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Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Alien: Romulus (2024) in Movies
Sep 2, 2024
The latest film in the “Alien” franchise has arrived and “Alien: Romulus” is the most engaging and enjoyable entry in the series since “Aliens”.
The film is the first in the series since Disney purchased Twentieth Century Fox and they turned to Director and Co-writer Fede Alvarez to develop a story he had shared with Producer Ridley Scott years prior.
The movie was originally intended to debut on Hulu similar to how “Prey” was released but it was decided to go with a theatrical release early in production.
Cailee Spaeny stars as Rain; an orphan living on a dark planet with her Android “Brother” Andy (David Jonsson). The mining colony is filled with despair and disease from the mine and Rain is eager to immigrate to a colony that offers the sun and a better life having completed the terms of her service agreement with the Company.
Her request is denied and she is told that due to a labor shortage, she has to work five years in the mines before she is eligible to be considered again. Knowing the Mines are for many deaths waiting to happen, Rain is asked by a group of friends to join them for a mission.
Her friends pilot a hauler used to ferry cargo and say that they have found an object drifting through the system which will crash into their planetary rings in about 47 hours. They plot to go up and salvage some Cryopods which will enable them to head to the desired colony which is a nine-year journey.
Without options and knowing that Andy is the key to gaining access, the group enters the station and sets about their tasks.
Unfortunately, their actions rouse the dark and deadly secret of the station and they soon find themselves facing deadly Aliens in a tense and pitched fight for survival and escape.
The movie does a very good job at filling in areas of the overall mythos and delivering fan service which does not feel like pandering and also helps create a pathway for new stories that do not directly impact the film “Aliens” which is set 37 years after the events of this film.
The movie also connects to the Prequel films as well as the original “Alien” in some clever ways which helps the continuity but still leaves plenty of mystery and questions even when this one fills in a few of the gray areas slightly.
The movie takes its time to set up the premise and get to the action but it never drags and is engaging from start to finish. Alvarez has done a masterful job capturing not only the look of the earlier films but also creating an intense thriller that gives audiences what they want and more as use of physical effects was very effective.
The cast was strong and Spaeny and Jonsson have a great chemistry with one another which helps in the face of the growing danger and tensions in the film.
I found myself not only loving the nostalgic touches but also the way that elements of the Company are explained and how much they truly knew which adds new dimensions to the first two films in the series but raises all sorts of possibilities for future films in the series.
“Alien: Romulus” was a true joy from start to finish for me and as a fan who has enjoyed the franchise since I was a small child; it delivered what I wanted and for me was the most enjoyable and satisfying entry in the series since “Aliens” and Alvarez and the cast are to be commended for creating a film that invigorates the franchise and delivers.
The film is the first in the series since Disney purchased Twentieth Century Fox and they turned to Director and Co-writer Fede Alvarez to develop a story he had shared with Producer Ridley Scott years prior.
The movie was originally intended to debut on Hulu similar to how “Prey” was released but it was decided to go with a theatrical release early in production.
Cailee Spaeny stars as Rain; an orphan living on a dark planet with her Android “Brother” Andy (David Jonsson). The mining colony is filled with despair and disease from the mine and Rain is eager to immigrate to a colony that offers the sun and a better life having completed the terms of her service agreement with the Company.
Her request is denied and she is told that due to a labor shortage, she has to work five years in the mines before she is eligible to be considered again. Knowing the Mines are for many deaths waiting to happen, Rain is asked by a group of friends to join them for a mission.
Her friends pilot a hauler used to ferry cargo and say that they have found an object drifting through the system which will crash into their planetary rings in about 47 hours. They plot to go up and salvage some Cryopods which will enable them to head to the desired colony which is a nine-year journey.
Without options and knowing that Andy is the key to gaining access, the group enters the station and sets about their tasks.
Unfortunately, their actions rouse the dark and deadly secret of the station and they soon find themselves facing deadly Aliens in a tense and pitched fight for survival and escape.
The movie does a very good job at filling in areas of the overall mythos and delivering fan service which does not feel like pandering and also helps create a pathway for new stories that do not directly impact the film “Aliens” which is set 37 years after the events of this film.
The movie also connects to the Prequel films as well as the original “Alien” in some clever ways which helps the continuity but still leaves plenty of mystery and questions even when this one fills in a few of the gray areas slightly.
The movie takes its time to set up the premise and get to the action but it never drags and is engaging from start to finish. Alvarez has done a masterful job capturing not only the look of the earlier films but also creating an intense thriller that gives audiences what they want and more as use of physical effects was very effective.
The cast was strong and Spaeny and Jonsson have a great chemistry with one another which helps in the face of the growing danger and tensions in the film.
I found myself not only loving the nostalgic touches but also the way that elements of the Company are explained and how much they truly knew which adds new dimensions to the first two films in the series but raises all sorts of possibilities for future films in the series.
“Alien: Romulus” was a true joy from start to finish for me and as a fan who has enjoyed the franchise since I was a small child; it delivered what I wanted and for me was the most enjoyable and satisfying entry in the series since “Aliens” and Alvarez and the cast are to be commended for creating a film that invigorates the franchise and delivers.
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated The Girl in the Spider's Web (2018) in Movies
Sep 28, 2021
Would the last straight woman in Stockholm turn off the lights?
You’ve gotta love a Scandi-thriller. Well, that was until last year’s hopeless Michael Fassbender vehicle “The Snowman” which devalued the currency better than Brexit has done to the pound! The mother of them all though was the original “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” trilogy (in Swedish) in 2009. Although subject to a wholly unnecessary English remake two year’s later by David Fincher (with Mara Rooney and Daniel Craig) it was Noomi Rapace who struck the perfect note as the original anarchic and damaged Lisbeth Salander: a punk wielding a baseball bat like an alien-thing possessed (pun well and truly intended!).
Now though we have “A New Dragon Tattoo Story” (as the film’s subtitle clumsily declares) based on the book by David Lagercrantz, who took over the literary franchise after the untimely death of Stieg Larsson. Picking up the reins as Salander is that most British of actresses Claire Foy…. which seems an odd choice, but one which – after you get past the rather odd accent – she just about pulls off.
The Plot
Lizbeth Salendar (Claire Foy) has an interesting hobby. She is a vigilante, like a lesbian Batman, stalking the streets of Stockholm putting wrongs right where abusive boyfriends/husbands are concerned.
She is also a hacking machine for rent. And Frans Balder (Stephen Merchant) has a problem. He has invented a software program that allows its user to control every nuclear warhead in the world from a single laptop (cue every other Bond/24/Austin Powers script ever written). But he has had second thoughts and wants it back from its resting place on the server of the NSA’s chief hacker, Ed Needham (Lakeith Stanfield). Balder recruits Salander to recover it, but when things go pear-shaped Salander finds herself on the wrong side of both the law and the encircling terrorist “spiders”.
The Review
Scandi-dramas work best when they exploit the snow; maintain a sexual tension; and go dark, gritty and violent. On the plus side, “The Girl in the Spider’s Web” ticks most of those boxes adequately. Foy’s Salandar is smart, sassy and sexy, outwitting the best of the best, and only once finding her intellectual match. (If you’re a lesbian, Stockholm is most definitely the place to be: there only seemed to be one hetero-female there, and she was an adulteress).
But Salander also has a Bond-like invincibility that unfortunately tests your incredulity at multiple points. Contributing to the excitement is the stunt team, who keep themselves busy with some great car and bike chases.
So, the movie has its moments and is great to look at. But the film ends up a sandwich or two short of a smorgasbord, thanks largely to some totally bonkers plot points and more than a few ridiculous coincidences. There are without doubt an array of well-constructed set pieces here, but they fail to fully connect with any great conviction. An example of a scene that infuriates is a dramatic bathroom fight in a red-lit gloom with identical protagonists that is cut together so furiously you would need a Blu-ray slo-mo to work out what the hell is going on… and then I fear you might fail.
So it’s an A- for the Production Design (Eve Stewart, “The Danish Girl“) and the Cinematography (Pedro Luque, “Don’t Breathe“), but a C- for the director Fede Alvarez (also “Don’t Breathe“).
Avoid the Trailer
I will save my biggest source of wrath though for that major bug-bear of mine: trailers that spoil the plot.
I’ve asked before, but for a film like this, WHO EXACTLY PUTS TOGETHER THE TRAILER? I’d like to think it’s some mindless committee of marketing execs somewhere. Because I HONESTLY CAN’T BELIEVE it would be the director! (If I’m wrong though, I would point my finger at Mr Alvarez and chant “shame, shame, shame”!)
For the trailer that I saw playing in UK cinemas does it’s level best to not only drop in the key spoilers of the plot (including the climactic scene), but also spoils just about every action money-shot in the movie. It’s all so pointless. If you’ve by any chance managed to get to this point without seeing the trailer, then SAVE YOURSELVES and AVOID IT!
(The one attached below by the way is slightly – slightly! – better, including some over-dubbing of a line that I don’t think was in the film. Perhaps they realised their huge mistake and reissued it?)
The Turns
As I mentioned earlier, Claire Foy again extends her range by playing Salander really well. She is the reason to go and see the film.
The Daniel Craig part of Blomkvist is played here by Sverrir Gudnason, who was in “The Circle” (which I saw) and was Borg in “Borg McEnroe” (which I didn’t). Blomkvist really is a lazy ****, since he works for the publication “Millenium” but writes absolutely nothing for years. It must be only because the boss (Vicky Krieps) fancies him that he keeps his job. Gudnason is good enough, but has very little to do in the movie: its the Salander/Foy show. Slightly, but only slightly, more involved is Lakeith Standfield as the US intelligence man.
Given little to do in the plot. Sverrir Gudnason as the incredibly unproductive ‘journalist’ Mikael Blomkvist. (Source: Sony Pictures Entertainment)
Stephen Merchant is an odd casting choice for Balder. Not withstanding that he was brilliant when almost unrecognisable in “Logan“, here he looks far too much like his “Ricky Gervais sidekick” persona to be taken seriously: and it’s not even remotely a comedy (there is only one humorous moment in the film, a nice “clicker” gag in a car park).
Final Thoughts
I had high hopes for this film from the trailer, but I was left disappointed. It’s not classic Scandi-noir like the original “Tattoo”; and it’s not going for the black comedy angle of “Headhunters” (which I saw again last week and loved… again!). It falls into a rather “meh” category. It’s not a bad evening’s watch, but perhaps worth leaving for a DVD/cable showing.
Now though we have “A New Dragon Tattoo Story” (as the film’s subtitle clumsily declares) based on the book by David Lagercrantz, who took over the literary franchise after the untimely death of Stieg Larsson. Picking up the reins as Salander is that most British of actresses Claire Foy…. which seems an odd choice, but one which – after you get past the rather odd accent – she just about pulls off.
The Plot
Lizbeth Salendar (Claire Foy) has an interesting hobby. She is a vigilante, like a lesbian Batman, stalking the streets of Stockholm putting wrongs right where abusive boyfriends/husbands are concerned.
She is also a hacking machine for rent. And Frans Balder (Stephen Merchant) has a problem. He has invented a software program that allows its user to control every nuclear warhead in the world from a single laptop (cue every other Bond/24/Austin Powers script ever written). But he has had second thoughts and wants it back from its resting place on the server of the NSA’s chief hacker, Ed Needham (Lakeith Stanfield). Balder recruits Salander to recover it, but when things go pear-shaped Salander finds herself on the wrong side of both the law and the encircling terrorist “spiders”.
The Review
Scandi-dramas work best when they exploit the snow; maintain a sexual tension; and go dark, gritty and violent. On the plus side, “The Girl in the Spider’s Web” ticks most of those boxes adequately. Foy’s Salandar is smart, sassy and sexy, outwitting the best of the best, and only once finding her intellectual match. (If you’re a lesbian, Stockholm is most definitely the place to be: there only seemed to be one hetero-female there, and she was an adulteress).
But Salander also has a Bond-like invincibility that unfortunately tests your incredulity at multiple points. Contributing to the excitement is the stunt team, who keep themselves busy with some great car and bike chases.
So, the movie has its moments and is great to look at. But the film ends up a sandwich or two short of a smorgasbord, thanks largely to some totally bonkers plot points and more than a few ridiculous coincidences. There are without doubt an array of well-constructed set pieces here, but they fail to fully connect with any great conviction. An example of a scene that infuriates is a dramatic bathroom fight in a red-lit gloom with identical protagonists that is cut together so furiously you would need a Blu-ray slo-mo to work out what the hell is going on… and then I fear you might fail.
So it’s an A- for the Production Design (Eve Stewart, “The Danish Girl“) and the Cinematography (Pedro Luque, “Don’t Breathe“), but a C- for the director Fede Alvarez (also “Don’t Breathe“).
Avoid the Trailer
I will save my biggest source of wrath though for that major bug-bear of mine: trailers that spoil the plot.
I’ve asked before, but for a film like this, WHO EXACTLY PUTS TOGETHER THE TRAILER? I’d like to think it’s some mindless committee of marketing execs somewhere. Because I HONESTLY CAN’T BELIEVE it would be the director! (If I’m wrong though, I would point my finger at Mr Alvarez and chant “shame, shame, shame”!)
For the trailer that I saw playing in UK cinemas does it’s level best to not only drop in the key spoilers of the plot (including the climactic scene), but also spoils just about every action money-shot in the movie. It’s all so pointless. If you’ve by any chance managed to get to this point without seeing the trailer, then SAVE YOURSELVES and AVOID IT!
(The one attached below by the way is slightly – slightly! – better, including some over-dubbing of a line that I don’t think was in the film. Perhaps they realised their huge mistake and reissued it?)
The Turns
As I mentioned earlier, Claire Foy again extends her range by playing Salander really well. She is the reason to go and see the film.
The Daniel Craig part of Blomkvist is played here by Sverrir Gudnason, who was in “The Circle” (which I saw) and was Borg in “Borg McEnroe” (which I didn’t). Blomkvist really is a lazy ****, since he works for the publication “Millenium” but writes absolutely nothing for years. It must be only because the boss (Vicky Krieps) fancies him that he keeps his job. Gudnason is good enough, but has very little to do in the movie: its the Salander/Foy show. Slightly, but only slightly, more involved is Lakeith Standfield as the US intelligence man.
Given little to do in the plot. Sverrir Gudnason as the incredibly unproductive ‘journalist’ Mikael Blomkvist. (Source: Sony Pictures Entertainment)
Stephen Merchant is an odd casting choice for Balder. Not withstanding that he was brilliant when almost unrecognisable in “Logan“, here he looks far too much like his “Ricky Gervais sidekick” persona to be taken seriously: and it’s not even remotely a comedy (there is only one humorous moment in the film, a nice “clicker” gag in a car park).
Final Thoughts
I had high hopes for this film from the trailer, but I was left disappointed. It’s not classic Scandi-noir like the original “Tattoo”; and it’s not going for the black comedy angle of “Headhunters” (which I saw again last week and loved… again!). It falls into a rather “meh” category. It’s not a bad evening’s watch, but perhaps worth leaving for a DVD/cable showing.