deadly than any of them could've imagined. The action begins pretty quickly in Romulus and doesn't stop until the credits roll. The movie does a great job introducing us to the characters enough so we feel attached, but not too much that there's excess exposition. For a horror movie, it's perfect.

The heart-pounding horror throughout Romulus is great; from the facehuggers appearing toward the beginning of the movie to the absolutely epic birthing scene at the end, the movie keeps you on the edge of your seat and is very intentional with each moment. The Xenomorphs look amazing, and there's even a reference to Prometheus and Alien: Covenant which really works — yep, it's an Engineer... or at least, some type of Xenomorph-Engineer hybrid. I'm kicking myself a little bit because I only rewatched the original Alien before Romulus when I should've done a marathon of the whole franchise.

As a big fan of the Alien movie series, Romulus works on so many levels. But what almost ruins it all is the fact that it brings back a character from the original movie who sticks out like a sore thumb and is honestly just an offensive choice. While in the spacecraft, Rain and crew discover the body of a synthetic human on the floor and want his help, deciding to boot him up and ask him questions. The android's name is Rook, but he looks just like Alien's Ash. It's Ian Holm's face and everything, though digitally recreated. Holm, who's also known for his role as Bilbo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, passed away in 2020. So why is this necessary?

Can we please stop digitally recreating actors who have passed away?

Digitally recreating or de-aging actors really never works; it just looks so bad. And when the actor you're recreating is dead, it's just in poor taste. I've seen people on X compare this poor choice to The Flash — which infamously brought back the late Christopher Reeves, among others, digitally — and while Romulus doesn't look that terrible, I understand the sentiment. This is a bad practice that shouldn't keep happening.

Álvarez's presumed intentions of wanting to add an Easter egg for Alien fans totally backfires here. It feels like clinging to IP instead of anything genuine, and it takes you out of the movie when you're watching it. The fact that the character is an android is the only thing that makes it look a little bit better; sure, a synthetic human can look robotic. But still, the whole thing on principle is shameful.

So, yeah, that's my big gripe with Romulus. I'm eager to see if Álvarez or his frequent collaborator Rodo Sayagues, who co-wrote the script, will say anything about this decision in interviews. But there's not much they could say that'll fix this mistake.

While watching Romulus in the theater on Thursday night, I felt very conflicted. By most counts, this is a solid movie that features some of the darkest and most gruesome moments in the whole Alien franchise. Spaeny, who I already loved from movies like Priscilla, is fantastic in the starring role, and Merced pleasantly surprised me with her strong performance. I'm excited to see her as Dina in the second season of The Last of Us. Jonsson, who is great in Industry, is also a standout, and the complexities of an android-human relationship play out very well. I'm happy with so much of it, but that glaring issue keeps staring me down.

So what's my verdict? If I were to compartmentalize and ignore the issue, I'd say Romulus is a great movie. But to give a fair review, I'll say there's one thing that keeps it from being great, but even then, it's still really good. We could've had it all, Alien fans, but I'm still overall pleased with what we got. And I'm still very excited to see what Álvarez tackles next.

Grade: B

Alien: Romulus is now playing exclusively in theaters.

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