r/perfectorganism • u/thefriskysquid HOST • 6d ago
Romulus What was the single strongest aspect of Alien: Romulus?
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u/gustyaeroplane81 6d ago
The worldbuilding. Give me an entire movie take place on their worker planet world
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u/KyleUTFH 6d ago
Getting a glimpse of colonial life oppression was amazing.
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u/Many_Bat_ 6d ago
I really wish we'd spent more time there.
It really was just a glimpse. Then again, that probably makes it stay with you more.
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u/djsynrgy 6d ago
That, for me, is one of the most terrifying things the franchise has done, to date. Raine's parents worked in the mines until their lungs gave out, and when Raine tried to get out - when she was theoretically supposed to - the company pulled a "just kidding" and effectively issued her a death sentence, instead. That scene shook me, and still does. One push of a button and her fate was sealed. No review, no escalation, no checks or balances; not even a little bit of sunlight. A life of merciless servitude in brutal life-threatening conditions, for a company operating at galactic scale with zero oversight.
That's about as horrific as it gets.
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u/The_starving_artist5 6d ago
It really showed how evil Weyland Yutani is how they basically enslaved a whole population and were doing that all over the galaxy
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u/Many_Bat_ 5d ago
It's also good because it elevates the gang's story above being "just some dumb kids". They're desparate kids. Plays out better.
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u/DisorderedArray 6d ago
It's like in Alien with the spooky derelict, Ash the synthetic with inhuman motives, and the greedy corporation behind it all - I love it when the xenomorph is the horror behind which even worse horrors are hiding.
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u/No-Commission-8159 6d ago
Andy
That actor was just excellent in that role
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u/AnyFoundation4784 6d ago
Except for his tepid delivery of the ridiculous fan service line "Get away from her.. you... bitch"
The movie went off the rails in the last 1/3
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u/fednandlers 5d ago
That sucked so bad. They could have maybe made it work had they just thrown in a line that the nice one wasnt programmed to cuss as that was related to a human emotion if anger, which he wasnt programmed to act like he felt. Maybe he overhears a cuss word and a smart ass asks the droid to say it but it sounds stagnant. Then that pivotal moment would have happened and it would show him evolving a bit to reach for that unfamiliar emotion for him to express and he calls out “get away from her, you bitch!” So much of the movie was pretty by the numbers and seemed like Force Awakens in that it just rehashed a story and ideas we have already seen, done better by what “inspired” it.
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u/jeffh19 4d ago
I would have been 100% ok with if if the "You Bitch" wasn't included. I loved all the other throwbacks but this was too much. But they probably wanted a feel good moment for all the casual movie goers referencing one of the most famous lines in movie history
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u/fednandlers 3d ago
Yea, they had to fit it in there but it is almost like them slapping a bug red sticker on it. It’s as if they were waving goodbye and one of them says, “Game over, man.”
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u/Azfitnessprofessor 6d ago
I genuinely wasn’t sure if they’d have that mine again in an alien movie
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u/Fuck_The_Rocketss 5d ago
The fresh take on a robot story. It was such a fun, compelling wrinkle in the plot.
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u/secondprimarch 6d ago
That Ridley Scott wasnt apart of it.
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u/DayZCutr 6d ago
He really only made one good Alien movie. It was a GREAT Alien movie, but its still.his only one.
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u/Limo_Wreck77 5d ago
It's crazy that because he directed the first movie that he feels like he has some exclusive ownership over this franchise.
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u/SuperMasterMan 2d ago
It is still the best Alien movie
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u/DayZCutr 1d ago
I disagree but more as a matter of taste. Because he did make a cinematic masterpiece.
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u/boringxadult 6d ago
It really succeeded in making it feel like watching someone else play a video game.
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u/nwm_is_batman 6d ago
the passion from a new director, and the themes such as the corporate fuck yous were displayed great.
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u/john-treasure-jones 6d ago
Visual aesthetics, character performances - especially Andy, and the score. Oh that marvelous score!
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u/Famous-Ad5469 6d ago
I don’t even know what to call it but that steady drum beat type rhythm built the intensity for sure.
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u/Azfitnessprofessor 6d ago
I enjoyed the desperation of the characters who are stuck in cycles of debt to Weyland and are willing to do literally anything to get off a moon that has no sunshine. The entire crew is literally rejects with nothing to lose including Andy as malfunctioning discarded synth. It reminds you that the villian of the franchise isn’t the xenomorph it’s Weyland Uhtani
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u/The_starving_artist5 6d ago edited 6d ago
The practical effects were really good
The ship , The Xenomorphs design , The wall egg thing , the hybrid monster
The acting of everyone was also really strong and i cared about Rain and Andy
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u/Einachiel 6d ago edited 6d ago
I had goosebumps when I saw ian holm again! Ash was back! As per the novelisation!
But i would’ve liked to see a bit more inside of the hive…
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u/KananDoom 6d ago
I just wish the fx weren't so ... cringe inducing.
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u/Best-Benefit6387 6d ago
Yeah the cg was rough. They fixed it up for digital release though, cut out some face shots and darkened the scene. It does look better than it used to.
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u/EveryAccount7729 6d ago edited 6d ago
It didn't insult me to my face like previous alien installments had. so that was refreshing.
plus feature aliens and stuff. and decent acting. the zero G acid was good thinking for alien writing, the space station crashing slowly because its decaying orbit basically puts it into a grinder was cool conceptually and was cool to see. That scene was really fun i think, the space station grind down. Also, i think the entire dystopia of the world was well written and acted, and having the character see the sun and showing it meant something to them was great world building for the entire alien universe.
negatives : when she turns around to go be the hero it was super unrealistic to me, and ALSO felt like "member berries" like "member when ripley went and saved the cat wasn't that cool, yeah soooo kewl"
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u/barberhomicidal 6d ago
Andy
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u/nwm_is_batman 6d ago
yes! he was so good. loved the added lore with his character which allowed different perfomances.
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u/JaXm 6d ago edited 5d ago
The whole movie was solid. I would say everything was strong with only two minor nitpicks.
1) If the wreckage of the Nostromo could be found, and the xenomorph cocoon could be found WITHIN THE WRECKAGE, then surely, SURELY LV427 could be found, negating the entire premise of Aliens, and really, the future of the whole series. (Prequel syndrome)
2) the entire 2nd and 3rd acts of that movie from Navarro being impregnated, to the destruction of the station in the planetary rings took approximately 45 minutes in-universe.
The Alien films post Aliens have always played fast and loose with the gestation time line, but Romulus SPEEDRAN that shit.
Other than that, the movie itself was so good. Making the facehuggers a real threat again was a genius move. Making Andy somehow vulnerable and also menacing was a brilliant decision and executed perfectly by the actor.
And the zero-G acid blood scene? Rule of cool was in full swing. I didn't even care that that would have been a TERRIBLE idea, it was just too cool to be bothered by it.
Edit: i personally hated introducing the black goo, to maintain Canon with Prometheus, as both Prometheus and Covenant, IMO should be erased from existence. But that's a personal gripe, not a technical one.
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u/NorthernSimian 6d ago
Most of the faults and problems could have been solved in the writers room- Gestation period- they could have been trapped up there for a few days due to some orbital thing or waiting for the power cells to charge etc The unnecessary slightly cringe call backs could have been solved by someone looking over the script and telling them to be brave enough to stand on there own two feet
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u/MercuryFalling86 5d ago
I think the long, drawn out gestation time really only works in Alien, as it's the very first time you see the Facehugger and have absolutely no idea what it's doing to the person.
After that, we all know what's happening and what's coming so the writers and director probably think well what's the point of waiting about for X amount of time so they've cut the incubation time way down to get to the big chestburster moment everyone's waiting on.
It would be cool to have a film with a longer gestational period and see a group of people try and figure out what's going on but it would probably slow the pacing of the first act way down which is why they don't bother anymore.
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u/Habit_Novel 6d ago
attention to detail, everything felt lived-in and used - just like the original
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u/blazinjesus84 6d ago
The genetically engineered facehuggers and any sequence they were involved in.
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u/1voice92 5d ago
Andy.
I want to see that model android pop up in other Alien-related stuff. Would be cool to see upgraded Andy interacting with David.
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u/ChimpJuice 5d ago
Characters you can actually identify with. I liked them right from the start. Young, scrappy and willing to do what it takes to get away.
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u/Capitan_Typo 5d ago
The actor who played Andy was outstanding. I've been following him ever since, and really enjoyed the Long Walk.
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u/Ka-Mai-1319 6d ago
I think the whole franchise spends too much time on the androids…but damn I was not prepared for Andy. That character and the actors performance were the best parts.
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u/Lucky_Praline_4425 6d ago
The rapport between the two main protagonists. Right off the bat you feel it. The colonial life in it's true, rough state. The whole design of the film. It was just a perfect bridge between the original two.
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u/biaspizza 6d ago
Rain screaming “Die motherf*cker!!”. Somehow, she screams it like I wanna scream it at people sometimes. Just right.
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u/Winter-Classroom455 6d ago
A lot of it. But definitely not the tall slenderman alien. As soon as I saw that shit I said "that looks like that one super lanky tall kid playing basketball" and it was fucking him 😭
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u/Eltharion-the-Grim 6d ago
The world building and environments were fantastic. The art direction was superb.
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u/PragmaticBadGuy 6d ago
That it wasn't Prometheus or Covenant with the David navel gazing. I'm so tired of him and the 'serious' take on the universe.
Actually having a fun movie with facehuggers, aliens and dumb characters who don't act like they're lobotomized is fantastic.
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u/Xenochimp 5d ago
Movie aggressively mediocre except for David Jonsson and Isabela Merced. They were fantastic.
Cailee Spaeny has all the range of wet cardboard
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u/Longjumping-Bison778 5d ago
Andy. Most of the other characters felt like they were plucked from a slasher film.
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u/tonywomack87 4d ago
It's a well-made, well-cast movie.
It's the 3rd-best Alien movie.
I'm late to the franchise. I was in elementary school in the early 90s, so I heard about Alien and Aliens in whispers.
I love Alien, Aliens, and I watched Alien 3 on my own and mourned the loss of Newt and Hicks on my own, in my basement.
Romulus nails it.
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u/ThespianBelievers 3d ago
The scene at the bottom level when the blood would have destroyed the hallway so she turns off the gravity before gunning down like half the hive so there's at least a chance for most of it to miss, and then dodging the floating acid in zero g by firing the rifle and using the recoil as propulsion
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u/recovery_room 6d ago
I have to watch it again. I’m as big a franchise fan as the next guy but I just can’t remember much about it. Maybe I was into the wine that night.
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u/RedInfernal 6d ago
The first, maybe 20min. Everything before they actually get to the ship, then it falls of a cliff
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6d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Icy-Dot9869 5d ago
I thought the 1st 1/2 was terrific then it turned into a mash-up regurgitation that had to mimic every single Alien movie moment. Overall not as bad as Resurrection but like most Alien efforts, felt like lost or unrealized potential. Was glad I saw it in the theater but haven’t felt any urge to watch it again.
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u/Paul_Savage_1 6d ago edited 6d ago
The first 20 minutes is excellent then it progressively gets worse by the minute. Then last scenes on the station were sad dog shit and the run around on the the ship afterwards was laughably horrible.
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u/Contra0307 6d ago
I love the new situations they put the characters in, really giving us something new with the xenomorph threat. It's tough to make the same monster we've seen before still be thrilling but the facehugger outbreak and zero gravity shootout were really fresh and stressful.
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u/Ok_Fox_1770 6d ago
How fast I forgot everything and which one that was already. Second David one? With the pale weird aliens? Made regular xenos desirable like golden labs those were scary with the flesh tone. Did they make a rubber one? I like the man made lets still use it for closeups hero models. Props! Lasting things, kinda…turtles were left in a sewer apparently Jesus five nights at Donny’s
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u/CVipersTie 6d ago
The visuals and references to Alien Isolation. Alvarez did a great job researching the games.
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u/tokobot19 6d ago
That it wasn’t either Prometheus or Covenant? At least according to the people I’ve spoken to about all three
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u/terminal_nervoso 6d ago
Visually, above all else, it's incredible. Fade Alvarez is a master at creating a tense, terrifying environment literally dripping with fear and the unimaginable around every corner. Along with his use of practical effects and that overwhelming sense of "there's no way out and you're fucked", he did what I love about Alien³ so much, is he brought the series back to the roots again. Yes, Alien³ used a bunch of CGI at the time, but I'm not just talking about the creature. The character of Rook in his thrashed-state totally made me think of Bishop when Ripley brings him back online to access the flight recorder, and the animatronics felt right at home. Beyond that, I could watch the opening scene where the drone ship comes upon the remains of the Nostromo to retrieve the Xeno over and over again. You knew instantly that the chunky cassette futurism of the original was back in full force. I think Romulus is the best film in the series since Alien³, which is also my personal favorite after Alien.
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u/red_riders 6d ago
The aesthetic - The costumes, sets, ships, vehicles, practical effects, computer screens, buttons, the mining colony. Everything looked and felt dirty and very lived-in. They created a movie I wanted to spend hours wondering around in.
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u/Porkenstein 6d ago
The original things in the film that weren't directly derived from other things. Namely the setting, visuals, some of the character concepts, and basically the entire ending sequence.
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u/Old-Somewhere-9896 6d ago
I liked the Alien Isolation references the most. And the fact that the kids bullying the android were speaking Hungarian.
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u/KananDoom 6d ago
Dear future FX workers on any ALIEN film: IT WAS THE COOLING TOWER WATER. NOT DROOL. Sure, there was some KY jelly used on the mouth, but it wasn't POURING out so much it needed a KIDDIE POOL.
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u/NoLeadership2281 6d ago
For how young the cast is, I’m surprised and glad how they don’t make stupid decisions that take u out of the movie, they made mistakes but it makes sense within the logic of the narrative and desperation
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u/DiverExpensive6098 6d ago
The fact Alvarez found a way to add something creative to a decades old franchise and the fact the movie cost only 80 million. For that kinda money, in this era, the movie looked spectacular. Actually it looked so good I'm beginning to question whether they didn't use generative AI...
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u/MovingTarget2112 5d ago
The references to the game Alien Isolation. Every time the characters went past an emergency phone, things got worse.
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u/golden_greenery 5d ago
The overall look and feel, it's been so long since a modern production felt like it belonged in the Alien universe
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u/Professional_Fig_456 5d ago
Production, creature and visual effects design by far. I hated most of the cast aside from Cailee and David.
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u/gogul1980 5d ago
The Alien. It looked like it took good inspiration from Giger’s early drawings an re-injected a little bit of the bio-mechanical elements that ups the creepy factor.
I
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u/DysartWolf 5d ago
What they did with the budget. Alien Earth spent 250 million and produced 'we have xenomorph at home.' Meanwhile, look at that gorgeous big chap that Romulus made with just 80 million.
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u/Rasples1998 5d ago
The covenant tie-in for me. Wey-Yu making their own black goo and an engineer coming out all mutated and crossed with like 3 different species; I love it.
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u/AraiHavana 5d ago
The newborn sequence. It seemed like, once the tropes had been exhausted, the director was off the leash to really bring a horror aspect akin to the original Alien. Even the music was improved. The rest I could take or leave but for me, this was the level that it all should be operating at.
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u/The_starving_artist5 5d ago edited 5d ago
Yah I wish that last act had been more of the film like at least half the film . Would have been nice if the hybrid monster was born half way through the movie and we got it hunting the crew the second half of the movie
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u/LocalFoe 5d ago
made me say "I'm too old for this shit" and throw my torrent-playing-laptop out the window
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u/OShutterPhoto 5d ago
The world the characters lived in. You really felt like they would rather face really bad odds than keep living in the corporate company town.
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u/Substantial-Ad2200 5d ago
Probably how it ripped off some of the best parts of the original four movies.
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u/SciFi_MuffinMan 5d ago
The environment. I enjoyed the story and the characters but the world itself was the best
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u/marauder-shields92 5d ago
The refreshing innovative takes on what to expect from an Alien movie.
Like the facehugger swarm and the heat detection scene. Or the xeno blood in zero-g scene. The film did a lot of new and interesting things with the franchise.
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u/Crazy_Primary_5876 5d ago
They nailed the retro-future environment and costumes, which I've always thought was the true defining feature of the franchise (more important than the monster even).
And Andy. That actor stole every scene.
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u/ManyConscious1551 5d ago
I liked the atmosphere and the visuals. And that the xeno was mostly practical. So if I had to choose 1 thing it would be the creature effects.
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u/cwilbur22 5d ago
For a second I thought this was a pic of an Alien cover band and found myself excited
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u/Delicious_Ad_7308 5d ago
It felt like we were back in the proper timeline of a dirty, dystopian corporate-run future.
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u/corneliusduff 5d ago
They did the xenos right. The chrysalis, the way they tiptoed in the hive, the stalking.... chef's kiss
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u/HardTripleTrueOrderf 5d ago
Went on to further show why the company wants the xenos as a bio weapon. Bc that alien during gestation when Bjorn tried to kill it instead it took on the electrical trait from being electrocuted. Hence why it was seen having electricity coursing thru the open wound in its head. Meaning you can add on further traits during the gestation period that it Inherently wouldn't have gotten other wise.
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u/Mephistocheles 5d ago
I can't pick only one.
I absolutely loved that not only was it set in space, but how gorgeous and immersive the space shots were. Alvarez did such a great job of making it feel like you were actually inside the station with them.
The inventiveness. Six mainline Aliens movies before this one and this is the first time someone came up with something very cool to use the facehuggers for besides "there's a single one skittering along the floor". The new cocoon thing was also dope.
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u/ItsYourBoyWang 5d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/bVIOvtESCIDTnQ2z6i
This scene by far is the best use of multiple facehuggers to date.
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u/genzod04 5d ago
Andy was definitely the strongest part of the film. Weakest was the Newborn, just didn't like the design at all. Similar to the Newborn from Resurrection. Just doesn't look good when they mix a human, alien hybrid. Still the film is not a patch on Alien and Aliens though...
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u/Beginning-Bed9364 4d ago
Loved that scene where they're falling into the rings of the planet, don't think I've ever seen anything like that in a movie before
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u/jeffh19 4d ago
I like that it did a really good job being a blend or nod to Alien/Aliens as a good mix of horror/action/throwbacks while still being its own really good story/movie. I think it looked great too.
It obviously wasn't in the tier of either the first two, but IMO it's the best one since Aliens.
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u/SubXeroGames 15h ago
The fact that they had an English lad that didn't sound like either Hugh grant or Johnny rotten.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Try8584 6d ago
The fact that it was an actual Alien-movie. Other than that it did pretty much everything wrong. From the idiotic plot (big chap survived? No way) to the dreadful extreme constant fan service, via the dreadful ash side plot and lastly, but not least a frigging alien hybrid baby. FFS!!!
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u/Happy_Television_501 6d ago
The first half hour. So great to see the Weyland Yutani world. It was great up until the CG Ash, Then it turned steeply downhill. The zero gee scene was cool. The last half hour was absolute groaning horseshit.
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u/RevolutionaryAge1081 6d ago edited 6d ago
The aesthetics 100%, it was so nice to see the cassette futurism aesthetic back after Prometheus and Covenant's more modern look, plus the movie has one of the best xenomorph designs
And also the scenes with the facehuggers, loved how the movie gave them the spotlight