Alien Franchise (Alien Romulus Streaming Now)

[Daku Rinku]

Is anyone a fan of the Alien films?

I have been since I was very young, Alien 1979 is a masterpiece of suspense and terror. Aliens is probably the best sequel ever made. Alien3 confronts you with hopelessness. Alien Resurrection is one zany thrill ride. Prometheus is a mind bender, Alien Covenant is bleak and restores the terror, and Alien Romulus is an Alien for a new generation.

Last night I streamed Alien Romulus and I must say its my favorite after The Original and Aliens. That suprised me, because I love Prometheus and it has been in my third tier.

I am going to make list of what I loved and what I disliked.

WARNING MAJOR SPOILERS FOR ALIEN ROMULUS!!!
DO NOT READ BEYOND THESE CAP SIZED WORDS UNLESS YOU WANT MAJOR PLOT POINTS SPOILED FROM THE MOVIE. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! SERIOUSLY DO NOT GO INTO SB AND COMPLAIN THAT DAKU RUINED ROMULUS FOR YOU WHEN I BOTHERED TO GIVE THIS DISCLAIMER IN ALL CAPS.

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What I liked:

• The Grand Scale, set designs, practical effects, story telling and lore. Most films today feel low budget, filmed on a back lot of Hollywood, Romulus is first film in some time I felt like was major motion picture.
• The tint, the Alien movies are known for their tint color, Alien had green, Aliens had blue, Alien 3 a yellow, Alien Ressurection was yellowish, Prometheus and Covenant used a white adn grey tint, and Romulus uses orange with some red. I love that is sets the aesthetic apart from the other movies, and yet does not feel out of place or jarring.
• Rain and Andy's relatioship. Having an Andriod and Human bonding like family members was a really neat place to go with Synthetic sub plot. In every Alien film there is a synthetic and their little arch, Ash is the antagonist, Bishop becomes the savior, Call wants to be human, David wants to be god and the devil, Walter wants to do his duty, and Andy wants to live and not be decommissioned and keep Rain safe.
• The Xenomorph, the truly did Make The Xenomorph Great Again. Basically there are two schools of how you depict the Alien in Alien movies, either its insectiod and acts much like a Spider and animal, or you go the parasitic demon from hell or the underworld route which was the 1979 approach thanks to H.R. Giger being on set. Romulus returns to that formula of making the Xenomorph a Parasitic Demon, a organic bio mechanical demon. I greatly appreciated this return to form, its why Aliens is not my favorite because of how they changed the Xenomorph and how you viewed it.
• That they bridged and connected both The Prequels and the rest of Alien Franchise. We not only get a return of terror of 1979, we get some closure for the tragedy of the Prometheus and what David was doing on the Engineer Planet. The Director could have just ignored those prequels, said they were not part of the canon or something, instead he included The Black Goo! And even called it "Prometheus Fire!" I really appreciated that because I love Alien and Promtheus, both the different sides of this franchise.
• The Zero G Acid Scene and the Pulse Rifle battle with Zero G Xenomorphs was breathtaking! It is what everyone is talking about when they say there is a scene that they do not know why it never was in any of the other Alien films.
• Seeing how workers, Miners and Farmers live daily in Weyland-Yutani Colonies was a treat, it helped expand that part of lore only touched briefly in Aliens Director's Cut and Covenant.
• I love one of the rings like you see in Alien 1979 opening is not only a set piece, its a hazard and actually serves a purpose to the plot! I love ring worlds!

What I did not like:

• The Return of Ian Holm, another synthetic that looks identical to Ash from the 1979 film not only appears, but does major exposition dump and becomes an antagonist. It took me out of the film, if they had just left it out, and had even different synth be the baddie it would have made Romulus feel so more grounded and as it own film, this felt like an Easter Egg breaking its shell all over the film and covering it in yoke.
• Andy saying the full line of Ripley from Aliens, "Get away from her you Witch! The W has a B instead." It would have been better if he had just said "Get away from her!" That line works because he cares for Rain, but adding Witch makes no sense because Ripley knew the Queen she was fighting is a female who lays eggs, Andy has no clue what the gender of Xenomorph he is shooting it, if anything he saw the facehuggers are the implanters, and they would be perceived as male and female cuz of how they ingest the host.
• The Engineermorph, I did not hate it, it is so much better than the New Born in Alien Ressurection, but why his mother injected the serum with the Black Goo in herself made no sense. She knew she was pregnant, why would you take a risk like that? It took the plausibility away from that action. It would have made more sense if Rook decieved her and said, "that syringe has stabilizer that will protect your baby and your vitals," and as she takes it, Rook smiles like Ash.
• While I know fights between monsters is the perview of Alien Vs Predator films not the mainline Alien films, it would have been neat if a Xenomorph from Remus faced off with The Engineermorph, fufilling the twins of Rome mythology, and one killing the other just like the myth.

In conclusion, I thought Romulus' positives outweighted the bad. I think it is a wonderful addition to the universe and that true to form with each Alien film, each movie feels distincitly unique in style, feel, and design. Yes they did have tech that was homages to Alien and Aliens, but still this did not feel like a cheap knock off for Millenials and Gen Zrs, it is a brilliant symphony to add to the collection of these terrifying stories. As I have said, the heart beat of this franchise is not monsters, it is mythology, mainly Sumerian and Greek Mythology, just as Star Wars is Arthurian, and Star Trek is Odessian/ Homeric. What makes Alien work is its ancient mythology set in the future which keeps it from being stale, you have it grounded in stories that have always captivated people's imagination but in setting that is before us, that we may live to see, space colonization. I wish to applaud Fred Alvarez, he is the best since James Cameron (who did help with the script) to take the helm of his franchise. I will as Palpatine said in The Phantom Menance, "look on your career with great interest."

 

[Mellow Ezlo]

The Alien films are absolute horror sci-fi classics, with Aliens being among my favourite films of all time. Ridley Scott and James Cameron both did amazing work, but unfortunately I don't think Alien 3 or Alien: Resurrection hold up particularly well.

I saw Prometheus in theatres, but I have never seen Alien: Covenant. I look forward to one day watching Alien: Romulus because I've heard great things. I didn't see it in theatres, I'll probably wait for the streaming release.

The xenomorphs are my favourite depiction of aliens in any universe and one of my all-time favourite movie creatures, so any opportunity I get to see them on screen is an absolute treat.

But umm, I think you posted this in the wrong section bud lmao

 

[Daku Rinku]

Alien Romulus is streaming on Amazon Prime and YouTube for 24.00 USD to rent UHD.

I posted this in mature discussion because Alien is franchise with intense graphic content and sexuality is major part of its designs for the creature and its parasitic nature.

 

[Daku Rinku]

Why I placed this in Mature Section:

I error on the side of caution for members who are under age, that this topic belongs in mature discussion because of its themes and content.

The content of these films checks every mature category. I would say it far exceeds other films in that it is not only extremely violent & gruesome, its full of profanity, and the monster’s life cycle is super sexual.

I do not feel you can discuss that content in Media without someone having sufficent warning its mature. And the topics it will bring up are ones in Mature Discussion like sexuality already.

 

[Daku Rinku]

One of the things that still stays with me is Andy, that when he is told he will be decommisioned he rwsponds with that swet face, “That’s ok, whatever is best for Rain is best for me.”
The sense that he is willing to be deleted to make her life easier is powerful, and while yes later he does have a new directive for a while, everything he does is still to protect her.
Its sad that Alien touches on deficiencies in us humans, that Call in Alien Ressurection is told by Ripley 8, “I shoukd have known (you were a robot) no human is that humane,” and then Andy and his willingness to sacrifice himself for Rain. That these Synthetic Persons act with more care for humanity than humans is interesting comment on us as a species.

I was think of Synthetic names in Aliwn Franchise

Andy is Andrew (the first apostle to believe in Jesus as Lord)
Ash which can be interpreted as Ash Wednesday or the prayer “ashes to ashes, dust to dust” which is quoted in Alien3 during incinerator funeral of Hicks and Newt.
Bishop which is an office of Church Leadership.
Call which can be seen as “many are called, few have chosen.” Call even crosses herself in the chapel before a crucifix and Ripley 8 says “you are programmed to do that?”
David which is King of Israel and in the blood line of Jesus.

The one that breaks the mold is Walter which comes from The German for power and ruler. Walter looks like David, same model. Though there is a French saint named St. Walter Pontoise who helped a prisoner escape from monastey prison, which you could interpret as David who was sorta a prisoner on The Engineer Planet who dressed like monks.