Being a broken android, I wish they didn't deepfake any of it at all.. it's broken.. even if the eyes never looked quite in the right direction and the mouth just flapped slightly in time with speech that would have sold it. Androids could have speakers inside and the mouth movement is just for show, so it being slightly off actually sells the whole 'broken' aspect even more. That and the animatronic puppet they built looked fantastic and deserved to be seen
oh wow, has it gone up again? $17 australian now, i think it was $15 before. When, oh when will they just offer it without stupid RUclips music? I'd give them up to $10 a month without, just for ad-free (probably $8 being the sweet spot) without having to bundle in Music (i'm locked into spotify on a family plan) which I would never use. I feel there must be many others in the same boat and yt are just shooting themselves in the foot by not offering them seperate just because some exec wants to boost Music's adoption numbers.
Adblocker + sponsorskip is the way to go and you should switch too. I'm not paying for youtube premium since they've increased the price on multiple occasions AND continue to treat smaller creators like trash.
Watched this movie a few days ago. The ship plowing into the rings stood out to me as well. As one of the most pleasing visual experiences in movies I have seen.
The sets were so good for me. Not too cgi heavy overall, used just right to make it feel super epic and grand. And then we got a full on cheese grater scene to end it. 9/10, could have used less nostalgia bait imo.
@@5alpha23 Yep, ovipositor is the tubelike organ insects lay eggs with. The concept of it then growing inside and violently making its way out when ready was inspired by spider wasps who essentially do this to spiders. Though irl it's the larva that digs into the spider, the ovipositor isn't used to penetrate into the spider, just deposit the egg on its abdomen while knocked out by the wasp's sting. In some species the larva stays external drinking the spiders hemolymph/"blood". Iirc correctly they came up with the mouth access because of its uncomfortable sexual undertones, a mouth grape. Going on memory of the making off of the original.
The thing I hate about the Ian Holm deep fake situation is that Alien3 had an INCREDIBLE puppet Bishop that all these years later is still genuinely impressive. They should have just done that again and it’d have looked great!
I agree. At the end of the day, they were making a malfunctioning android, so going full-on puppet just seems the right call to me. I mean, nothing imitates mechanical movements like... well... mechanical things.
Agreed. The member-berries are cheap, just like the CGI. At least Bishop made sense being there in Alien 3. Nothing about this movie made sense in the last half.
This honestly frustrates me to the point where I am going to cancel my subscription and find other means of ad blocking. RUclips needs to skip in-video ads if they’re going to offer a premium subscription. I can’t take another Raycon commercial.
Revanced.... an awesome extra feature to automatically skip in video ads and other annoying segments. I literally never have to see a single ad while watching RUclips and I even smart view it onto my TV so I don't have to see them on there either.
Yeah but at least know we get a prompt to skip sponsorships on videos now (not actually sure if that is exclusively a premium feature or just a regular ne feature). I don't see how or why anyone that uses RUclips frequently, and likes to listen to music, would pay for Spotify instead of YT premium. I watch a lot of RUclips videos and listen to music almost everyday. Having no ads on either improves both of those experiences. Plus there even seems to be more music on RUclips than there is on Spotify. Its been a while since I used Spotify but I can remember there being at least 1 or 2 songs that I couldn't find, while I've never had that problem with YT premium. YT premium also seems better (for me anyway) at recommending music I actually like and listen to. Spotify works with all the major label companies, which is why, for example Drake used to constantly pop up everywhere even though I don't think I ever searched or listened to any of his songs on it. Not just Drake too but I think its funny that he is now attempting to sue his label over tactics that were undoubtedly used to increase his own numbers. Long story short I think that anyone who currently pays for Spotify, but also uses RUclips on a daily basis, should make the switch to YT premium
That deep fake def took me straight out of the movie experience. I just kept looking at the tiny mouth and weird proportions happening. They should have kept the shot underlit because it was 'OK' until it started talking.
RUclips takes ad money to stay in operation - it's not like users are paying for use of the platform. You paying for YT premium makes up for that source of income, so ads are not forced upon you.
I can usually look past slightly 'off' CG, but those Ian Holm shots took me out of the film every time he was on-screen. Looks really uncanny and amateur compared to the incredible effects and set design everywhere else. It feels like if they went full puppet and made it more destroyed (like Alien 3) or just made it a completely new character, it would have worked better.
I agree with Ren, the shots where they ascended into space and the ending shots in space were incredible to see in the theater. Worth watching the movie for those shots, alone
Agreed. Not my favorite Alien film and I don't watch films for VFX but this is an exception. The space, the tech, and the no gravity acid scene, totally worth it.
Not only was this movie a treat to look at, but the sound stage was just amazing. From the huggers walking around to all the switches and beeping of the ship
Im so glad that you looked at the scene of the station getting shredded by the rings. That was one of the coolest things and Im so glad to see it being appreciated here as well.
Not really. This whole movie is just a collage of other movies. There's not a single decent piece of writing, the amount of fan service is tiresome... Really poor film imo.
Oh is 13 minutes not enough? Lmao. They obviously phoned it in this episode. It's crazy since these episodes don't take much effort and could easily be 40 minutes long every week.
Fede Alvarez spent the entire pre-release promo period talking about how they shot everything practically, and here comes this video to properly give the digital effects team its laurels. This is a gorgeous film, deep-fake wonk aside.
@@360.Tapestry the constant, for me completely immersion breaking fan service callbacks included? I went and payed for a ticket. I immensely enjoyed Android Andy. But some of the script was straight from hell.
I'm not into VFX at all but I really love seeing everybody nerd out and talk shop during these videos. It's so cool to watch y'all go into depth about things most of us would never think about at all, that's what keeps me coming back.
I loved how they just held the shot for the grinding up shot. Just watching it go and being able to SAVOR ionstead of the usual cutaway reactions of the driver or pilot or other reacting person. Just...holding the shot. Like how the Corridor Crew criticizes so many other movies for NOT doing.
My favorite part of the ship crashing into those rings is that they treated the rings like real things with weight and momentum. Chunks of rock and Ice from sizes as small as a baseball to as large as mountains. Not light space dust, which I feel I've seen a lot with Saturn's rings.
Even though in reality the station wouldn't slide down the rings like a cheese on a huge cheesegrater, I supose it was a conscious artistic decision, since otherwise it'd looked way more messy.
@@Arcky-ykcrA Is it that long? Damn. I just thought I remember them doing a thing on the show. Unless it was another special effects breakdown from a different channel.
They have reacted to one shot, oddly a shot that was not in space at all where they tried to figure out how a big panning shot that started as a drone shot and switched to what seemed to be a handheld shot in one go.
All i could remember about the rook scene was an awful, obvious, fuzzy halo around his face. The scenes where they showed him through a computer monitor worked great though because of the way the display changed the image
Yes! I just rewatched the movie and wondered why they didn't just keep it on the screen, maybe doing something like they did in Captain America: Winter Soldier with Armin Zola--say Rook was destroyed by the xenomorph, but before that happened, he somehow escaped into the MUTHUR mainframe. Anything would have been better than uncanny valley!
Which movie was your favorite, and which was your least favorite? Also when you say chronological do you mean in terms of the in-universe timeline or in order of theatrical release?
@ Timeline wise. And this might be an unpopular opinion BUT I honestly like Prometheus the most. Something about origin stories call to me 😂 and Alien for sure is a classic
'That's a bold maneuver.' Honestly, this is the first time I've seen this infamous scene and I was wincing right along with you guys 😅 Great breakdown of how quickly you can fall down that uncanny valley.
Regarding the poor decision to use deep fake on the Rook puppet in Alien: Romulus, they should have gone with the spectacular solution from Amalgamated Dynamics in Alien3 for the scene of the android Bishop being reactivated by Ripley. They used an animatronic with a shattered face sculpted based on photos of actor Lance Henricksen, and this made him look not only creepy, but also sad. The brilliant direction of ADI Studio and David Fincher gave him several minutes of screen time, and the scene is one of the best in the entire franchise. And it's from 1992!!! A half-faced, animatronic Rook would have been an easy solution and wouldn't have put the suspension of disbelief at risk. That scene in Alien: Romulus kinda ruins the great overall FX work of the movie.
Yeah, not to disparage the FX team because they are obviously very talented and I have zero knowledge of the subject, but they clearly created a huge problem for themselves that they couldn't quite solve. In my opinion they should have gone 100% practical with the puppet and just mutilated it to whatever degree they felt was necessary to make it look "natural" as a damaged fleshy robot. I mean, the whole point was fan service and anyone who actually cares about that would recognize Ian Holmes' voice whether the android looked like him or not. In fact, now that I'm thinking about it, a voice reveal would have been even cooler.
I'm not sure if you've looked at Interstellar on the couch, but it was just rereleased in IMAX for the 10th anniversary so now would be a good time if you haven't.
I second this! Watch it last night and noticed a CGI Astronaut going from a hand stand position to upright. Still brilliant execution between practical and cgi for 10 years ago!
I would love to see you go over Final Fantasy cutscenes, especially comparing the original Final Fantasy VII with Remake, and Rebirth, even Advent Children!
The puppet actually was working for me, because I felt like watching broken machine, that happened to mimic human back in a days, but now it is broken and cannot hide its "machine origins"
@@DanteRU0312 Naa it kinda works with it for me. 'cause like if undamaged they appear 100% human. But now that's its "broken" it jumps right in the uncanney valley. I would not be surprised if they looked at a side by side of deepfake vs puppet and went "the deepfake looks so much more unsettling, lets certainly use that" Don't forget, the point of the scene is to be unsettling, the deepfake isn't there to look good, its there to aid that feeling
My problem is that I can clearly see the rendered face on top of the puppet. I appreciate that they did it ethically and found a creative solution, but it was either rushed or the tech is not quite there yet. The broken machine and all that works flawlessly, but the clear and obvious out of place render on top takes me out completely. All I could think was "Wow, that looks terrible."
Let's not jump to the conclusion of saying including Sir Ian Holm in this was ethical just because his estate gave permission. Even if that's his wife and family. I don't think its ethical unless he consented himself to be used in future films.
Also, I love the movie and don't think the people who made it are bad people. This is a hard thing to navigate and I am not saying I am right, just saying it doesn't sit right with me. I saw the movie in IMAX 3 times and I never rewatch movies in theater.
@@definedrebel2451 No one speaks for the dead, and i think its very fair to not agree with the use of a dead actors likeness in a movie, but Ian Holme was vocal about being back in the alien franchise and i believe this film goes about this in the best way. though his effects definitely didnt look great
@11:20 the scale of the rings compared with the crashing spaceshiptseem very off to me. LIke the rings go around a planet of maybe the size of the Las Vegas Sphere or something.
You are right. But if they showed the real size rings, in this particular frame, we would see a big ice blank on the background and no perspective)) But also, those rings are usually not so thick within themselves. For instance, Saturn rings are pretty sparse. I mean, the distance between rocks is pretty big, and rockes themselves are not so big.
Very happy you did this film. I love the Alien flicks, including the 2 prequels. Series suggestion: Sin City. The 2nd one got hate because it didn’t “break ground” like the first. However, I don’t think that was ever the goal. Those two movies fit together so well despite being made years apart. Plus Rodriguez is a true vfx DIY innovator.
The effects in this film were top notch. Even the ones that struggled were innovative and pushing boundaries and not playing it safe. It shows the value of in camera effects
3:50 A possible consideration: the slidey walking effect might have been kept in because the uncanniness is creepier than photorealism. A bit like why the jank of the old resident evil and parasite eve games made them really creepy
In this review the frame rate is slowed down. In "real time" they scuttle along the floor. When walking, we travel the length of a step or pace. When running, we "float" between the first foot takeoff to the second foot placement. So we do "glide" when we run. Same thing happens with the face huggers. It's not even uncanny. Watching this at regular speed, that's their run.
Pretty much every shot of space, especially the sequence of the station crashing into the rings just looked flawless and I adore the fact they committed to those long shots of the station decaying. I originally felt a little sad you never get to see the station explode completely but as time went on I grew to absolutely love how they did it, just watching it slowly fall apart and now its probably my favourite take of a "large scale destruction" scene.
I feel like the live action Transformers movies would be great for a full episode going in depth, there is a LOT more practically going on there than you might realise and it’s really really cool!
3:58 - They are movement-sensing, not heat-seeking for the record. Xenomorphs don't produce heat. 9:47 - Same. I was in awe of some of those space shots.
I thought they used thermal imaging to find the xenomorphs, I remembered there being issues detecting them in places of higher humidity because the temperature was also higher there. I might be remembering wrong though; I tried looking it up but couldn't seem to find anything talking about how they tracked the xenomorphs in the first two movies.
@@lizard3755 The only direct reference to the temperature of the xenomorph in the franchise is when the colonial marines switch to infrared scanners in 'Aliens' and they can't see their targets, so assume "Maybe they don't show up on infrared at all." It's a separate continuity, but this is consistent with 'Alien vs Predator' media as the xenomorph won't show up on the yautja's infrared. The films never actually explain the detection system of the pulse rifle, smartgun, or turret. The smartgun is explained in expanded media to track via infrared, and thus that function is redundant against xenomorphs, which fits with what we see in 'Aliens'. I think I just assumed the pulse rifle in 'Alien: Romulus' must be tracking via movement or some other means as movement has historically been the way they've been tracked (with the motion trackers). You might be remembering the scene in 'Alien: Romulus' where Andy states the facehuggers track via sound and heat (therefore, they have trouble tracking humans in high temperatures).
I assumed it wasn't so much that the xenomorph didn't produce any heat, but that they were the same temperature as the hive structure they were hiding in, so were camouflaged against IR tracking, but as you say, the AvP franchise sort of tries to answer that with the yautja's vision modes.
I don't know if "convincing" is the word I'd use, but I certainly liked it better. There are some cases where CG is going to be the better option, but when you've got a broken android I feel like practical is going to be the right call since it not functioning exactly like a person is sort of the whole idea. Also I don't get what the point of having Ash there was aside from showing a familiar face, and the info he gave doesn't quite match up with the timeline of the original trilogy based on him when his model was in production. It would have made more sense for it to be Bishop instead.
RUclips premiums allows you to watch the show with NO ADS! Except the ad about RUclips premium we’re forcing you all to endure about RUclips premium. Genius.
What confuses me is, why is the Ian Holm droid named *Rook*? I almost wonder if the original plan was for it to be a Bishop-style bot, but Lance Henricksen didn't want to participate for whatever reason. That would have also made more sense narratively, since the audience wouldn't immediately distrust a Bishop model like they would an Ash.
It was originally a female character called Rook and it was apparently cast. It was Ridley Scott who suggested that they use the Ash model instead. You can see early storyboard pictures of when it was a female character
I assume it has to do with the timeline. Romulus takes place between Alien and Aliens (20 years after Alien, 37 before Aliens), and presumably the Bishop model is supposed to have not existed at the time the station was active. Covenant established that androids with the same face model can have different names. I don't know how that's decided in-universe though.
@@jkruse05 Technically David and Walter are different models, Walter mentions to David how people didn't like how "human" he was so that's why they made Walter. Aside from that, I don't understand how they could have gotten that information from Ripley before they found her pod at the beginning of Alien 2 based on how things went in that movie. So even if Ash's model was the one being produced at that point it doesn't make sense for them to also have that info they seemingly didn't know about until after locating Ripley/Ripley's pod.
I think a different new face would have worked fine - it was clearly an android from the clothes and being able to be repowered, throw in some milk and voila. The AI wonk was bad and I almost hope these guys do a fix video sometime
Romulus was far better than I expected it to be; everything from the art direction to the story to the VFX kicked ass. Killer addition to the franchise. Loved the hell out of it.
This movie was so great, watched it in theatre as well, baked as well. The whole setting and the realness of everything really kept you focused and film's like this really are extremely rare.
I’m so happy to see this!!! Like Wren, this is my favorite movie this year and one of the best times I’ve had in the cinema in years! Just an incredible movie with incredible VFX! All the points here are spot on
I just watched this movie last night on Hulu and it had me in deep absolutely loved your reaction to it thank you so much and can’t wait to see what you guys do next
Yeah, from what I remember, being a Premium user and watching a video/channel actually supports the creators moreso than YT ad revenue from non-premium users (I heard this from a LTT vid that I'm too lazy to try and find)
@@aggrogahu appreciate it dude, i have most likely seen the LTT video and just forgot or didn't pay attention xD it is one of my most watched channels next to corridor of course xD
Just watched a react from a year ago. The lighting is totally different and it just shows that with time yall have gotten better. Love to see yall continue to climb 💜🔥
First of all: GIVE US THE ANIMATRONIC-ROOK CUT, Disney! Second: You guys should have a look at George of the Jungle. I know, I know! But I found it's elephant effects pretty interesting for the time it was made.
I can tell you guys really like this movie. Same. It’s an example of a great legacy sequel with mostly awesome special (mostly practical) effects, mostly.
So happy to see this episode! I requested your analysis of Ian Holm's recreation a few episodes back in the comments section, and although I'm pretty sure I have nothing do with it, this one felt like you made it just for me when I saw it pop in my feed 😂 thanks for a great video once again
There were so many great shots with animatronics and models and CGI in Romulus. And then that unnecessary deep fake. They should have just had the android played by a living actor.
If the puppet could pull off the broken robot feel then I'd go that way. Another would be using a completely new actor/character but using Ash's voice, like they can make different looking androids but they don't bother to change the voice.
I didn’t have an issue with Rook, but your focus on it did explain and help me understand. Some people were saying it was all deep fake while the director said it was puppet with deep fake touch-ups. Showing the close-ups and the highlighted sections was really useful. There’s a movie on Netflix called THE SHADOW STRAYS which would be interesting for VFX Artists React or Stuntmen React. To me, it looks like an insane amount of squibs/practical FX, but could be CG?
Just a note about the sparks… that’s a great detail to point out however the burst at the end of the spark is an indication of carbon content. Metals like mild steel with lower carbon content do not burst at the end of the initial streaks.
Have a look at the station destruction scene from the last episode of Babylon 5. The series was the first one to use only cgi with no physical models. You could then compare it to the recreated scene in Babylon 5: The Lost Tales. They completely recreated the scene using newer technology and models giving it a completely different feel to it. It is a very interesting comparison as there are quite a few years between the two. The original scene was rendered on an Amiga Toaster.
Not to mention that B5's first season was rendered and composited using off-the-shelf *Amigas,* which is just nuts. They didn't even have proper rendering machines until S2 or S3.
It's impressive what they were able to do, especially since they were working on a limited timescale as well. It's not like a movie where you have months to work on it. They were learning how to do it as they went along and I feel the effects still hold up quite well today.
It is so great to see you guys showing, and PRAISING, Practical Effects lately. I think you know by now that I am a dedicated Practical guy, but I have to say those space shots, especially the rings, were BEAUTIFUL!!!
10:42 best shot of the whole film. The fact that it still breaks up and it’s not an immediate destruction. You see it get destroyed in the final shot as well
I didn’t get the part with Rook, why has closeups? Make him ominous and in the shadows or on the computer screens with a filter that kinda hides the rough CGI. There’s ways to make it look good.
You guys should check out the beginning part of (our little secret) with Lindsey Lohan. I believe the de-aged her and the main actor and actually did a decent job with hers.
The thing I really liked about the station crashing into the rings was that it didn't just glide through. As more and more particles hit the station, they imparted their forces onto it, and the thing began rotating. Just the little impact on the spike began to make everything else start to rotate just that little bit, and then as more and more hit, then it just tipped the station sideways. And then it just gets more or less stuck like that, or at least it would until the station was destroyed and became part of the rings, or lost enough momentum to then fall more directly down to the planet.
Another reason why Ian Holm looks uncanny is because the puppet doesn't have the proper weight of a human head. When the puppet talks at 8:06, the jaw has enough inertia to jiggle the head a tiny bit, which is something that human anatomy doesn't do. This makes his head seem weightless and empty, and makes the face tracking look janky.
I really like the space lighting. That's something I think about whenever watching a sci fi movie or show. The ships are always perfectly lit. In reality, everything is going to be soooo dark.
Alien Romulus was spectacular and I'd been waiting for the guys to review the VFX in it for months. I was absolutely shocked by the space scenes as well and Saturns rings used as a grinder for a ship was truly awesome.
10:58 Wanna know something REALLY cool about this shot? If you watch closely towards the bottom right of the frame during the side shot of the station disintegrating, you can see Ripley's escape shuttle pod jettison from the station before it completely implodes. This was an amazing move to preserve the timeline of the original movies and explain what happened to it Ripley in the interim and how she was picked up twice.
I think the shot of the spaceship going into the ring definitely deserves a spot in the Corridor CGI Hall of Fame!
pure art
looks like a video game tbh.
@@Red_Snapper Then it would be the most beautiful and realistic game cutscene ever made. Still goes hard.
ILM. Still the best VFX studio out there.
The best part about the YT premium sponsorship is exactly the kind of ad that YT premium won’t save you for.
Being a broken android, I wish they didn't deepfake any of it at all.. it's broken.. even if the eyes never looked quite in the right direction and the mouth just flapped slightly in time with speech that would have sold it.
Androids could have speakers inside and the mouth movement is just for show, so it being slightly off actually sells the whole 'broken' aspect even more.
That and the animatronic puppet they built looked fantastic and deserved to be seen
I was thinking the same thing
they did it in Alien 3 with Bishop and it worked beautifully, just damage his face a bit more and the uncanny thing goes away.
that was the fastest 13 minutes ever
Mine was only 12 minutes.
That's what she said!
@@dannybiemansrsm3520 Oh, _behave!_
It really was!
THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID!!!
The space shots in Romulus were absolutely beautiful
I have RUclips premium. The irony of an ad for the service I pay for to not see ads was not lost on me.
Fun episode
At least you can fast forward.
Same. LOL
I recommend RUclips Premium to everyone I know. It's actually fantastic.
oh wow, has it gone up again? $17 australian now, i think it was $15 before. When, oh when will they just offer it without stupid RUclips music? I'd give them up to $10 a month without, just for ad-free (probably $8 being the sweet spot) without having to bundle in Music (i'm locked into spotify on a family plan) which I would never use. I feel there must be many others in the same boat and yt are just shooting themselves in the foot by not offering them seperate just because some exec wants to boost Music's adoption numbers.
Adblocker + sponsorskip is the way to go and you should switch too. I'm not paying for youtube premium since they've increased the price on multiple occasions AND continue to treat smaller creators like trash.
Watched this movie a few days ago. The ship plowing into the rings stood out to me as well. As one of the most pleasing visual experiences in movies I have seen.
The sets were so good for me. Not too cgi heavy overall, used just right to make it feel super epic and grand. And then we got a full on cheese grater scene to end it. 9/10, could have used less nostalgia bait imo.
I'm pretty sure a planetary ring would not do that though
it got Interstellar vibe too
"A Tongue? they have tongues?"
Oh my sweet summer child that is not a tongue...
Think of it like a sexy handshake
Should be something similar to an ovipositor, right? Haven't read up on it but that would make the most sense to me at least.
@@5alpha23 Yyyyyyup
The magical word of the day is Proboscis …. Or ovipositor? Dang 🤪
@@5alpha23 Yep, ovipositor is the tubelike organ insects lay eggs with. The concept of it then growing inside and violently making its way out when ready was inspired by spider wasps who essentially do this to spiders.
Though irl it's the larva that digs into the spider, the ovipositor isn't used to penetrate into the spider, just deposit the egg on its abdomen while knocked out by the wasp's sting. In some species the larva stays external drinking the spiders hemolymph/"blood".
Iirc correctly they came up with the mouth access because of its uncomfortable sexual undertones, a mouth grape.
Going on memory of the making off of the original.
The thing I hate about the Ian Holm deep fake situation is that Alien3 had an INCREDIBLE puppet Bishop that all these years later is still genuinely impressive. They should have just done that again and it’d have looked great!
honestly when I saw the BTS I wish they used the puppet face instead of the weird ass face
I agree. At the end of the day, they were making a malfunctioning android, so going full-on puppet just seems the right call to me. I mean, nothing imitates mechanical movements like... well... mechanical things.
Agreed. The member-berries are cheap, just like the CGI. At least Bishop made sense being there in Alien 3. Nothing about this movie made sense in the last half.
Studios nowadays get all scared about puppets and insist they are covered up by CG.
The Thing 2011 being a good example.
all they had tyo do was not to blast him with light, if he was in shadow it would have been fine but directly under a lamp?
"No ads on RUclips Premium" he says, whilst I'm watching an ad for RUclips Premium whilst watching RUclips Premium!
Right? No interruptions (not including this) - it felt very meta.
In video ads that you can skip immediately are fine. Ads outside of the vid that you have to wait for to skip and annoying and can f off.
This honestly frustrates me to the point where I am going to cancel my subscription and find other means of ad blocking.
RUclips needs to skip in-video ads if they’re going to offer a premium subscription. I can’t take another Raycon commercial.
Revanced.... an awesome extra feature to automatically skip in video ads and other annoying segments. I literally never have to see a single ad while watching RUclips and I even smart view it onto my TV so I don't have to see them on there either.
Yeah but at least know we get a prompt to skip sponsorships on videos now (not actually sure if that is exclusively a premium feature or just a regular ne feature). I don't see how or why anyone that uses RUclips frequently, and likes to listen to music, would pay for Spotify instead of YT premium. I watch a lot of RUclips videos and listen to music almost everyday. Having no ads on either improves both of those experiences. Plus there even seems to be more music on RUclips than there is on Spotify. Its been a while since I used Spotify but I can remember there being at least 1 or 2 songs that I couldn't find, while I've never had that problem with YT premium. YT premium also seems better (for me anyway) at recommending music I actually like and listen to. Spotify works with all the major label companies, which is why, for example Drake used to constantly pop up everywhere even though I don't think I ever searched or listened to any of his songs on it. Not just Drake too but I think its funny that he is now attempting to sue his label over tactics that were undoubtedly used to increase his own numbers.
Long story short I think that anyone who currently pays for Spotify, but also uses RUclips on a daily basis, should make the switch to YT premium
That deep fake def took me straight out of the movie experience. I just kept looking at the tiny mouth and weird proportions happening. They should have kept the shot underlit because it was 'OK' until it started talking.
Advertisers pay RUclips to show ads. We pay RUclips to not see ads.
or just use an ad blocker.
@@maxthibodeau3627 I thought the ad blockers stopped working. Are there some that still work?
i use brave
great businessmodel right? And on top of that, don't pay the people that make the videos anything :D
RUclips takes ad money to stay in operation - it's not like users are paying for use of the platform. You paying for YT premium makes up for that source of income, so ads are not forced upon you.
I can usually look past slightly 'off' CG, but those Ian Holm shots took me out of the film every time he was on-screen. Looks really uncanny and amateur compared to the incredible effects and set design everywhere else. It feels like if they went full puppet and made it more destroyed (like Alien 3) or just made it a completely new character, it would have worked better.
I agree with Ren, the shots where they ascended into space and the ending shots in space were incredible to see in the theater. Worth watching the movie for those shots, alone
Agreed. Not my favorite Alien film and I don't watch films for VFX but this is an exception. The space, the tech, and the no gravity acid scene, totally worth it.
It really is! The entire sequence - the way they portrayed space travel at that point - is just breathtaking.
I'm so glad they focused so much on that part... My mouth was just open the whole time, it was beautiful
Way to go out on a limb and really use your own opinion.
I’m deeply sorry for being this person, but it’s spelt Wren not Ren! Sorry 😅
Not only was this movie a treat to look at, but the sound stage was just amazing. From the huggers walking around to all the switches and beeping of the ship
Im so glad that you looked at the scene of the station getting shredded by the rings. That was one of the coolest things and Im so glad to see it being appreciated here as well.
RUclips Premium ad ends at 1:13
RUclips premium ad? What's that? I saw no ad.
Using the Flood theme from Halo for the face huggers is perfect
I’m not the only one to clock that
Thank you!!! I thought I was the only one who noticed!
Thank you! It was driving me nuts! I knew that music, but couldn't place it.
Not really. This whole movie is just a collage of other movies. There's not a single decent piece of writing, the amount of fan service is tiresome...
Really poor film imo.
@@charlehpock ok...what does that that to with them using the Flood theme in this video?
The anti-gravity scene is my favourite of the whole series, so well done.
We needed more of this much longer.
Oh is 13 minutes not enough? Lmao. They obviously phoned it in this episode. It's crazy since these episodes don't take much effort and could easily be 40 minutes long every week.
lol at 1:04 random wheat touching because that's so youtube premium.
Fede Alvarez spent the entire pre-release promo period talking about how they shot everything practically, and here comes this video to properly give the digital effects team its laurels. This is a gorgeous film, deep-fake wonk aside.
to me, it's because everything else is so close to perfect that the deep fake wonkiness feels really, really, really egregious
@@360.Tapestry the constant, for me completely immersion breaking fan service callbacks included? I went and payed for a ticket. I immensely enjoyed Android Andy. But some of the script was straight from hell.
I'm not into VFX at all but I really love seeing everybody nerd out and talk shop during these videos. It's so cool to watch y'all go into depth about things most of us would never think about at all, that's what keeps me coming back.
I loved how they just held the shot for the grinding up shot. Just watching it go and being able to SAVOR ionstead of the usual cutaway reactions of the driver or pilot or other reacting person. Just...holding the shot. Like how the Corridor Crew criticizes so many other movies for NOT doing.
I wanted y’all to cover ‘The Offspring’ from the end and go over the practical and CG elements that were used to create it. Loved that part!
My favorite part of the ship crashing into those rings is that they treated the rings like real things with weight and momentum. Chunks of rock and Ice from sizes as small as a baseball to as large as mountains. Not light space dust, which I feel I've seen a lot with Saturn's rings.
Even though in reality the station wouldn't slide down the rings like a cheese on a huge cheesegrater, I supose it was a conscious artistic decision, since otherwise it'd looked way more messy.
9:13 they should have left him as 100% a puppet with the dead robot eyes. People would have respected that.
The Expanse series is worth checking out!
Didn't they already do it when the first season was out?
@@AdamBladeTaylor the first season came out nearly 10 years ago
@@Arcky-ykcrA Is it that long? Damn. I just thought I remember them doing a thing on the show. Unless it was another special effects breakdown from a different channel.
They have reacted to one shot, oddly a shot that was not in space at all where they tried to figure out how a big panning shot that started as a drone shot and switched to what seemed to be a handheld shot in one go.
@@tomquirk9411 Ah, so they did do something. Just not a full deep dive.
All i could remember about the rook scene was an awful, obvious, fuzzy halo around his face. The scenes where they showed him through a computer monitor worked great though because of the way the display changed the image
Yes! I just rewatched the movie and wondered why they didn't just keep it on the screen, maybe doing something like they did in Captain America: Winter Soldier with Armin Zola--say Rook was destroyed by the xenomorph, but before that happened, he somehow escaped into the MUTHUR mainframe. Anything would have been better than uncanny valley!
Just watched the whole series chronologically last week so what a PERFECTLY timed episode boys!!! Love it!!!
Which movie was your favorite, and which was your least favorite? Also when you say chronological do you mean in terms of the in-universe timeline or in order of theatrical release?
@ Timeline wise. And this might be an unpopular opinion BUT I honestly like Prometheus the most. Something about origin stories call to me 😂 and Alien for sure is a classic
'That's a bold maneuver.' Honestly, this is the first time I've seen this infamous scene and I was wincing right along with you guys 😅 Great breakdown of how quickly you can fall down that uncanny valley.
Regarding the poor decision to use deep fake on the Rook puppet in Alien: Romulus, they should have gone with the spectacular solution from Amalgamated Dynamics in Alien3 for the scene of the android Bishop being reactivated by Ripley.
They used an animatronic with a shattered face sculpted based on photos of actor Lance Henricksen, and this made him look not only creepy, but also sad. The brilliant direction of ADI Studio and David Fincher gave him several minutes of screen time, and the scene is one of the best in the entire franchise. And it's from 1992!!!
A half-faced, animatronic Rook would have been an easy solution and wouldn't have put the suspension of disbelief at risk. That scene in Alien: Romulus kinda ruins the great overall FX work of the movie.
Yeah, the animatronic in A3 was really *really* good. I could totally believe it was the 'real' Bishop, not just a puppet.
Yeah, not to disparage the FX team because they are obviously very talented and I have zero knowledge of the subject, but they clearly created a huge problem for themselves that they couldn't quite solve. In my opinion they should have gone 100% practical with the puppet and just mutilated it to whatever degree they felt was necessary to make it look "natural" as a damaged fleshy robot. I mean, the whole point was fan service and anyone who actually cares about that would recognize Ian Holmes' voice whether the android looked like him or not. In fact, now that I'm thinking about it, a voice reveal would have been even cooler.
What are your thoughts on the humanoid alien baby thing, i thought it looked very bad and out of place
@@cyano3d You realise the fully grown version is a real person, right? I didn't like it personally, but it's cool that it's a real actor.
@@cyano3d Yeah that whole ending didn't work for me at all.
Was really hoping y’all would talk about that horrendous alien resurrection moment in the end….ifykyk
It’s probably in the extra long videos you have to pay extra money for…because reasons
I'm not sure if you've looked at Interstellar on the couch, but it was just rereleased in IMAX for the 10th anniversary so now would be a good time if you haven't.
I second this! Watch it last night and noticed a CGI Astronaut going from a hand stand position to upright. Still brilliant execution between practical and cgi for 10 years ago!
They've looked at it a couple times
what about inception? greaaaaaaat movie
That movie baffles me. It's so boring. I can't bring myself to rewatch it. And it's praised to high heaven.
I would love to see you go over Final Fantasy cutscenes, especially comparing the original Final Fantasy VII with Remake, and Rebirth, even Advent Children!
The puppet actually was working for me, because I felt like watching broken machine, that happened to mimic human back in a days, but now it is broken and cannot hide its "machine origins"
Agreed, it felt very unsettling to watch, but unsettling in the way that felt appropriate for the subject.
The issue is not the puppet, but the fake face on it.
@@DanteRU0312 Naa it kinda works with it for me. 'cause like if undamaged they appear 100% human. But now that's its "broken" it jumps right in the uncanney valley. I would not be surprised if they looked at a side by side of deepfake vs puppet and went "the deepfake looks so much more unsettling, lets certainly use that"
Don't forget, the point of the scene is to be unsettling, the deepfake isn't there to look good, its there to aid that feeling
My problem is that I can clearly see the rendered face on top of the puppet. I appreciate that they did it ethically and found a creative solution, but it was either rushed or the tech is not quite there yet. The broken machine and all that works flawlessly, but the clear and obvious out of place render on top takes me out completely. All I could think was "Wow, that looks terrible."
no way, the face looked like a bad render, not a broken robot.
Hi Man Jordan! I'm glad to see that you're on the couch more and more these days. I think you bring a lot to the table.
13:04 “Harry Potter VFX Artists React 2” PLEASEEEEEE IM BEGGING
Urgh the effects are mostly terrible!
Yes!
@@TheStarBlackWhat? That’s just not true.
i enjoy seeing y'all geek out about stuff, and having your commentary be educational. amazing how your industry works.
Let's not jump to the conclusion of saying including Sir Ian Holm in this was ethical just because his estate gave permission. Even if that's his wife and family. I don't think its ethical unless he consented himself to be used in future films.
Also, I love the movie and don't think the people who made it are bad people. This is a hard thing to navigate and I am not saying I am right, just saying it doesn't sit right with me. I saw the movie in IMAX 3 times and I never rewatch movies in theater.
@@definedrebel2451 No one speaks for the dead, and i think its very fair to not agree with the use of a dead actors likeness in a movie, but Ian Holme was vocal about being back in the alien franchise and i believe this film goes about this in the best way. though his effects definitely didnt look great
The ring segment was absolutely breathtaking. I love the comment “this is the artist flexing!”
@11:20 the scale of the rings compared with the crashing spaceshiptseem very off to me. LIke the rings go around a planet of maybe the size of the Las Vegas Sphere or something.
You are right. But if they showed the real size rings, in this particular frame, we would see a big ice blank on the background and no perspective)) But also, those rings are usually not so thick within themselves. For instance, Saturn rings are pretty sparse. I mean, the distance between rocks is pretty big, and rockes themselves are not so big.
Very happy you did this film. I love the Alien flicks, including the 2 prequels. Series suggestion: Sin City. The 2nd one got hate because it didn’t “break ground” like the first. However, I don’t think that was ever the goal. Those two movies fit together so well despite being made years apart. Plus Rodriguez is a true vfx DIY innovator.
When I pay for RUclips Premium to prevent ads from RUclips and somehow I had to endure almost 1 minute of an ad for RUclips
Your not paying to prevent in video adds bu corridor. No matter what there would have been an add for better help or something their.
Just double tap right 6 times. Ad over.
The effects in this film were top notch. Even the ones that struggled were innovative and pushing boundaries and not playing it safe. It shows the value of in camera effects
Cant wait for episodes covering the old Alien films.
Romulus/Deadpool & Wolverine double feature at the drive-in was insane.
3:50 A possible consideration: the slidey walking effect might have been kept in because the uncanniness is creepier than photorealism. A bit like why the jank of the old resident evil and parasite eve games made them really creepy
In this review the frame rate is slowed down. In "real time" they scuttle along the floor. When walking, we travel the length of a step or pace. When running, we "float" between the first foot takeoff to the second foot placement. So we do "glide" when we run. Same thing happens with the face huggers. It's not even uncanny. Watching this at regular speed, that's their run.
Corridor Crew should definitely do an awards show for best VFX shots they have seen for the year.
The halo flood music was a nice touch. Great choice editor 👍
Pretty much every shot of space, especially the sequence of the station crashing into the rings just looked flawless and I adore the fact they committed to those long shots of the station decaying. I originally felt a little sad you never get to see the station explode completely but as time went on I grew to absolutely love how they did it, just watching it slowly fall apart and now its probably my favourite take of a "large scale destruction" scene.
I feel like the live action Transformers movies would be great for a full episode going in depth, there is a LOT more practically going on there than you might realise and it’s really really cool!
*Bayformers.
So you're saying there's.... more than meets the eye
3:58 - They are movement-sensing, not heat-seeking for the record. Xenomorphs don't produce heat.
9:47 - Same. I was in awe of some of those space shots.
I thought they used thermal imaging to find the xenomorphs, I remembered there being issues detecting them in places of higher humidity because the temperature was also higher there. I might be remembering wrong though; I tried looking it up but couldn't seem to find anything talking about how they tracked the xenomorphs in the first two movies.
@@lizard3755 The only direct reference to the temperature of the xenomorph in the franchise is when the colonial marines switch to infrared scanners in 'Aliens' and they can't see their targets, so assume "Maybe they don't show up on infrared at all." It's a separate continuity, but this is consistent with 'Alien vs Predator' media as the xenomorph won't show up on the yautja's infrared.
The films never actually explain the detection system of the pulse rifle, smartgun, or turret. The smartgun is explained in expanded media to track via infrared, and thus that function is redundant against xenomorphs, which fits with what we see in 'Aliens'.
I think I just assumed the pulse rifle in 'Alien: Romulus' must be tracking via movement or some other means as movement has historically been the way they've been tracked (with the motion trackers).
You might be remembering the scene in 'Alien: Romulus' where Andy states the facehuggers track via sound and heat (therefore, they have trouble tracking humans in high temperatures).
I assumed it wasn't so much that the xenomorph didn't produce any heat, but that they were the same temperature as the hive structure they were hiding in, so were camouflaged against IR tracking, but as you say, the AvP franchise sort of tries to answer that with the yautja's vision modes.
The Bishop animatronic in Alien 3 was more convincing than Ash in Romulus. Fight me.
WRONG.
I don't know if "convincing" is the word I'd use, but I certainly liked it better. There are some cases where CG is going to be the better option, but when you've got a broken android I feel like practical is going to be the right call since it not functioning exactly like a person is sort of the whole idea. Also I don't get what the point of having Ash there was aside from showing a familiar face, and the info he gave doesn't quite match up with the timeline of the original trilogy based on him when his model was in production. It would have made more sense for it to be Bishop instead.
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Genius.
What confuses me is, why is the Ian Holm droid named *Rook*? I almost wonder if the original plan was for it to be a Bishop-style bot, but Lance Henricksen didn't want to participate for whatever reason. That would have also made more sense narratively, since the audience wouldn't immediately distrust a Bishop model like they would an Ash.
It was originally a female character called Rook and it was apparently cast. It was Ridley Scott who suggested that they use the Ash model instead. You can see early storyboard pictures of when it was a female character
I assume it has to do with the timeline. Romulus takes place between Alien and Aliens (20 years after Alien, 37 before Aliens), and presumably the Bishop model is supposed to have not existed at the time the station was active. Covenant established that androids with the same face model can have different names. I don't know how that's decided in-universe though.
@@jkruse05 Technically David and Walter are different models, Walter mentions to David how people didn't like how "human" he was so that's why they made Walter. Aside from that, I don't understand how they could have gotten that information from Ripley before they found her pod at the beginning of Alien 2 based on how things went in that movie. So even if Ash's model was the one being produced at that point it doesn't make sense for them to also have that info they seemingly didn't know about until after locating Ripley/Ripley's pod.
I think a different new face would have worked fine - it was clearly an android from the clothes and being able to be repowered, throw in some milk and voila. The AI wonk was bad and I almost hope these guys do a fix video sometime
10:42 - For comparison Jupiter's rings are extremely rarified compared to this, posing no risk to the ship.
The irony of paying for RUclips premium only to see a RUclips premium ad in the middle of an ad free video is not lost on me
Romulus was far better than I expected it to be; everything from the art direction to the story to the VFX kicked ass. Killer addition to the franchise. Loved the hell out of it.
This movie was so great, watched it in theatre as well, baked as well.
The whole setting and the realness of everything really kept you focused and film's like this really are extremely rare.
I’m so happy to see this!!! Like Wren, this is my favorite movie this year and one of the best times I’ve had in the cinema in years! Just an incredible movie with incredible VFX! All the points here are spot on
0:16 Most enthusiastic sponsored segment ever created
Fr
I just watched this movie last night on Hulu and it had me in deep absolutely loved your reaction to it thank you so much and can’t wait to see what you guys do next
i didn't know the money i spend on youtube premium went (in part) to the specific channels i watch.. that makes me feel better about it xD
Yeah, from what I remember, being a Premium user and watching a video/channel actually supports the creators moreso than YT ad revenue from non-premium users (I heard this from a LTT vid that I'm too lazy to try and find)
@@aggrogahu appreciate it dude, i have most likely seen the LTT video and just forgot or didn't pay attention xD it is one of my most watched channels next to corridor of course xD
whoever added the library music from halo at the start of this is my hero
Great vid! What's the Corridor Crews' take on all these NJ / CA drone / UAP sightings? We need your in depth visual analysis!
You could do a video on the original Blade Runner and BR 2049. It would be a cool look at how VFX changed over 35 years
1:12 if only it stopped ads for RUclips premium 😂
I was thinking the same thing.
Just watched a react from a year ago. The lighting is totally different and it just shows that with time yall have gotten better. Love to see yall continue to climb 💜🔥
Maybe you think VFX artists never get sparks right because when they do you say they have to be practical ?
RUclips premium, prevents ads and interrupons..... that RUclips themselves imposed......and adds features that use to be universal back in....
Pov; you're the first person asleep at the sleep over with the bois: 1:56
watching an ad on youtube premium about not having to watch ads on youtube premium before gta VI is crazy
That was definitely the best rendition of auto-aim I can think of
aimbot hack lol
that planetary ring crash scene was veeery satisfying to watch especially in the context of the whole movie
I don't understand, you said they haven't released any behind the scenes but you showed several bts shots?
No BTS of the VFX, there are BTS of the practical shots
@@SilverShade47 Ah, I see.
First of all: GIVE US THE ANIMATRONIC-ROOK CUT, Disney! Second: You guys should have a look at George of the Jungle. I know, I know! But I found it's elephant effects pretty interesting for the time it was made.
I can tell you guys really like this movie. Same. It’s an example of a great legacy sequel with mostly awesome special (mostly practical) effects, mostly.
So happy to see this episode! I requested your analysis of Ian Holm's recreation a few episodes back in the comments section, and although I'm pretty sure I have nothing do with it, this one felt like you made it just for me when I saw it pop in my feed 😂 thanks for a great video once again
They say tongue but that shit behaving like a diff appendage 👀😂😂
Right? It's not hugging.
Probably ovipositor, used to lay eggs.
Have you never seen the other films? Or the "tongue" on the adult xeno?! So, yes!
Love the use of Halo's Flood music in the background. A fantastic deep-dive into the best VFX in the Aliens franchise!
There were so many great shots with animatronics and models and CGI in Romulus.
And then that unnecessary deep fake. They should have just had the android played by a living actor.
Michael Fassbender
If the puppet could pull off the broken robot feel then I'd go that way.
Another would be using a completely new actor/character but using Ash's voice, like they can make different looking androids but they don't bother to change the voice.
Agreed. New character. New actor. Same way they did it in Alien.
@@Carloszavalalol Nothing against Fassbender, but I'd prefer if they didn't link the movie to those terrible films.
Rook looking janky worked perfectly for the level of sustained damage.
I didn’t have an issue with Rook, but your focus on it did explain and help me understand. Some people were saying it was all deep fake while the director said it was puppet with deep fake touch-ups. Showing the close-ups and the highlighted sections was really useful.
There’s a movie on Netflix called THE SHADOW STRAYS which would be interesting for VFX Artists React or Stuntmen React. To me, it looks like an insane amount of squibs/practical FX, but could be CG?
This is one of those episodes that makes me appreciate the film all the more.
13 minute episodes? Woof. I remember the good old days when they were 20-30 minutes
Last weeks was 20 and the week before was 30, lol.
So last week?
I mean to be fair they only reacted to single, if the had done the usual 3-4 movies then it can easily go to 25 minutes.
Just a note about the sparks… that’s a great detail to point out however the burst at the end of the spark is an indication of carbon content. Metals like mild steel with lower carbon content do not burst at the end of the initial streaks.
Have a look at the station destruction scene from the last episode of Babylon 5. The series was the first one to use only cgi with no physical models.
You could then compare it to the recreated scene in Babylon 5: The Lost Tales. They completely recreated the scene using newer technology and models giving it a completely different feel to it.
It is a very interesting comparison as there are quite a few years between the two. The original scene was rendered on an Amiga Toaster.
Not to mention that B5's first season was rendered and composited using off-the-shelf *Amigas,* which is just nuts. They didn't even have proper rendering machines until S2 or S3.
It's impressive what they were able to do, especially since they were working on a limited timescale as well. It's not like a movie where you have months to work on it.
They were learning how to do it as they went along and I feel the effects still hold up quite well today.
Amiga with Newtek Video Toaster you mean?
That's the one, got Atari and Amiga mixed up when typing. Fixing it now, thanks.
It is so great to see you guys showing, and PRAISING, Practical Effects lately.
I think you know by now that I am a dedicated Practical guy, but I have to say those space shots, especially the rings, were BEAUTIFUL!!!
10:42 best shot of the whole film. The fact that it still breaks up and it’s not an immediate destruction. You see it get destroyed in the final shot as well
I didn’t get the part with Rook, why has closeups? Make him ominous and in the shadows or on the computer screens with a filter that kinda hides the rough CGI. There’s ways to make it look good.
You guys should check out the beginning part of (our little secret) with Lindsey Lohan. I believe the de-aged her and the main actor and actually did a decent job with hers.
The thing I really liked about the station crashing into the rings was that it didn't just glide through. As more and more particles hit the station, they imparted their forces onto it, and the thing began rotating. Just the little impact on the spike began to make everything else start to rotate just that little bit, and then as more and more hit, then it just tipped the station sideways. And then it just gets more or less stuck like that, or at least it would until the station was destroyed and became part of the rings, or lost enough momentum to then fall more directly down to the planet.
Another reason why Ian Holm looks uncanny is because the puppet doesn't have the proper weight of a human head. When the puppet talks at 8:06, the jaw has enough inertia to jiggle the head a tiny bit, which is something that human anatomy doesn't do. This makes his head seem weightless and empty, and makes the face tracking look janky.
I really like the space lighting. That's something I think about whenever watching a sci fi movie or show. The ships are always perfectly lit. In reality, everything is going to be soooo dark.
Not usually into those kinds of movies but I wanna see that SPACE SCENE!!! They dont cut away! So GOOD!
Alien Romulus was spectacular and I'd been waiting for the guys to review the VFX in it for months. I was absolutely shocked by the space scenes as well and Saturns rings used as a grinder for a ship was truly awesome.
"it's more than hugging" really good feedback 🤣🤣🤣
0:29 RUclips Videos without interruptions? So what exactly am i watching RIGHT NOW? The content I want to see? I don’t think so…
10:58 Wanna know something REALLY cool about this shot? If you watch closely towards the bottom right of the frame during the side shot of the station disintegrating, you can see Ripley's escape shuttle pod jettison from the station before it completely implodes.
This was an amazing move to preserve the timeline of the original movies and explain what happened to it Ripley in the interim and how she was picked up twice.
Nico I hope things get better man we're all here for you if you need anything 👍