This is going to be more of a rant, so bear with me. Spoilers ahead for Alien: Romulus and other flicks…maybe.
Above is how I feel when franchises force nostalgia and previous film nods on me. On release day I saw the new Alien flick, Alien: Romulus. Excitement was high. The trailer was great, the premise (a heist in space gone wrong) was solid, fresh new actors, practical effects promised, and a director known for some brutal horror. What could possibly go wrong? I’ll tell you what did and seems to be a problem with every franchise nostalgia sequel / prequel reboot whatever Hollywood does to make cash on an existing IP. It’s the over reliance on wink-wink nod-nod fan service for the audience signaling the connection to previous films in the franchise. Hollywood here’s a tip, stop doing this. Just stop. You don’t need to do this. In this case, the fact that you’re making a new Alien film that looks already better than anything put out since Aliens is enough to win me over. If I want to hear particular lines of dialogue said from Aliens, I’ll go watch that movie. If I want to see the same shots from Alien recreated, I’ll go watch that movie. Now, no clue if there was studio pressure to include this stuff to not piss of existing fans which I’m sure there was, but for Christ’s sake stop playing it so safe, take a risk and by risk I mean don’t re-shoot the same film with different actors.
(Side-rant: I’m an existing fan, and Hollywood you’re pissing me off by not making something original. Not taking a risk. People who enjoy fan service to this extent are trapped in a phantom zone lacking any creative progress because they want their time capsule lives to never change, it limits art.)
Now, I want to highlight the positives about Alien: Romulus because there are many. It was shot beautifully. The world building is great, the dirtiness of a Weyland-Yutani mining outpost is visceral. The new actors were great, the setup of a heist and young characters looking for hope in a dreaded corporate run society is a theme for the ages (sadly), the vibe connecting tissue between Alien and Aliens I enjoyed. The first half was Alien the second half Aliens, I’m ok with that. Even some great sci-fi moments I don’t want to detail or spoil too much. Overall that’s a lot of positives. Which makes me so upset. I’m fine with the few background easter eggs, those are fun (subtle nods to Alien and even the video game Alien Isolation). But what takes me out of it are the zoom on the characters face as they deliver a line from a previous film. The audience I saw the film with, laughed at the first big one. THAT is the wink-wink nod-nod crap that completely ruins a mood of a film. People new to the franchise won’t get it and will think, why did the character just say that, it doesn’t fit and or feels cheesy (because it is). Others who know will just laugh, look at their friend who also knows the line and they’ll go remember that line from Aliens, yuk yuk. Cut it. Don’t need it.
What I also don’t need (WARNING: ENTERING SPOILER TOWN) is bringing back a comically bad CG / AI character played by a dead actor. What the actual f**k were they thinking? Who was like, you know what this needs now? CG of a dead actor that people who saw Alien will remember and go why is this CG so bad and new viewers will think…why is this CG / AI face so bad? Now, I get sure, he was a synthetic and a particular model at the time yada yada but come on. Take a risk, be creative, find a better way to deploy boat loads of exposition which also included easter eggs to other films (these weren’t bad as they’re part of the cannon of xenomorph existence) with maybe, a new actor. Wild I know. But it was a moment that completely distracted and took me out of the film. And with most films, third acts are tough. How do you end a film sandwiched between two great films that came out so long ago? You’re pinned in canon, you gotta put the square in the square hole, right? Now we all know from Alien and Aliens the way to kill an Alien is via air-lock, obviously. Soooo let’s just do that again. Sure, I guess. You’re giving me spaghetti-O’s but telling me it’s a fine Italian pasta dish. If I want to see the same ending as Alien…I’ll go watch that movie. But Hollywood is obsessed with the phrase “same but different” problem is, this was just same. Alien and Aliens is a good example of doing same but different, while introducing something new to the franchise. I don’t want to get into the final climactic scene and monster choice, I’m still on the fence about it but leaning towards wtf. But I also understand having to create a new monster in the Alien universe is a daunting task because xenomorphs are literally the perfect sci-fi horror species. They actually say this in every movie, we know this. Soooo you can’t technically create something more terrifying. And it’s even harder when you don’t have someone like H.R. Giger helping you out. Just ain’t the same.
What’s frustrating is other franchise nostalgia flicks have come out and done it well. Top Gun: Maverick (even if it’s just the Star Wars trench run with fighter jets) and Bladerunner 2049 both brought something new to the franchise, while also giving nods to the originals. How? And this is the basis for all writing: make sure all the nods, characters, dialogue and so on, are in service of the story and character arcs. Having a character say a line from a previous film, mostly isn’t necessary, but if you do, make sure the line makes sense for THAT character to say. It made sense for the original character to say in that moment, reusing feels like parody. Or take a risk on moving the plot along and not reusing what’s already been done perfectly as a crutch for plot movement and exposition. How do we do this the same but different? So many ways and they don’t have to feel like fan service.
I will say Alien: Romulus is a good Alien movie. If you like eating cereal for every meal, every day, then you’ll love it. And it’s the third best in the franchise, certainly, but that benchmark is low as it passes Prometheus. But you cut all the fan-service, useless nods, and take a chance on an original ending, you make a great Alien movie.