Fede Álvarez’s Alien: Romulus aims to return the iconic sci-fi franchise to its gritty roots, diverging from the grandiose narratives of Ridley Scott’s recent installments, Prometheus (2012) and Alien: Covenant (2017).
While this effort does capture some of the downbeat conspiracy paranoia and anti-corporate satire that made the original Alien (1979) unforgettable, it ultimately falls short due to a lack of originality and a sense of déjà vu.
Set somewhere between the first two Alien films, Romulus introduces us to Rain (played by Cailee Spaeny), a young worker on a desolate mining planet. She, along with a group of fellow rebels, discovers a derelict space station orbiting above, which they hope to use for escape.
The setup echoes classic Alien themes—corporate exploitation, survival against the odds, and the ever-looming threat of the titular xenomorphs. However, despite its competent execution, the film struggles to bring anything truly new to the table.
One of the film’s most surprising elements is the return of a major character from the original Alien, brought back through CGI. While this nod to the past might please die-hard fans, it also highlights the film’s reliance on nostalgia rather than innovation.
The narrative also borrows heavily from other recent sci-fi hits, such as A Quiet Place, which further diminishes its impact.
The plot unfolds predictably, with Rain and her synthetic companion Andy (David Jonsson) discovering the horrors aboard the derelict spacecraft. The film hits all the familiar beats—facehuggers, chestbursters, and sinister corporate agendas—but without the freshness or tension that made these elements so iconic in the first place.
Even the film’s twist, revealing a new purpose for the aliens, feels anticlimactic.
Watch Alien: Romulus (2024) Final Trailer
In the end, Alien: Romulus is a technically competent film that will likely satisfy those looking for a nostalgic trip back to the Alien universe. However, it leaves a lingering question: Did we really need another Alien film that merely treads old ground?
With so much potential for innovation in the sci-fi genre, it’s hard not to feel that everyone involved would have been better off working on something entirely new.
