When news broke that they were making yet another Alien reboot (this latest installment counts as number 7, not including the additional Alien vs Predator films), one could sum up the reaction in one word: yawn. But in a world of repetitively uninspiring reboots, Alien: Romulus did the one thing no one else seems to be able to do: entertain.
Taking place between Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986), the film doesn’t attempt to break any new ground, but rather accepts its place in the archives of sci-fi lore. Leading star, Cailee Spaeny who plays Rain, doesn’t come close to the badass that was Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley, but luckily for her and the audience, she also isn’t trying to be. She’s much younger, far more inexperienced in the realm of military space combat, and truth be told, if she had to battle the Queen Alien in a Transformers suit, I wouldn’t put my money on her. But I think that was the point.
The biggest high five, however, goes to David Johnson, who plays Andy the android. His docile, permanently bemused expression and pragmatically robotic answers make for a very convincing AI, one that has been programmed with one objective: keep Rain safe. Shocker, that objective is easier said than done, and we’re given two hours of Rain and Andy running and shooting their way out of a face-hugger, Alien infested space maze. And yes, it’s super awesome.
Luckily for director Fede Alvarez, he was given the groundwork for featuring a ‘strong female lead’, a concept exhausted by pretty much every major blockbuster these days, one that fails 9 times out of 10. Why? Because telling the audience ‘this is a strong female lead’ is vastly different from showing the audience a strong female lead. Point being when Emily Blunt openly stated that whenever she reads a script and the first page says ‘strong female lead’ she rolls her eyes and tosses it aside. The first rule they teach in the creative arts is “show, don’t tell,” but, evidently, most modern day filmmakers were absent on the day of that lesson in school. Way before enforced diversity quotas, Ridley Scott created arguably the strongest female lead of all time in Ripley over 40 years ago, and Alvarez is lucky to have been given the reins. Much like Ripley, Spaeny’s Rain is sensitive, caring, and protective of those she loves, such as her Android ‘brother’, Andy, who the generic tough guys on the spaceship detest. In turn, this sensitivity is what protects Rain in the end, while her adrenalised, male counterparts fall victim to their own bravado. Take note, creators of She-Hulk. This is what we call authentic storytelling.
Fede Alvarez appears acutely aware that he is taking on a franchise with a diehard fanbase akin to that of Star Wars, but unlike those reboots and sequels, he actually gives the fans what they want, delivering one of the best sci-fi thrillers in recent memory. This is a movie that reminds us of the power of watching something on the big screen.
Watching this film at Roxy Cinemas: The Beach in their platinum lounge, this was my first theatre experience where food has been served during the film. Initially against such interruptions (I don’t even order popcorn at the movies, so a waiter scrambling around in the dark mid-movie to give me a burger felt shambolic), I have to admit, much like my reaction to Alien: Romulus, I was pleasantly disproven. The food was terrific, and the theatre staff were as inconspicuously quiet as the soundless vacuum of space.
