It has been one of my longstanding beliefs that reviews — especially those published in publications or platforms that have thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) in readership and following — cannot be products of immediate emotional conclusions, no matter how riled, tingled or apathetic their writer may be.

In keeping with that principle, this review of Alien: Romulus took a slight breather, first to ward away the feeling of instant giddy gratification, and then to re-centre the logic of one’s conclusions.

Here are the facts: Romulus, directed by Fede Álvarez, written by him and co-writer Rodo Sayagues, and produced by Ridley Scott, Walter Hill and Michael Pruss — is a direct continuation in a series of direct continuations of the Alien films.

It reverts to, and keeps, the space-horror-thriller formula of Scott’s Alien and David Fincher’s Alien 3 — where a xenomorph stalks and kills a space crew and a penal colony — and briefly adds the gun-trotting space marine aspects of James Cameron’s Aliens.

Alien: Romulus ranks a notch below James Cameron’s Aliens, but half-a-step above David Fincher’s Alien 3

At times, Romulus feels like one of those brilliant fan-fictions one reads online, written by aficionados whose love for the franchise vetoes the unimaginative red pens of studio executives and producers, who either have no love for the movies, or whose “creativity” makes a mockery of a good product’s legacy (yes, Alien: Resurrection — written by the first Avengers’ director Joss Whedon and directed by Amélie’s Jean-Pierre Jeunet — I’m looking at you).

Improving on Scott’s own missteps, Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, Álvarez’s plot is deceptively simple — youngsters in an off-world mining colony break into the spaceship Romulus that houses excavations from the ill-fated Nostromo (the ship from the first film); the idea seems like a send-off to both the Evil Dead remake and Don’t Breathe, Álvarez and Sayagues’s prior films, featuring youngsters in peril.

The screenplay is more straightforward than the plot, but not at the compromise of momentum, action, intensity and a handful of I-didn’t-see-that-coming moments.

Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn and Aileen Wu round up the young cast, though Merced, whom one remembers from Transformers: The Last Knight, Dora and the Lost City of Gold, and recently, Madame Web, is wasted as a background character.

So, these are the facts — and they are undisputed. Three days after watching the film, this is the feeling: Romulus is a near-classic — a nostalgic return-to-form in a self-contained episodic story that’s thick and tense in atmosphere, light on feet in pacing, and ranks a notch below Aliens, and half-a-step above Alien 3.

For fans of the franchise, it evokes an immediate feeling of relief and excitement and, for those who are not yet acquainted with the Alien films, I believe it should prove to be a great starting-off point that intrigues them to check out the original trilogy.

In either case, it’s a win-win situation.

Released by HKC and Disney, Alien: Romulus is, surprisingly, rated PG in Pakistan — internationally, the film carries a much more appropriate R-rating. The film has scenes featuring blood, guts and deaths. Despite featuring youngsters, the film is not meant for kids

Published in Dawn, ICON, September 1st, 2024