*BEWARE SPOILERS* Alien: Romulus

[Khev]

A buddy back in the day whose favorite film was the original ALIEN once ranted about how Ripley surviving against the original Xenomorph was the fluke of flukes and that Cameron reducing them to cannon fodder for gun-toting marines was disgraceful.

With that in mind I'd have to say that Romulus actually makes for a better sequel than ALIENS--lore-wise. Obviously for filmmaking craft ALIENS unquestionably reigns supreme.

I love that in Romulus Rain doesn't kill a single xeno without AI assistance. Anyone who tries to go mano a mano, even when well-armed, dies. The xenos are back to being forces of nature that can only be overcome if the physical laws of the universe (Zero G, a planetary ring) and the trillions of calculations per second of a computer (Andy/auto-targeting pulse rifles) are used against them.

I also like that the film showcases characters that are constantly requiring the aid of, yet are just as constantly in danger of, AI. Andy's allegiance hauntingly changes from scene to scene based on whether his programming aligns with the well-being of the human characters. Stuff like that is fun to chew on as it echoes our real world society's realization that the only way for AI to benefit mankind is if it *thinks* that benefiting mankind aligns with its prime directive. Rain needed Andy to survive, but she also had to constantly strive to stay one step ahead of his interpretations of Company mandates.

Similarly Rook was playing the exact same game, trying to trick the humans into thinking that Company mandates aligned with their well-being ("press the button to activate Remote so I can save you...") Great stuff.

 

[jye4ever]

A buddy back in the day whose favorite film was the original ALIEN once ranted about how Ripley surviving against the original Xenomorph was the fluke of flukes and that Cameron reducing them to cannon fodder for gun-toting marines was disgraceful.

With that in mind I'd have to say that Romulus actually makes for a better sequel than ALIENS--lore-wise. Obviously for filmmaking craft ALIENS unquestionably reigns supreme.

I love that in Romulus Rain doesn't kill a single xeno without AI assistance. Anyone who tries to go mano a mano, even when well-armed, dies. The xenos are back to being forces of nature that can only be overcome if the physical laws of the universe (Zero G, a planetary ring) and the trillions of calculations per second of a computer (Andy/auto-targeting pulse rifles) are used against them.

I also like that the film showcases characters that are constantly requiring the aid of, yet are just as constantly in danger of, AI. Andy's allegiance hauntingly changes from scene to scene based on whether his programming aligns with the well-being of the human characters. Stuff like that is fun to chew on as it echoes our real world society's realization that the only way for AI to benefit mankind is if it *thinks* that benefiting mankind aligns with its prime directive. Rain needed Andy to survive, but she also had to constantly strive to stay one step ahead of his interpretations of Company mandates.

Similarly Rook was playing the exact same game, trying to trick the humans into thinking that Company mandates aligned with their well-being ("press the button to activate Remote so I can save you...") Great stuff.

Khev don’t mess around lol

 

[wormlander]

You know theatrically they are actually considering getting rid of the projectors and just running giant future OLEDs in the movie theaters or OLED hybrids.

It would definitely be the best damn picture quality in cinema history.

Imax shaped OLED

This is the only way to go for theaters if they want to stay relevant. After spending a number of years watching smartphone screens I've found that the faded cinema projections have become seriously inadequate...

 

[ironwez20]

People call Nolan a "genius" film maker, but it's VERY obvious he has a huge problem making his films heard....

Either he is a super being with above average hearing.....

Or everyone else is deaf.

eh he's ok. I Love Tdk and it's my favorite Batman movie of all time but when he did the dark knight it was clear that he was only decent. That movie was absolutly terrible imo. I ignore it all together. I understand he wanted his batman to be "realistic" but that movie was to "realistic".

 

[Rotfish]

A buddy back in the day whose favorite film was the original ALIEN once ranted about how Ripley surviving against the original Xenomorph was the fluke of flukes and that Cameron reducing them to cannon fodder for gun-toting marines was disgraceful.

With that in mind I'd have to say that Romulus actually makes for a better sequel than ALIENS--lore-wise. Obviously for filmmaking craft ALIENS unquestionably reigns supreme.

I love that in Romulus Rain doesn't kill a single xeno without AI assistance. Anyone who tries to go mano a mano, even when well-armed, dies. The xenos are back to being forces of nature that can only be overcome if the physical laws of the universe (Zero G, a planetary ring) and the trillions of calculations per second of a computer (Andy/auto-targeting pulse rifles) are used against them.

I also like that the film showcases characters that are constantly requiring the aid of, yet are just as constantly in danger of, AI. Andy's allegiance hauntingly changes from scene to scene based on whether his programming aligns with the well-being of the human characters. Stuff like that is fun to chew on as it echoes our real world society's realization that the only way for AI to benefit mankind is if it *thinks* that benefiting mankind aligns with its prime directive. Rain needed Andy to survive, but she also had to constantly strive to stay one step ahead of his interpretations of Company mandates.

Similarly Rook was playing the exact same game, trying to trick the humans into thinking that Company mandates aligned with their well-being ("press the button to activate Remote so I can save you...") Great stuff.

All great points. I also appreciate that the Alien was made more invincible and that the AI was an obstacle rather than the core of the story. And I don't think the bizzare human/engineer/hybrid creature would've been as offensive if Romulus was the first sequel to Alien we got. The only thing that hurts it is the relationship we now have to things like that due to Resurrection and Prometheus/Covenant (because of the plot beats that introduced them in those movies).

 

[Khev]

https://x.com/tradingMaxiSL/status/1825376323482644735

 

[chrisstbh]

Just got back. Really enjoyed it.

Visuals were stunning, music and sound was great, performances were really good - especially the guy that plays Andy.

I just wish there were a few more crew members, even just red shirts that died horrifically.

Only egregious callback was the “Get away from here, you *****”. They could have just left it as “Get away from her”. But still a badass moment riding the Xenomorph down an elevator shaft.

8.5/10 for me.

 

[a-dev]

A buddy back in the day whose favorite film was the original ALIEN once ranted about how Ripley surviving against the original Xenomorph was the fluke of flukes and that Cameron reducing them to cannon fodder for gun-toting marines was disgraceful.

I know it's not you making this case against Aliens about the creature being reduced to cannon fodder (I read and gave a like to your previous post on the matter) but I'll say anyway that I'm so bored of constantly seeing that attack against such a great film. Without fail, in any given Alien thread, people dump on Aliens for 'the bug thing' - and like as though it's the first time it's ever been said. Aliens is criticized more than Alien Resurrection, which is utterly ridiculous to me.

As long as a sequel engages me, and I can believe I'm watching the same world as the original movie with

- the same general aesthetic
- believable, well written human characters with believable dialogue
- believable action that doesn't go stupidly OTT as often is the case in sequels due to the 'escalation' requirement
- no complete 180 on tone, i.e what was intelligent horror shouldn't suddenly be comedy now etc
- no outright contradictions of previously established characters and lore

Then I'm good with it.

Nothing in the original film said that the creature was not killable (well....other than what Ash said ). There's even Parker's line that, due to the acid blood, you ''don't dare kill it'' and that was because they had just established that a few spurts of Facehugger blood ate through several decks of the spaceship, in space, that they were on. They would have tried shooting the Alien if they thought they could. They did have some sort of gun (assuming my NECA spacesuit figures are accurate!) that was simply never fired in the movie due to these circumstances. And it was just a handgun. The marines in Aliens naturally had much more substantial firepower.

Aliens set up a scenario where big machine guns with armor-piercing rounds retained plausible lethality against biological organisms and yet the human characters still got almost completely massacred by these so-called bugs.

Another frequent attack on Aliens is the loss of the seeming 'sinister intelligence' of the creature. I would argue that the Queen herself took on this role in Cameron's film. And she was magnificent in design and execution, I would simply never be without her in film history.

Even the life-cycle need not be seen as contradicting the Director's Cut of the '79 movie. Perhaps an 'Alien' thing about these creatures is that they have multiple ways of reproducing with the Queen/Hive concept simply being the default once it really gets a foothold somewhere. However a single creature is able to produce eggs too when it knows it is alone. Perhaps the 'Big Chap' (stupid name but...) was even trying to produce a Queen on the Nostromo. Yes, not according to Ridley Scott at the time but in light of an excellent sequel that I'm not willing to discard from canon I can easily make this suggestion for myself.

 

[Khev]

And she was magnificent in design and execution, I would simply never be without her in film history.

Wait are you saying that your parents thought the Queen was so magnificently realized that they were inspired to go home and conceive you??

 

[a-dev]

Wait are you saying that your parents thought the Queen was so magnificently realized that they were inspired to go home and conceive you??

''This is heavy, Doc''

Not how I intended that sentence to be interpreted, even took me a while to read it the way you did. Amazing, all it takes is a different spoken emphasis on the word 'be' to have a wildly different meaning from what I was going for

 

[Khev]

I know it's not you making this case against Aliens about the creature being reduced to cannon fodder (I read and gave a like to your previous post on the matter) but I'll say anyway that I'm so bored of constantly seeing that attack against such a great film. Without fail, in any given Alien thread, people dump on Aliens for 'the bug thing' - and like as though it's the first time it's ever been said. Aliens is criticized more than Alien Resurrection, which is utterly ridiculous to me.

As long as a sequel engages me, and I can believe I'm watching the same world as the original movie with

- the same general aesthetic
- believable, well written human characters with believable dialogue
- believable action that doesn't go stupidly OTT as often is the case in sequels due to the 'escalation' requirement
- no complete 180 on tone, i.e what was intelligent horror shouldn't suddenly be comedy now etc
- no outright contradictions of previously established characters and lore

Then I'm good with it.

Nothing in the original film said that the creature was not killable (well....other than what Ash said ). There's even Parker's line that, due to the acid blood, you ''don't dare kill it'' and that was because they had just established that a few spurts of Facehugger blood ate through several decks of the spaceship, in space, that they were on. They would have tried shooting the Alien if they thought they could. They did have some sort of gun (assuming my NECA spacesuit figures are accurate!) that was simply never fired in the movie due to these circumstances. And it was just a handgun. The marines in Aliens naturally had much more substantial firepower.

Aliens set up a scenario where big machine guns with armor-piercing rounds retained plausible lethality against biological organisms and yet the human characters still got almost completely massacred by these so-called bugs.

Another frequent attack on Aliens is the loss of the seeming 'sinister intelligence' of the creature. I would argue that the Queen herself took on this role in Cameron's film. And she was magnificent in design and execution, I would simply never be without her in film history.

Even the life-cycle need not be seen as contradicting the Director's Cut of the '79 movie. Perhaps an 'Alien' thing about these creatures is that they have multiple ways of reproducing with the Queen/Hive concept simply being the default once it really gets a foothold somewhere. However a single creature is able to produce eggs too when it knows it is alone. Perhaps the 'Big Chap' (stupid name but...) was even trying to produce a Queen on the Nostromo. Yes, not according to Ridley Scott at the time but in light of an excellent sequel that I'm not willing to discard from canon I can easily make this suggestion for myself.

Yes you'll get no disagreement from me on all of the above. I think it comes down to those who feel let down by Cameron's film as just feeling it was unbecoming to put the xenos in a situation where they could be unceremoniously gunned down, despite there being nothing in the first film saying that it wasn't possible. The old "just because you can, doesn't mean you should" mindset with regard to telling stories in that series. I get it, even if I don't agree with it.

 

[Khev]

''This is heavy, Doc''

Not how I intended that sentence to be interpreted, even took me a while to read it the way you did. Amazing, all it takes is a different spoken emphasis on the word 'be' to have a wildly different meaning from what I was going for

 

[Rotfish]

View attachment 721136

"Most of the guys my mom hung around with were geeks, but there was this one guy. He was kinda cool. He taught me engines. Mom screwed it up, of course. She'd always tell him about the Queen and Jim Cameron being as brilliant a designer as he is a director... that'd be all she wrote."

 

[crows]

if aliens never existed and the alien sequel was like the first alien then all the sequels will look like Halloween or Friday the 13th because James Cameron made it an action movie with a lot of aliens in aliens

but if you never had aliens with James Cameron you will just have Michael Myers in space because the alien is Michael Myers so every single alien sequel will just be a space Michael Myers I mean that's how it will be

which is what alien 3 did they literally made another space Michael Myers movie and everybody hated it it was really bad received everybody hated that movie and then it did the same thing as alien

 

[Wor-Gar]

Romulus is basically a Haunted Mansion of Ridley's Alien World -- there's goo, facehuggers, chestbursters, aliens, hives, hybrids... everything but a Queen.... and that Manta-snake from Prometheus.

 

[jye4ever]

I know it's not you making this case against Aliens about the creature being reduced to cannon fodder (I read and gave a like to your previous post on the matter) but I'll say anyway that I'm so bored of constantly seeing that attack against such a great film. Without fail, in any given Alien thread, people dump on Aliens for 'the bug thing' - and like as though it's the first time it's ever been said. Aliens is criticized more than Alien Resurrection, which is utterly ridiculous to me.

As long as a sequel engages me, and I can believe I'm watching the same world as the original movie with

- the same general aesthetic
- believable, well written human characters with believable dialogue
- believable action that doesn't go stupidly OTT as often is the case in sequels due to the 'escalation' requirement
- no complete 180 on tone, i.e what was intelligent horror shouldn't suddenly be comedy now etc
- no outright contradictions of previously established characters and lore

Then I'm good with it.

Nothing in the original film said that the creature was not killable (well....other than what Ash said ). There's even Parker's line that, due to the acid blood, you ''don't dare kill it'' and that was because they had just established that a few spurts of Facehugger blood ate through several decks of the spaceship, in space, that they were on. They would have tried shooting the Alien if they thought they could. They did have some sort of gun (assuming my NECA spacesuit figures are accurate!) that was simply never fired in the movie due to these circumstances. And it was just a handgun. The marines in Aliens naturally had much more substantial firepower.

Aliens set up a scenario where big machine guns with armor-piercing rounds retained plausible lethality against biological organisms and yet the human characters still got almost completely massacred by these so-called bugs.

Another frequent attack on Aliens is the loss of the seeming 'sinister intelligence' of the creature. I would argue that the Queen herself took on this role in Cameron's film. And she was magnificent in design and execution, I would simply never be without her in film history.

Even the life-cycle need not be seen as contradicting the Director's Cut of the '79 movie. Perhaps an 'Alien' thing about these creatures is that they have multiple ways of reproducing with the Queen/Hive concept simply being the default once it really gets a foothold somewhere. However a single creature is able to produce eggs too when it knows it is alone. Perhaps the 'Big Chap' (stupid name but...) was even trying to produce a Queen on the Nostromo. Yes, not according to Ridley Scott at the time but in light of an excellent sequel that I'm not willing to discard from canon I can easily make this suggestion for myself.

 

[JAWS]

Am I the only one that hated the head design of this alien and its super large gigantic mouth

 

[ZE_501]

Even the life-cycle need not be seen as contradicting the Director's Cut of the '79 movie. Perhaps an 'Alien' thing about these creatures is that they have multiple ways of reproducing with the Queen/Hive concept simply being the default once it really gets a foothold somewhere. However a single creature is able to produce eggs too when it knows it is alone. Perhaps the 'Big Chap' (stupid name but...) was even trying to produce a Queen on the Nostromo.

There are organisms on our planet that can reproduce sexually but also via parthenogenesis when necessary. Others that can store sperm cells from a one time mating event and reproduce later. It's not far-fetched that the Xenomorph would have more than one way to reproduce itself.

 

[ZE_501]

Am I the only one that hated the head design of this alien and its super large gigantic mouth

View attachment 721149

Don't love it.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Am I the only one that hated the head design of this alien and its super large gigantic mouth

View attachment 721149

It's Evil Dead sized!!!! For today's audiences.