@westasia10 I'm 90% sure. I haven't seen the movie so I can't guarantee, but something Disney has been attempting for years and failing at that Dan has been very openly against definitely reads as de-aging. Even since Screen Junkies Dan has really disliked de-aging and been pretty vocal about it when it comes up.
Just got home from an advanced screening, and I have to say, as a huge Alien (and Predator) fan... Dan nailed his review. When Fede Álvarez is allowed to do his thing, this is a great movie. But those damn callbacks really do a number on this film. Also SPOILER ...taking a dead actor, recreating, de-aging and putting him in your movie? Damn it, Disney, this is low, even for you.
I didn't think they were excessive in a "lol random callback insert". I thought most, including what you mentioned, tied into the world and I personally felt "well that makes sense given what they were doing and the timeline of the films" Andy's line towards the end felt the most out of place to me because it served no purpose other than as a reference.
To be fair, that has been in inconsistency throughout the franchise. Having just watched all the other movies, after you get past Aliens, xenomorph growth time has always been as long as the plot needs it to be.
@@DanMurrellMovies This movie broke the record of Covenant in quickest Xeno growth time. In Covenant, we saw a backbuster grows like extending foam just in a matter of couple scenes. Here in this movie, we get a newborn alien, and 5 seconds later it's a 3 meters tall humanoid.
@@T--kq3pjExactly. Also, Alien 3 (the REAL cut) the alien took as long or even longer than in the original because it got into the cow right at the beginning, then took a lot of run time to burst out and start killing. Resurrection was pretty faithful too, because they had been cloning Ripley for months (or longer) and the queen gave birth late into the film after a more traditional egg laying cycle…also the guy who got thawed took a LOOONG time to hatch, much longer than John Hurt in the original. The insta-xenos started with Prometheus (even though I really love that film mostly) and got worse with Covenant and are now instantaneous as with Romulus. Also the design of the new human hybrid was cooler, but the dramatic stakes and tension was way better in Resurrection. 🙄🤷
If you didnt notice, the humanoid xeno was twisted and fucked up and its bones were popping and shit. Seemed like a pretty clear indication that this thing is growing stupid fast and probably on a lot of pain too @T--kq3pj
So, I just came back from the movie, pretty much 100% agree with Dan. In line with the really absurd call-backs, there was one that made the theatre to literally burst out in embarrassed laughs and sighs. Why would they put that into the movie!?
@@tiger_lord305 otherwise of what? Otherwise of The Line or Dan's review? I dunno. I wouldn't rate it has high as Dan, at least one level lower. Unless you live and breathe the alien franchise, I don't think it's worth seeing it in the movies just for the experience of seeing it. Like Dan said, really high highs but completely undercut by literally the lowest lows of the whole franchise, or maybe on par with Resurrections.
Yea he nailed how i felt about the movie. Huge fan of the series but it bothered me how it was a remix of 1 and 2, and that was both great but also really annoying, frustrating and unnecessary. Either make a new movie, or not. Gave me the same 'what's the point' as episode 7 did: i might as well watch the superior originals. There were definitely some highs but overall a disappointment. And that CGI fail was the worst and so unnecessary
@@TealJosh I’m curious as to what parts you’d consider the lowest lows? Aside from maybe the crazy last act I didn’t find anything particularly that offensive.
"The line" really annoyed me, it doesn't feel earned at all. I liked the film overall but some of the callbacks were just jarring and taking elements from 1, 2 (and towards the end 4) feels a bit unimaginative.
Rildey Scott was right The studio wanted just another ALIEN movie. But he wanted to get away from that I loved the idea that a creation would realise it is better than it's creator... And applies that to it's own creation
I can see the merits of both movies clearly. Both are among the most gorgeous movies ever shot, the musical score is great, Michael Fassbenders performance is suberb, as was Noomi, and the VFX look like they will never age. But jesus christ, the stupidity of the victim characters is unlike anything in cinema.
3 of us actually 😂 I agree, David was utterly fascinating and I was really excited to see where he would go. The idea that something created by humans was the progenitor of the xenomorph was a brilliant concept. The cliffhanger at the end of Covenant was brutal, made even more so by the fact we never got any resolution to it.
The callbacks literally started off with the opening of the movie…the 20th Century Fox thing was from Alien 3…this movie was literally just a highlight reel of the Alien franchise’s Greatest Hits.
It is an interesting take here compared to other reviews. I appreciate it. Though I find it interesting that Dan's take on the final act is termed as "divisive" as other reviews have praised the final act as the most spectacular bit of the film. It currently is at a 92% approval rating and an A comscore.
Oh you will definitely have feelings about the third act (more closely towards the very end). I can see people loving and kind of hating it. For me it was just ok, my only disappointment was that another movie in the franchise did the exact same thing better and with more impact (grotesque, shock, horror and overall feelings of "yuck").
@@youngstar312 To be honest I have no idea how it is "out there". I am not complaining or picking a fight with you. It's just, it was an already established thing (multiple times), so it was not really surprising. They even heavily hinted at it through the entire movie. The only special thing was the design itself.
@@youngstar312 Oh. In that case I concede. For the comparison for the 3rd act watch Prometheus, Resurrection and (I can't believe I am actually saying this) Requiem. But you might want to be drunk for that one :p
After watching Alien: Covenant, I was finally at peace with walking away from the franchise. The studios don’t know how to let the story advance, it just spins in a circle. And even though I love scary movies, the larger potential for this franchise died with Shaw.
Covenant definitely made me want to be done with the franchise...I still might watch Romulus but hearing about the cgi de-aging and a pointless retread of an iconic line makes me have doubts.
I figured the studio’s mandatory input would alter Fede’s full vision which of course is the way it goes in huge production where the bottom line is making return on investments. I’m sure it’s a solid film just not as insane as Fede fully off the chain would’ve been
6:43 Giving credit for taking risks???? SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!! . . . . . . . . . ITS LITERALLY ALIEN RESURRECTION!!!!!! THE ENDING IS SCENE BY SCENE THE ENDING OF RESURRECTION!!!
Actually I thought it was a scene by scene of the first movie’s final act or at least a mix of both of the first and fourth movie final acts. Mesh up into one scene.
@@ezioauditore1300 I’m not sure . I may go see it again just in case I missed anything but I just wasn’t impressed. There were literally 5 people in the entire theatre
@@cetifoxproductionsif you haven't gone since covid then I wouldn't expect another alien movie to break that. But there have been many great movies since
I watched this movie a week ago in the cinema without any prior knowledge of the Alien franchise… and let me tell you, this movie made me a fan! I left the theater obsessed and immediately started binge-watching all the Alien movies. Now that I’ve seen them all, I can fully understand what you're saying. I absolutely loved Alien and Aliens (the first two), but after that, the series became a disappointment. Romulus isn’t bad, but it relies heavily on elements from the originals. For someone like me who came in with fresh eyes, it was a great introduction to the franchise. But if you've seen the earlier films, it feels like it leans too much on their success and iconic cinematography, which diminishes its impact. Nevertheless, I think it’s a solid movie, especially for newcomers who might be inspired to go back and watch the classics. As for Prometheus and Covenant, I don’t even consider them worth mentioning as they veered too far off the original storyline and lost me. Still, I’m so happy that Romulus led me to discover the original Alien, which has now become one of my all-time favorite films!
*Spoilers* (don't read if you want to be surprised) It's a twisted engineer with a crazy smile and a tail going rampage on the small ship. No I'm not joking, watch for yourself. It was creepy though.
Dan is exactly describing Postmodern Jukebox! They are a great cover band, but they're unique because they cover modern hits in vintage styles. Technically, yes, we all know the lyrics, but we've still never heard this rendition, thus making it an 'original'.
Critics are just people. But what sets their opinion apart from an average joe is that they have it for a job and the serious ones are actually educated/informed about what they say. Their opinions are their for information or critique, not to become your opinion fully. I don't know why people don't get this.
I used to to this year's ago. I still tune in to certain critics that I've always watched just because I'm curious to know what they think, almost like asking a friend what they thought. But they don't influence my opinion anymore, unless they bring up a valid point that I didn't think of
@@nms7872It’s really not that hard. There’s some movies that are rotten that I enjoy, some fresh I detest. Watch the film for yourself always. Sure it’s fun to talk about film and see other’s perspectives. You might pick up on something you missed, but still, watch it for yourself.
Alien "Bombulus" Saved by the Bell in Space. No amount Of CGI SFX can enhance or embellish this Synthetic Rubber, Plastic facade of a lost cause. The Disney signature of over or under playing its movies is the main reason why so many of their movies have flopped.😮
When you said 'believe it or not' at the start of your review and my brain went 'ripley's....ohhhhh that's clever....because Alien - Ripley' - please tell me I'm not the only one whose autistic brain immediately made that connection whether it was intentional or not XD
Definitely want a spoiler review for this one! I noticed some of your more nuanced arguments were tied into plot elements that you couldn't talk about.
Dawww I’m bummed you didn’t love it as much as I did haha but I hear your critiques. 100% agree about the “Disney” element you mentioned. That was the one thing that took me out of it a few times. But I was so happy with this film, and the production design was outstanding!
Cameron is mad genius to even think (and later deliver) he could match or surpass Ridley Scott’s Alien that time!! Both Alien and Aliens are masterpieces in their own right and I can never make my mind on which one is better.
@@martinmp19 rewatch alien and with a critical mind you can really pick apart the horrible decisions of the characters of that film, akin to how we scrutinized the characters of covenant and prometheus
Callbacks, field of Easter eggs, and a long shot 3rd (or 4th act)…wow. I enjoyed this film but agree with Dan. The lines and definitely finale were divisive but I ❤ the aesthetic and chills.
I was so confused myself and I'm glad you cleared my suspicions on why i felt like they were finally going to make something unique and suspenseful at some parts but then the feeling of excitement kept going away and then come back again. Most favorite scene was when they used the gun to it's full potential. If they did the entire movie with just the sister and brother i think they would have nailed the entire movie. Nothing against the other actors but the writers made them feel like they crowded the entire movie.
Hi Dan, love your contents. Keep up the good work. Curious to know if there'll be a spoiler-review of Romulus as I'm very interested to know which parts of the movie that you hated. Thanks!
I don't know why everyone is saying this movie is gory, i've seen the movie and it's surprisingly not that gory for a fede film, the chest burster scene is actually less gory than the original.
I want to thank all the haters for lowering my expectations and making me think the movie is bad. Well...they are just wrong. What a blast I had. Great movie. So f**king tense!!! The ONLY thing I didn't appreciate was the line: "get away from her....(long pause)....you B*TCH". That was completely unnecessary. The Ian Holm CGI face on Rook didn't really bother me for more than three seconds and then I was fine with it. Nope...I really REALLY like this Alien movie. Well Done Fede, well done 👍
I believe Prometheus even though it's nothing like the first two or capturers the terror. It stands well enough on its own as an underrated sci Fi story.
I wanted to love this movie before going in but unfortunately I feel the same way. I liked the premise. But I was bouncing back and forth between liking, hating, loving, hating, then just liking. It’s basically the “Rogue One” of the Alien franchise. 6/10 good movie but not a masterpiece.
Hard disagree Dan, the “fan service” in this film was brilliant and was organically fit into the film. This film was amazing and is right behind the original Alien and Aliens. A solid 8/10 for me!!
The underlying problem is Disney bought 20th century studios. They turned this movie into a legacy sequel to play on the safe side for box office revenue reasons . Sadly it probably will work.
@@JJtheUtahRealtor That would also be good. My basic idea here is they setup Henriksen as the human template for Bishop and the Weyland Yutani CEO at the end of Alien 3. I've heard the intention was for him to be more of a main bad guy in later movies but that never happened.
@@TheMostPotatoPodcast That's a distinct possibility, however everything I've seen in trailers so far makes this movie look reasonably practical. And the way Dan describes it, I think he's talking about something going back longer than The Volume. As far as I know the use of that didn't really begin until the Mandalorian. They've been doing this deaging thing since at least 2010.
As someone who has seen Alien movies but I dont pay super attention and Im not a super fan. I heard that "Bitch" line in Romulus and it was so jarring to me. I didnt realize it was a reference which makes total sense considering the first one to say it was a woman who was a mother, saying it to the alien mother queen. But I can say, even for someone who did NOT get the reference at first.. that line was just as strange to me as it was to everyone else. I do love the 2 leads in this, the the actor playing the android was amaaaaazing loved him so much. I enjoyed it though I wish there were more 'down' times where there wasnt any action going on. It just seemed like they were being thrown from one situation to another where they were fighting aliens or face huggers. For me I would have loved to get more backstory to these characters other than "This is the racist one against androids" "This is the pregnant one" etc
Okay, literally every early review of this is saying the ending is insane and divisive and I can't remember being this intrigued by a mainstream movie since ....... I honestly don't know when. I was hyped to hell for Furiosa (which I loved a lot more than you did) but no one was saying the ending was bananas and divisive like people are saying about this. I'm willing to forgive a movie's flaws if it takes a massive swing--especially as an ending.
There's nothing insane about the ending. We've seen it all before. Maybe divisive because how some people like the comfort of seeing the same things in a franchise while others don't. Think of it as The Force Awakens and how it was an homage to A New Hope. Romulus is the same. Everything old is new again.
Some of the callback lines do more to damage the film than anything else. The 4th act doesn't really bring anything new, really. It's just a remix of things you've seen before.
It's a greatest hits album of the franchise's most iconic situations, visuals and even dialogue, but it's not much more than an effort to cash in on fan service. The "seismic reaction" description is very apt because its best parts are just the degree that it manages to recapture the look and feel of the original film which, technically speaking, shouldn't be that difficult, much less impossible, and the worst parts are just pushing familiar elements until they break credulity. The film does look good, and its sound design is also above average. The actors did what they could, but I didn't care who lived or died by about halfway through, even though the survivors were very predictable. Dan's right about the finale: WAY over the top, so much so that I was laughing at the end. The character CGI was uneven, even rough, in some instances and probably shouldn't have been kept in instead of going to some other option. If this is the best the franchise can do now, it would be far more respectful to simply leave it alone. It's not my money, but there has to be a better way to spend $80 million making movies.
Yea I saw this at the earliest possible screening which was the 14 at 730. This review is exactly how I felt, I loved the asthetic, alien and ship design, all beautiful and has the same vibe as the original. I loved basically everything in the 2nd and 3rd act bc it was so compelling (minus the really distracting de-aging bc my god that didn’t look good) but the 4th act I was done. I loved this film but then right at the end they fucked it entirely, I personally don’t like the prequels, this could be why I have such a strong reaction to anything with the black goo and Prometheus. The human alien hybrid thing was awful. I understand that that creature could technically be defined as like a “perfect human/ xenomorph thing” but it’s most definitely not for me. But everything else prior I loved, the last part takes this from an 8 (maybe 9)/ 10 to a 7/10
Couldn’t agree more. Majority of the movie up to that point was brilliant, but I ended up walking out of the cinema thinking what the hell was that dumb ending.
The line you're talking about... man, im still fuming. I could feel the cringe in the theater, complete silence. I just saw it and I pretty much agree with your take on it. I'll rate it somewhere between 6.5 / 7.2.
The issue is that the "new" plot points in Romulus are not there for the sake of the storytelling, they are jammed in to connect all the other copy pasted scenes. They need to vaccinate the alien franchise against the Ridley Scott pathogen of condescending mediocrity.
The movie is overrated, and people are saying that it starts off slow and when they think it's going to end it keeps going. It's structured like any other film; the first action scene is literally at the 30-minute mark, and it's obvious it wasn't over when the pregnant girl injected herself. I swear the people reviewing it act like they've never seen a movie before.
They learned from Scott's Prometheus and covenant megaflops. Instead of giving him 400 mil they only gave him 80, and hired a competent director and it worked. They actually made money with Romulus: the Alien franchise best clips.
Honestly as someone who only knows Alien and its tropes in bits and pieces, this was a terrifying good time. Not knowing all the references saved me in this instance.
I saw it last night and I've been going over the reviews on RUclips trying to find somebody who agrees with my take in this film being mid at best. Let's see how this one goes. Edit: yes. Tone. Production design. Sound design. All great. The characters (aside from Andy the android), plot, story and campy callbacks were just insufferable.
What a joke, people are so caught up in nostalgia it's blinded them 😂, listen, no matter what they do people like you and them will never ever be satisfied I'm telling you because I used to be that way, in this movie the acting is objectively better, the practical effects are objectively better, the storyline is objectively better, the alien attack scenes look real unlike in aliens where for example the alien grabs that women with the flamethrower is hilarious 😂, people like you need to stop this bs this movie other than the CGI rook is incredible! If this came first it would be the movie you would defend and you know it
@@kerryprice1414....but it didn't come first. That's the whole frigging point. This movie adds nothing, is leagues behind the original when it comes to tension and relies on a plethora of memberberries to make blind fanboys happy. Sad how people fall for the big studios plans to milk as much money as possible.
@@chrisiskandar7388 I haven't fallen for anybodies "plan" I'm sure the "plan" is to get as many people go enjoy the movie as possible , I absolutely love alien and aliens but some scenes in it are a joke, like I said the alien that grabs the soldier with the flame thrower literally goes up on a conveyor belt 🤣 now I know for a fact if that was in this movie you would mention it, sorry but the truth is people can't grow up and move past nostalgia haha, 🤣, this movie is deffo up there as one of the best or the best, like i said, OBJECTIVELY the story, practical effects and tension even the acting was better, ffs the acting in alien and aliens was average at best!!
@@kerryprice1414 story? How is it better? What are you even talking about? They basically just copied everything the franchise did before. Tension is better? What? No way. I felt nothing once they were inside the spaceship. You want me to feel tension when a teenage girl kills more than 10 xenos on her own with a single clip? Sorry, but you have no case here at all. Practical effects? Do you even have any idea how much work and skill went into the original film??? To do this in 1979? The practical effects are fine in romulus but there is a ton of cgi. Get informed first and see what is actual practical effects. You would be surprised. So again, you have no case here.
I hope that by putting their hands all over IP they recently acquired that people will start waking up to how bad this Disney formula is. The choices they make in this movie, whether it's the plot beats from every other movie, copying shots, some of the worst recycled lines I've ever seen, and yes, using AI and CGI to recreate the likeness of a dead actor, are all aspects of the pop-cinema formula that Disney has mastered: feeding audiences familiar faces and recycled moments, expecting applause for mere recognition. I especially despise this trend of recreating dead actors digitally, especially when you consider it’s most often employed by Disney, the largest, most soulless studio in existence today. This isn’t about honoring actors or preserving their memory-it’s about cheap thrills, designed to manipulate an audience trained to cheer for the past rather than embrace something new.
I appreciate Dan trying not to spoil a movie but unfortunately there's not enough to go on of what he didn't like to allow me to decide where they want to go see this or not. Maybe there just isn't an easy way to talk about it without spoiling the movie.
If you liked how The Force Awakens ripped on A New Hope, you'll probably like Romulus. If you're expecting a new original story that connects to the other movies and expands the universe, don't. This movie is for people who like the comfort of nostalgia. Nothing wrong with that but it wasn't for me.
I thought Prometheus was interesting! I just wish a small number of the questions it asked were answered in Covenant, but instead all we got was people making very dumb decisions and then dying. (I want to walk away from the franchise but may still watch Romulus, not sure)
I've been a hardcore "alien" fan for 30 years. I've watch everyone and me and my bf just git home from the Swedish premiere of Romulus. The forth act in this move made me feel for the first time ever, that i hope they never make another alien movie. I would like to see what happens after revenant, but right now, I'm just angry. Romulus had SO MUCH potential, like you said; the highs was really high and it FELT like the originals from time to time. But then they throwed in stuff like "the cgi person", "the line" and the fourth act, and i felt angry.
Jag håller till mesta dels med. Som helhet tyckte jag att filmen var bra, fantastisk i vissa scener, men nostalgi-skiten som slängs in i vad känns som varje tjugonde minut drar ned filmen för mig. Sen så finns det vissa "plotholes" såsom hur karaktärerna missade att se den gigantiska döda sönder muterade råttan i det andra laberatoriet & flera saker under hiss schakt scenen jag uppfattade som inte verklighets överensstämmande eller vettigt. Också så gav xenomorf-hybrid bäbisen i slutet mig dåliga minnen av "newborn" från Resurrection, trots att jag tycker att hybrid-monster konceptet var bättre gestaltad här i Romulus än i Resurrection, så om den delen vet jag fortfarande inte om jag är helt okej med eller ogillar. Så jävla nära att vara en riktigt bra Alien rulle. Hamnar på ett likvärdigt plats med Alien 3 "Assembly Cut" i filmseriens rangordning enligt min åsikt.
Jag håller till mesta dels med. Som helhet tyckte jag att filmen var bra, fantastisk i vissa scener, men nostalgi-skiten som slängs in i vad känns som varje tjugonde minut drar ned filmen för mig. Sen så finns det vissa "plotholes" såsom hur karaktärerna missade att se den gigantiska döda sönder muterade råttan i det andra laberatoriet & flera saker under hiss schakt scenen jag uppfattade som inte verklighets överensstämmande eller vettigt. Också så gav xenomorf-hybrid bäbisen i slutet mig dåliga minnen av "newborn" från Resurrection, trots att jag tycker att hybrid-monster konceptet var bättre gjord här i Romulus än i Resurrection. Så jävla nära att vara en riktigt bra Alien rulle. Hamnar på likvärdig placering som Alien 3 "Assembly Cut" i filmseriens rangordning enligt min åsikt, & jag är en av dem som inte hatar den versionen av 3:an.
There was a friend who told me that he saw it with two other friends who were HUGE fans of Aliens and they were very upset by the film. With that phrasing I was TERRIFIED at the idea that maybe it was going to mess with the lore and somehow negatively affect Aliens or make it retroactively dumb or something... and thank god it was just a bad fanservice quote. With that in mind, I went into the film hoping to see good characters and that it won't ruin the lore, and I'd say it delivered on those aspects and I was relieved by the end of it. I loved Rain and Andy, I loved how the film looked and how the Alien was treated, but I agree they could've dialed down with the fanservice or the obligatory climax. We'll see how I'll feel on a rewatch I suppose. I'm glad the film still seemed to have restored people's respect for the series, but I'm also glad that the Alien fans are calling out the fanservice instead of clapping like seals at it, it's a good movie but let's be very stern with the criticisms so that the next Alien movie is just as good and without needing to rely on that.
I respectfully disagree, Dan. Lightning struck three times in a row in the franchise. Alien 3 (especially the Assembly Cut) is fantastic and the perfect film to close the loop on the original trilogy. David Fincher did superbly, and the film has an amazing cast, cinematography, etc. People just get whiny because of Newt and Hicks . . . apparently because they don't understand there's nothing interesting to do with those characters since the movies were always about Ripley and her arc.
While I think that there were interesting avenues to explore with Newt & Hicks, I agree that the Alien 3 Assembly Cut is a great entry into the series. It took the series into a different place, and Sigourney Weaver felt that it was tonally in synch with the series that Ripley would be tortured by fate to lose the very people she fought so hard to save while she has to carry on the fight
Hicks and Newt become the standard bearers for Aliens due to the Dark Horse comics, which , with No Exaggeration, were better than anything else in the theater after Aliens including Alien 3.
A 6 out of 10. That unnecessary deepfake got me completely off. One thing is a fun Easter egg, another thing is that anomaly they brought into the movie.
I've only seen the trailer for this, but it sure looked like it was a film version of the video game Alien: Isolation. A young girl is trapped on a space station with a xenomorph. In Isolation you play Ellen Ripley's daughter, but otherwise the trailer looks just like the video game
@@griswoldclark6835 I saw one review...and then I click it disappears. their site is crashing from alien fans clicking refresh repeatedly llol just tried again it's at 85% with 65 reviews. still can't read any
I had some faith in Fede. But in the end, we all kinda assumed Disney would mess this up at least a little bit. Disappointing because I really enjoyed Prey (and in that case they messed up by not releasing it theatrically because it certainly deserved it).
Not sure if I'm using this term right but I really liked what I'm going to call the sound design. What I mean is that this movie sounded like the og movies. If that makes sense. And I really liked that aspect.
Pretty accurate review! What I'd like to see is a director's cut that trims out all of the very bad callbacks, especially some of those rehashed lines from previous films, because I think these bad moments could be easily edited out without it being noticeable. Ridley is kind of tarnishing things, with his prequel mess, but I liked Romulus even with those awful if brief moments.
I think you've become one of those critics that only like super artistic movies and that's fine if that's what you like, but I feel like I have to take your reviews now with a grain of salt. I still think you are an incredibly hard worker and I appreciate all the effort you put in to the channel
I liked this movie. I rated it "It's Good." I liked Deadpool and Wolverine. I liked Twisters. I liked Inside Out 2 and Bad Boys: Ride or Die. I don't know why so many people keep saying I didn't like this movie when I did. I guess because I wasn't jumping out of my seat, it means I didn't like it?
Not de-aged, just brought back a dead actor. He plays a different android called Rook who just happens to look like Ash. Looking alike has nothing to do with the story and could have been played by any alive actor. He's only brought back for the nostalgia and this is the one of many things wrong with movie. It's not terrible but it's no where near a classic.
Your review is very on point. It’s a mix of best hits from previous entries with the director’s unique take on horror which ends up producing an entertaining but flawed experience. I heard Ridley Scott placed his own ideas into the story instead of letting Álvarez do his own take in this universe.
When I saw the trailer for Romulus, I was underwhelmed simply because it looked like "more of the same": alien gets aboard a ship, eggs get planted into the crew, aliens come out, crew starts to die as claustrophobia and jump scares ensue. Sure, maybe it'll be really well executed and have a few twists but it's still diminishing returns (the way the last Mission Impossible, while very well done, is more of the same beats from mi4, mi5, mi6). I think Alvarez is talented and caught a few breathless early reactions, but think I can wait for streaming for this. Freshness is what most excites me; I think Dan nailed it when he drew the analogy to a cover song. Sounds like a broadly good time but ultimately a retread.
But that's what many fans wanted, Alien has a lot of deep concepts, but it's basically action or horror. I'm not saying that something new can't be done, but after Ridley's failed attempt, the smartest thing to do was to do something classic that didn't reinvent the wheel. Now that they've proven that Alien can come back, it's possible to make new and more ambitious stories
@@Weloveyoupyrex The studio made Ridley Scott shift his sequel into a more traditional Alien film because the reception was so mixed. He wanted to do something completely different. It ended up not pleasing anyone.
Calling it here, that Disney “technique” Dan is calling out here is using CGI to resurrect dead actors.
You nailed it.
And doing it about as successfully as Disney. Not good.
It was pretty rough....
It was slightly distracting the first time you see it, but it was fun
It was so bad. It looked like a Snapchat filter you'd use to make a baby look like it was talking.
Does the xenomorph say, "Alan!?"
Now that is a reference I would appreciate.
@@Jim90117 At some point, I want to know what the xenomorphs think and talk about. Do they think about Alan?
Someone say my name?
Alien!
@@JohnBainbridge0 The alien saying 'alien!' would be great!
So what you’re telling me….. the alien performs a jazz number. That’s pretty sick….
Acid (Blood) Jazz.
Wait, so is this a Spaceballs sequel then?
"Hello my baby, hello my honey, hello my ragtime gal."
Spaceballs was an Absolutely Beautifully Crafted Film! Space Comedy At Its Science Fiction Best, Just Fantastic!
@@RonnieBarzel 👏
Dan trying to describe de-aging without saying de-aging is too good
Is de-aging definitely what he's referring to? I was curious
@westasia10 I'm 90% sure. I haven't seen the movie so I can't guarantee, but something Disney has been attempting for years and failing at that Dan has been very openly against definitely reads as de-aging. Even since Screen Junkies Dan has really disliked de-aging and been pretty vocal about it when it comes up.
Is this the “technique” he said never works? Was curious
@jordanclark219 It worked well in Captain America Civil War I thought.
I imagine there's a weird Ripley cameo
0:02 may be the question is whether Ripley believes it or not
You caught it! I decided to go subtle
Nicely done.
Boom.
Waxy answer
@@DanMurrellMovies Unlike this movies callbacks 💀
Nothing cuts quite like one of Dans disapproving thumbnails for something you are hoping to love.
Truth. The moment I saw the thumbail I was like...ohhh darnnnn.
It's good, see it for yourself.
It's up there with the first 2.
I enjoyed it personally
@@aaronmccutcheon6008lol no
The film is absolute garbage
Did the Romulans look accurate?
They look like Vulcans
No Not Star Trek Related!
@@thomashumphrey48😂
Kinda but they pointed their phasers the wrong way, a common mistake
Just got home from an advanced screening, and I have to say, as a huge Alien (and Predator) fan... Dan nailed his review. When Fede Álvarez is allowed to do his thing, this is a great movie. But those damn callbacks really do a number on this film. Also SPOILER
...taking a dead actor, recreating, de-aging and putting him in your movie? Damn it, Disney, this is low, even for you.
If it had been Brian Glover, it could have been hilarious. But they had better have paid millions to his descendants.
ah the old fan service and remember berries
Who was it, and did they have a speaking role?
I didn't think they were excessive in a "lol random callback insert".
I thought most, including what you mentioned, tied into the world and I personally felt "well that makes sense given what they were doing and the timeline of the films"
Andy's line towards the end felt the most out of place to me because it served no purpose other than as a reference.
they've done it multiple times already
I always appreciate Dan's honest and well-spoken reviews
The xenos goes from embryo to fully grown in like 5 seconds in this movie. Seriously.
To be fair, that has been in inconsistency throughout the franchise. Having just watched all the other movies, after you get past Aliens, xenomorph growth time has always been as long as the plot needs it to be.
@@DanMurrellMovies This movie broke the record of Covenant in quickest Xeno growth time. In Covenant, we saw a backbuster grows like extending foam just in a matter of couple scenes. Here in this movie, we get a newborn alien, and 5 seconds later it's a 3 meters tall humanoid.
@@T--kq3pjExactly. Also, Alien 3 (the REAL cut) the alien took as long or even longer than in the original because it got into the cow right at the beginning, then took a lot of run time to burst out and start killing. Resurrection was pretty faithful too, because they had been cloning Ripley for months (or longer) and the queen gave birth late into the film after a more traditional egg laying cycle…also the guy who got thawed took a LOOONG time to hatch, much longer than John Hurt in the original. The insta-xenos started with Prometheus (even though I really love that film mostly) and got worse with Covenant and are now instantaneous as with Romulus. Also the design of the new human hybrid was cooler, but the dramatic stakes and tension was way better in Resurrection. 🙄🤷
If you didnt notice, the humanoid xeno was twisted and fucked up and its bones were popping and shit. Seemed like a pretty clear indication that this thing is growing stupid fast and probably on a lot of pain too @T--kq3pj
It is explained in the movie. Not that it makes it okay.
So, I just came back from the movie, pretty much 100% agree with Dan. In line with the really absurd call-backs, there was one that made the theatre to literally burst out in embarrassed laughs and sighs. Why would they put that into the movie!?
Howd you feel about the film otherwise?
Which one?
I saw the movie and there was no scene like that
Shit was extremely good
@@tiger_lord305 otherwise of what? Otherwise of The Line or Dan's review? I dunno. I wouldn't rate it has high as Dan, at least one level lower. Unless you live and breathe the alien franchise, I don't think it's worth seeing it in the movies just for the experience of seeing it.
Like Dan said, really high highs but completely undercut by literally the lowest lows of the whole franchise, or maybe on par with Resurrections.
Yea he nailed how i felt about the movie. Huge fan of the series but it bothered me how it was a remix of 1 and 2, and that was both great but also really annoying, frustrating and unnecessary. Either make a new movie, or not. Gave me the same 'what's the point' as episode 7 did: i might as well watch the superior originals. There were definitely some highs but overall a disappointment. And that CGI fail was the worst and so unnecessary
@@TealJosh I’m curious as to what parts you’d consider the lowest lows? Aside from maybe the crazy last act I didn’t find anything particularly that offensive.
"The line" really annoyed me, it doesn't feel earned at all. I liked the film overall but some of the callbacks were just jarring and taking elements from 1, 2 (and towards the end 4) feels a bit unimaginative.
Is it the bitch line? I can't really think of many Alien lines
Lemme guess a random use of “game over man”
I was going to guess "get away from her you bitch" @@simbolicdunksman1746
My guess is “get away from her you bitch”
@@simbolicdunksman1746 No, it's actually "get away from her you bitch".
I liked Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, despite their flaws, and thought David was a fascinating character in the series.
Rildey Scott was right
The studio wanted just another ALIEN movie.
But he wanted to get away from that
I loved the idea that a creation would realise it is better than it's creator...
And applies that to it's own creation
Someone had to. Just goes to show that there's something for everyone. 😁
That makes at least 2 of us.
I can see the merits of both movies clearly. Both are among the most gorgeous movies ever shot, the musical score is great, Michael Fassbenders performance is suberb, as was Noomi, and the VFX look like they will never age. But jesus christ, the stupidity of the victim characters is unlike anything in cinema.
3 of us actually 😂 I agree, David was utterly fascinating and I was really excited to see where he would go. The idea that something created by humans was the progenitor of the xenomorph was a brilliant concept. The cliffhanger at the end of Covenant was brutal, made even more so by the fact we never got any resolution to it.
The callbacks literally started off with the opening of the movie…the 20th Century Fox thing was from Alien 3…this movie was literally just a highlight reel of the Alien franchise’s Greatest Hits.
Well, it was the 45th Anniversary of Alien when you think about.
It is an interesting take here compared to other reviews. I appreciate it. Though I find it interesting that Dan's take on the final act is termed as "divisive" as other reviews have praised the final act as the most spectacular bit of the film.
It currently is at a 92% approval rating and an A comscore.
Oh you will definitely have feelings about the third act (more closely towards the very end). I can see people loving and kind of hating it. For me it was just ok, my only disappointment was that another movie in the franchise did the exact same thing better and with more impact (grotesque, shock, horror and overall feelings of "yuck").
having seen the movie it's very out there. I liked it, but I could see some people hating it.
@@youngstar312 To be honest I have no idea how it is "out there". I am not complaining or picking a fight with you. It's just, it was an already established thing (multiple times), so it was not really surprising. They even heavily hinted at it through the entire movie. The only special thing was the design itself.
@@leonardopribic2661 well tbf I have only seen the first 2 Alien movies, so it was very out there to me ^^
@@youngstar312 Oh. In that case I concede. For the comparison for the 3rd act watch Prometheus, Resurrection and (I can't believe I am actually saying this) Requiem. But you might want to be drunk for that one :p
"the perfect jean -> the perfect gene -> the perfect organism.
the jeans a xenomorph would wear."
missed connection.
After watching Alien: Covenant, I was finally at peace with walking away from the franchise. The studios don’t know how to let the story advance, it just spins in a circle. And even though I love scary movies, the larger potential for this franchise died with Shaw.
Your loss, the movie is badass
Just finished watching, romulus was a way better movie
I want to know what happened to Shaw. Prometheus was very good people just talk crap because some of the characters were a little goofy acting.
@@Isaak-eo6tr she died , her body was used in Fassbender’s experiments
Covenant definitely made me want to be done with the franchise...I still might watch Romulus but hearing about the cgi de-aging and a pointless retread of an iconic line makes me have doubts.
I figured the studio’s mandatory input would alter Fede’s full vision which of course is the way it goes in huge production where the bottom line is making return on investments. I’m sure it’s a solid film just not as insane as Fede fully off the chain would’ve been
The ranking video for this series is something I will definitely look forward to watching!
Same, I love his ranking vids
Alien and Terminator are both series that have 2 prefect entries and the rest of the sequels feel like fan fiction.
I’m in full agreement with Dan here. There is some good stuff here but the lows are low.
And yeah there are some good scenes in here as well.
6:43
Giving credit for taking risks????
SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!
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ITS LITERALLY ALIEN RESURRECTION!!!!!! THE ENDING IS SCENE BY SCENE THE ENDING OF RESURRECTION!!!
It was awful
Actually I thought it was a scene by scene of the first movie’s final act or at least a mix of both of the first and fourth movie final acts. Mesh up into one scene.
@Max2nice exactly! Why is everyone so impressed by this??? It had nothing memorable
@ewokcalypse4470 Im honestly shocked how many persons defend this movie. It has nothing memorable. Its just awfull
@@ezioauditore1300 I’m not sure . I may go see it again just in case I missed anything but I just wasn’t impressed. There were literally 5 people in the entire theatre
Haven’t been to the theater since Furiosa. Seeing this tomorrow.
I haven't been to the theater since before COVID. This isn't bringing me out.
@@cetifoxproductionscool 👍
@@cetifoxproductionsif you haven't gone since covid then I wouldn't expect another alien movie to break that. But there have been many great movies since
@@cetifoxproductionsJeez! I've been to the movies at least six times in the past month! Enjoy!
@@cetifoxproductionswho asked
I watched this movie a week ago in the cinema without any prior knowledge of the Alien franchise… and let me tell you, this movie made me a fan! I left the theater obsessed and immediately started binge-watching all the Alien movies. Now that I’ve seen them all, I can fully understand what you're saying. I absolutely loved Alien and Aliens (the first two), but after that, the series became a disappointment. Romulus isn’t bad, but it relies heavily on elements from the originals. For someone like me who came in with fresh eyes, it was a great introduction to the franchise. But if you've seen the earlier films, it feels like it leans too much on their success and iconic cinematography, which diminishes its impact.
Nevertheless, I think it’s a solid movie, especially for newcomers who might be inspired to go back and watch the classics. As for Prometheus and Covenant, I don’t even consider them worth mentioning as they veered too far off the original storyline and lost me. Still, I’m so happy that Romulus led me to discover the original Alien, which has now become one of my all-time favorite films!
This is a perfect review imo. Although I did like elements of Prometheus.
Well, now I'm curious about the bananas 4th act.
Me too!
It's god awful
4th act: "Peanut butter jelly with a baseball bat."
*Spoilers* (don't read if you want to be surprised)
It's a twisted engineer with a crazy smile and a tail going rampage on the small ship. No I'm not joking, watch for yourself. It was creepy though.
@@Henrik.S8 So a connection with Prometheus? Interesting.
Dan is exactly describing Postmodern Jukebox! They are a great cover band, but they're unique because they cover modern hits in vintage styles. Technically, yes, we all know the lyrics, but we've still never heard this rendition, thus making it an 'original'.
I appreciate your honest review. I expect to be impressed by this film's VFX and sound design and underwhelmed by the story and characters.
100% this
The silences were great and the mood music was great too!
I finally learned my lesson this year, to never trust a critic to uphold your personal taste. If you are interested in something, just watch it.
Facts
What film and critic enlightened you to this?
Critics are just people. But what sets their opinion apart from an average joe is that they have it for a job and the serious ones are actually educated/informed about what they say.
Their opinions are their for information or critique, not to become your opinion fully. I don't know why people don't get this.
I used to to this year's ago. I still tune in to certain critics that I've always watched just because I'm curious to know what they think, almost like asking a friend what they thought. But they don't influence my opinion anymore, unless they bring up a valid point that I didn't think of
@@nms7872It’s really not that hard. There’s some movies that are rotten that I enjoy, some fresh I detest. Watch the film for yourself always. Sure it’s fun to talk about film and see other’s perspectives. You might pick up on something you missed, but still, watch it for yourself.
Alien "Bombulus" Saved by the Bell in Space. No amount Of CGI SFX can enhance or embellish this Synthetic Rubber, Plastic facade of a lost cause. The Disney signature of over or under playing its movies is the main reason why so many of their movies have flopped.😮
Everyone is talking about the final act - how it is bold and different ( in good and bad way), can’t wait to see what the buzz is about
It was wild. I enjoyed it quite a lot
It's nothing new and it's all been done before. It doesn't make or break the movie.
It's not quite as cute as Alien 4 ending, but close 😂
Yeah, it was genuinely disturbing
When you said 'believe it or not' at the start of your review and my brain went 'ripley's....ohhhhh that's clever....because Alien - Ripley' - please tell me I'm not the only one whose autistic brain immediately made that connection whether it was intentional or not XD
It was most definitely intentional! Good catch.
@@DanMurrellMovies Blocked. Censorship goes two ways.
@weathforjr What are you talking about?
Definitely want a spoiler review for this one! I noticed some of your more nuanced arguments were tied into plot elements that you couldn't talk about.
This movie threw everything at the wall and prayed most of it would stick. It didn’t.
Dawww I’m bummed you didn’t love it as much as I did haha but I hear your critiques. 100% agree about the “Disney” element you mentioned. That was the one thing that took me out of it a few times. But I was so happy with this film, and the production design was outstanding!
Looking forward to seeing this in theater. Thankx for the review bro 😎
Cameron is mad genius to even think (and later deliver) he could match or surpass Ridley Scott’s Alien that time!! Both Alien and Aliens are masterpieces in their own right and I can never make my mind on which one is better.
aliens >>>> alien
@moviereelnews no way! More like Alien > Aliens
@@martinmp19 rewatch alien and with a critical mind you can really pick apart the horrible decisions of the characters of that film, akin to how we scrutinized the characters of covenant and prometheus
@moviereelnews i can do the same for Aliens.. Alien is the best one
@@wilmaso cool. I disagree. but cool
This is The Force Awakens of the Alien franchise.
Callbacks, field of Easter eggs, and a long shot 3rd (or 4th act)…wow. I enjoyed this film but agree with Dan. The lines and definitely finale were divisive but I ❤ the aesthetic and chills.
I was so confused myself and I'm glad you cleared my suspicions on why i felt like they were finally going to make something unique and suspenseful at some parts but then the feeling of excitement kept going away and then come back again. Most favorite scene was when they used the gun to it's full potential. If they did the entire movie with just the sister and brother i think they would have nailed the entire movie. Nothing against the other actors but the writers made them feel like they crowded the entire movie.
I thought the ending had a bit of jump the shark moment. It verged on campy territory to me.
You had the 100% same experience as me! I thought im too picky.
Too many call backs
It's not remotely tense or scary so no, you're not picky.
'Hello my darling hello my sweetheart hello my good time gal!'....I missd that reference!
Regarding Perfect Jean, in space no one can see your inseam
Hi Dan, love your contents. Keep up the good work.
Curious to know if there'll be a spoiler-review of Romulus as I'm very interested to know which parts of the movie that you hated. Thanks!
I don't know why everyone is saying this movie is gory, i've seen the movie and it's surprisingly not that gory for a fede film, the chest burster scene is actually less gory than the original.
Agreed. The acid death should and could have been may more graphic.
Big disappointment
Alien: The Yip-yips Awaken
Can't wait for the ranking vid!
I want to thank all the haters for lowering my expectations and making me think the movie is bad. Well...they are just wrong. What a blast I had. Great movie. So f**king tense!!! The ONLY thing I didn't appreciate was the line: "get away from her....(long pause)....you B*TCH". That was completely unnecessary. The Ian Holm CGI face on Rook didn't really bother me for more than three seconds and then I was fine with it. Nope...I really REALLY like this Alien movie. Well Done Fede, well done 👍
I believe Prometheus even though it's nothing like the first two or capturers the terror. It stands well enough on its own as an underrated sci Fi story.
Promotheus stands on its own and is very underrated . This was good but flawed
I wanted to love this movie before going in but unfortunately I feel the same way.
I liked the premise. But I was bouncing back and forth between liking, hating, loving, hating, then just liking.
It’s basically the “Rogue One” of the Alien franchise. 6/10 good movie but not a masterpiece.
Hard disagree Dan, the “fan service” in this film was brilliant and was organically fit into the film. This film was amazing and is right behind the original Alien and Aliens. A solid 8/10 for me!!
I felt now, thinking about it, they made sense with this year being the 45th Anniversary of the first movie's release.
The underlying problem is Disney bought 20th century studios. They turned this movie into a legacy sequel to play on the safe side for box office revenue reasons . Sadly it probably will work.
Technique Disney keeps going back too hoping we'll like?
I'm going to guess a horrifying, plasticy deaged Henriksen with a gravelly 80 year old voice
Oh god, I was thinking the technique was the Volume stage but the de-aging is something Disney spams and fails at 😭
I think it's gunna be ash
@@JJtheUtahRealtor That would also be good. My basic idea here is they setup Henriksen as the human template for Bishop and the Weyland Yutani CEO at the end of Alien 3. I've heard the intention was for him to be more of a main bad guy in later movies but that never happened.
@@TheMostPotatoPodcast That's a distinct possibility, however everything I've seen in trailers so far makes this movie look reasonably practical.
And the way Dan describes it, I think he's talking about something going back longer than The Volume. As far as I know the use of that didn't really begin until the Mandalorian. They've been doing this deaging thing since at least 2010.
I really hope not, but I fear you're right about someone being de-aged in it.
As someone who has seen Alien movies but I dont pay super attention and Im not a super fan. I heard that "Bitch" line in Romulus and it was so jarring to me. I didnt realize it was a reference which makes total sense considering the first one to say it was a woman who was a mother, saying it to the alien mother queen. But I can say, even for someone who did NOT get the reference at first.. that line was just as strange to me as it was to everyone else.
I do love the 2 leads in this, the the actor playing the android was amaaaaazing loved him so much. I enjoyed it though I wish there were more 'down' times where there wasnt any action going on. It just seemed like they were being thrown from one situation to another where they were fighting aliens or face huggers. For me I would have loved to get more backstory to these characters other than "This is the racist one against androids" "This is the pregnant one" etc
Okay, literally every early review of this is saying the ending is insane and divisive and I can't remember being this intrigued by a mainstream movie since ....... I honestly don't know when. I was hyped to hell for Furiosa (which I loved a lot more than you did) but no one was saying the ending was bananas and divisive like people are saying about this. I'm willing to forgive a movie's flaws if it takes a massive swing--especially as an ending.
People laugh their ass off already because of that.
There's nothing insane about the ending. We've seen it all before. Maybe divisive because how some people like the comfort of seeing the same things in a franchise while others don't. Think of it as The Force Awakens and how it was an homage to A New Hope. Romulus is the same. Everything old is new again.
Some of the callback lines do more to damage the film than anything else. The 4th act doesn't really bring anything new, really. It's just a remix of things you've seen before.
It's a greatest hits album of the franchise's most iconic situations, visuals and even dialogue, but it's not much more than an effort to cash in on fan service. The "seismic reaction" description is very apt because its best parts are just the degree that it manages to recapture the look and feel of the original film which, technically speaking, shouldn't be that difficult, much less impossible, and the worst parts are just pushing familiar elements until they break credulity.
The film does look good, and its sound design is also above average. The actors did what they could, but I didn't care who lived or died by about halfway through, even though the survivors were very predictable. Dan's right about the finale: WAY over the top, so much so that I was laughing at the end. The character CGI was uneven, even rough, in some instances and probably shouldn't have been kept in instead of going to some other option. If this is the best the franchise can do now, it would be far more respectful to simply leave it alone. It's not my money, but there has to be a better way to spend $80 million making movies.
Yea I saw this at the earliest possible screening which was the 14 at 730. This review is exactly how I felt, I loved the asthetic, alien and ship design, all beautiful and has the same vibe as the original. I loved basically everything in the 2nd and 3rd act bc it was so compelling (minus the really distracting de-aging bc my god that didn’t look good) but the 4th act I was done. I loved this film but then right at the end they fucked it entirely, I personally don’t like the prequels, this could be why I have such a strong reaction to anything with the black goo and Prometheus. The human alien hybrid thing was awful. I understand that that creature could technically be defined as like a “perfect human/ xenomorph thing” but it’s most definitely not for me. But everything else prior I loved, the last part takes this from an 8 (maybe 9)/ 10 to a 7/10
Couldn’t agree more. Majority of the movie up to that point was brilliant, but I ended up walking out of the cinema thinking what the hell was that dumb ending.
@@joetomholt80 yea definitely, it was so weird, I left the theatre feeling weird and mixed about the whole film even tho I loved 90% of it
I appreciate your views and your specifics on what works and what doesn’t in your movie analysis.
Keep the videos coming!
The line you're talking about... man, im still fuming. I could feel the cringe in the theater, complete silence. I just saw it and I pretty much agree with your take on it. I'll rate it somewhere between 6.5 / 7.2.
The issue is that the "new" plot points in Romulus are not there for the sake of the storytelling, they are jammed in to connect all the other copy pasted scenes. They need to vaccinate the alien franchise against the Ridley Scott pathogen of condescending mediocrity.
The movie is overrated, and people are saying that it starts off slow and when they think it's going to end it keeps going. It's structured like any other film; the first action scene is literally at the 30-minute mark, and it's obvious it wasn't over when the pregnant girl injected herself. I swear the people reviewing it act like they've never seen a movie before.
The are employees posing as "journalists" or whatever, it's all astroturfing to get dummies to the box office to get the money.
They learned from Scott's Prometheus and covenant megaflops.
Instead of giving him 400 mil they only gave him 80, and hired a competent director and it worked. They actually made money with Romulus: the Alien franchise best clips.
Thanks for the review Dan! I'm planning on seeing it this Saturday. Looking forward to your ranking video.
I have a feeling Ridley Scott's ego is what will ultimately hold this movie back. Such a shame.
It's not directed by Scott though
@@ChristosAlexakoshe’s the producer. If he wants the director to follow studio notes they have to
Ridley has been supportive though, it's James Cameron who seems sour over this for some reason
Who even cares what James Cameron thinks. Man lives in his own world and is a really bad storyteller
You’re right. That’s exactly what I thought too.
Honestly as someone who only knows Alien and its tropes in bits and pieces, this was a terrifying good time. Not knowing all the references saved me in this instance.
I saw it last night and I've been going over the reviews on RUclips trying to find somebody who agrees with my take in this film being mid at best. Let's see how this one goes.
Edit: yes. Tone. Production design. Sound design. All great. The characters (aside from Andy the android), plot, story and campy callbacks were just insufferable.
What a joke, people are so caught up in nostalgia it's blinded them 😂, listen, no matter what they do people like you and them will never ever be satisfied I'm telling you because I used to be that way, in this movie the acting is objectively better, the practical effects are objectively better, the storyline is objectively better, the alien attack scenes look real unlike in aliens where for example the alien grabs that women with the flamethrower is hilarious 😂, people like you need to stop this bs this movie other than the CGI rook is incredible! If this came first it would be the movie you would defend and you know it
@@kerryprice1414....but it didn't come first. That's the whole frigging point. This movie adds nothing, is leagues behind the original when it comes to tension and relies on a plethora of memberberries to make blind fanboys happy. Sad how people fall for the big studios plans to milk as much money as possible.
@@chrisiskandar7388 I haven't fallen for anybodies "plan" I'm sure the "plan" is to get as many people go enjoy the movie as possible , I absolutely love alien and aliens but some scenes in it are a joke, like I said the alien that grabs the soldier with the flame thrower literally goes up on a conveyor belt 🤣 now I know for a fact if that was in this movie you would mention it, sorry but the truth is people can't grow up and move past nostalgia haha, 🤣, this movie is deffo up there as one of the best or the best, like i said, OBJECTIVELY the story, practical effects and tension even the acting was better, ffs the acting in alien and aliens was average at best!!
@@kerryprice1414 story? How is it better? What are you even talking about? They basically just copied everything the franchise did before. Tension is better? What? No way. I felt nothing once they were inside the spaceship. You want me to feel tension when a teenage girl kills more than 10 xenos on her own with a single clip? Sorry, but you have no case here at all. Practical effects? Do you even have any idea how much work and skill went into the original film??? To do this in 1979? The practical effects are fine in romulus but there is a ton of cgi. Get informed first and see what is actual practical effects. You would be surprised. So again, you have no case here.
@@kerryprice1414just giving my opinion. Sorry it obviously hurt your feelings to the point where you feel the need to take shots at me.
Saw it last night in IMAX. Very very solid movie. The director & writer were at my screening. Got to meet both after
The worst Alien movie I've every seen made me appreciate Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection
I literally laughed out loud when you said the other cast were “Alien bait” 😂😂
Have a good day everyone!
I hope that by putting their hands all over IP they recently acquired that people will start waking up to how bad this Disney formula is.
The choices they make in this movie, whether it's the plot beats from every other movie, copying shots, some of the worst recycled lines I've ever seen, and yes, using AI and CGI to recreate the likeness of a dead actor, are all aspects of the pop-cinema formula that Disney has mastered: feeding audiences familiar faces and recycled moments, expecting applause for mere recognition.
I especially despise this trend of recreating dead actors digitally, especially when you consider it’s most often employed by Disney, the largest, most soulless studio in existence today. This isn’t about honoring actors or preserving their memory-it’s about cheap thrills, designed to manipulate an audience trained to cheer for the past rather than embrace something new.
I appreciate Dan trying not to spoil a movie but unfortunately there's not enough to go on of what he didn't like to allow me to decide where they want to go see this or not.
Maybe there just isn't an easy way to talk about it without spoiling the movie.
If you liked how The Force Awakens ripped on A New Hope, you'll probably like Romulus. If you're expecting a new original story that connects to the other movies and expands the universe, don't. This movie is for people who like the comfort of nostalgia. Nothing wrong with that but it wasn't for me.
I'd rather watch a movie before any reviews. You know, make up my own mind instead of someone telling me if I like it or not 😉
@@teamhj275 I am more thinking should I go out to pay to see it or just wait for steaming. That's what I was trying to base my choice on.
Finally, someone who is being honest about this film! Just saw it....... waayyy overrated
Once again, I was let down by another Alien movie.
Ik im in the minority, but i loved Prometheus, the atmosphere that movie had was phenomenal!
Prometheus is awesome! My third favourite alien movie. I don't understand why everyone hates it.
I thought Prometheus was interesting! I just wish a small number of the questions it asked were answered in Covenant, but instead all we got was people making very dumb decisions and then dying. (I want to walk away from the franchise but may still watch Romulus, not sure)
I've been a hardcore "alien" fan for 30 years. I've watch everyone and me and my bf just git home from the Swedish premiere of Romulus. The forth act in this move made me feel for the first time ever, that i hope they never make another alien movie. I would like to see what happens after revenant, but right now, I'm just angry. Romulus had SO MUCH potential, like you said; the highs was really high and it FELT like the originals from time to time. But then they throwed in stuff like "the cgi person", "the line" and the fourth act, and i felt angry.
Också svenskt fan, otroligt besviken faktiskt
Jag håller till mesta dels med. Som helhet tyckte jag att filmen var bra, fantastisk i vissa scener, men nostalgi-skiten som slängs in i vad känns som varje tjugonde minut drar ned filmen för mig. Sen så finns det vissa "plotholes" såsom hur karaktärerna missade att se den gigantiska döda sönder muterade råttan i det andra laberatoriet & flera saker under hiss schakt scenen jag uppfattade som inte verklighets överensstämmande eller vettigt. Också så gav xenomorf-hybrid bäbisen i slutet mig dåliga minnen av "newborn" från Resurrection, trots att jag tycker att hybrid-monster konceptet var bättre gestaltad här i Romulus än i Resurrection, så om den delen vet jag fortfarande inte om jag är helt okej med eller ogillar. Så jävla nära att vara en riktigt bra Alien rulle. Hamnar på ett likvärdigt plats med Alien 3 "Assembly Cut" i filmseriens rangordning enligt min åsikt.
Jag håller till mesta dels med. Som helhet tyckte jag att filmen var bra, fantastisk i vissa scener, men nostalgi-skiten som slängs in i vad känns som varje tjugonde minut drar ned filmen för mig. Sen så finns det vissa "plotholes" såsom hur karaktärerna missade att se den gigantiska döda sönder muterade råttan i det andra laberatoriet & flera saker under hiss schakt scenen jag uppfattade som inte verklighets överensstämmande eller vettigt. Också så gav xenomorf-hybrid bäbisen i slutet mig dåliga minnen av "newborn" från Resurrection, trots att jag tycker att hybrid-monster konceptet var bättre gjord här i Romulus än i Resurrection. Så jävla nära att vara en riktigt bra Alien rulle. Hamnar på likvärdig placering som Alien 3 "Assembly Cut" i filmseriens rangordning enligt min åsikt, & jag är en av dem som inte hatar den versionen av 3:an.
please tell why
It was horrible. Who cast this film? They would have been better in a Friday the 13th, not space engineers & mine workers. Another wasted opportunity.
There was a friend who told me that he saw it with two other friends who were HUGE fans of Aliens and they were very upset by the film. With that phrasing I was TERRIFIED at the idea that maybe it was going to mess with the lore and somehow negatively affect Aliens or make it retroactively dumb or something... and thank god it was just a bad fanservice quote.
With that in mind, I went into the film hoping to see good characters and that it won't ruin the lore, and I'd say it delivered on those aspects and I was relieved by the end of it. I loved Rain and Andy, I loved how the film looked and how the Alien was treated, but I agree they could've dialed down with the fanservice or the obligatory climax. We'll see how I'll feel on a rewatch I suppose.
I'm glad the film still seemed to have restored people's respect for the series, but I'm also glad that the Alien fans are calling out the fanservice instead of clapping like seals at it, it's a good movie but let's be very stern with the criticisms so that the next Alien movie is just as good and without needing to rely on that.
I respectfully disagree, Dan. Lightning struck three times in a row in the franchise. Alien 3 (especially the Assembly Cut) is fantastic and the perfect film to close the loop on the original trilogy. David Fincher did superbly, and the film has an amazing cast, cinematography, etc. People just get whiny because of Newt and Hicks . . . apparently because they don't understand there's nothing interesting to do with those characters since the movies were always about Ripley and her arc.
While I think that there were interesting avenues to explore with Newt & Hicks, I agree that the Alien 3 Assembly Cut is a great entry into the series. It took the series into a different place, and Sigourney Weaver felt that it was tonally in synch with the series that Ripley would be tortured by fate to lose the very people she fought so hard to save while she has to carry on the fight
Hicks and Newt become the standard bearers for Aliens due to the Dark Horse comics, which , with No Exaggeration, were better than anything else in the theater after Aliens including Alien 3.
A 6 out of 10. That unnecessary deepfake got me completely off. One thing is a fun Easter egg, another thing is that anomaly they brought into the movie.
I've only seen the trailer for this, but it sure looked like it was a film version of the video game Alien: Isolation. A young girl is trapped on a space station with a xenomorph. In Isolation you play Ellen Ripley's daughter, but otherwise the trailer looks just like the video game
I seen it wait for on stream bro
I would rather watch a movie about a Jazz musician playing a cover and getting berated by the original writer in the audience.
I just didn't like that the cast looked like teenagers/ goonies. But the movie was pretty solid.
@Randy_Richmond because last time I checked that's been consistent in the saga. And besides, adults are clearly rational.
@Randy_Richmond it ain't relevant. But who tf wants to see a bunch of teenagers going to war against an alien mf????
Hope Alien: Isolation is in your list somewhere. Or at least gets a special mention.
The movie theater seat was more terrifying than the flick.
Great review Dan, tyvm as always.
Your review is EXACTLY what I felt my experience would be if I bothered going.
So that's it huh, we're some kind of.. Alien Romulus
Get out
Nope
Yeah the Rook Ash callback looked like bad AI
97% on RT, I hope this does for Alien what Prey did for Predator
why can't I see any of the reviews on there?
@@moviereelnews I cant ether which is odd
@@griswoldclark6835 I saw one review...and then I click it disappears. their site is crashing from alien fans clicking refresh repeatedly llol
just tried again it's at 85% with 65 reviews. still can't read any
Prey was bad
@@liamnissanS2K Prey was good
The set design is beautiful, but damn is this movie the "greatest hits" of the Alien franchise. Nothing we haven't seen before.
i don;t agree at ALL ! , this movie is terrible , it's really BAD, i rather say it SUCKS!
These were my thoughts exactly. A solid outing with some peculiar choices.
I had some faith in Fede. But in the end, we all kinda assumed Disney would mess this up at least a little bit. Disappointing because I really enjoyed Prey (and in that case they messed up by not releasing it theatrically because it certainly deserved it).
Not sure if I'm using this term right but I really liked what I'm going to call the sound design. What I mean is that this movie sounded like the og movies. If that makes sense. And I really liked that aspect.
Pretty accurate review!
What I'd like to see is a director's cut that trims out all of the very bad callbacks, especially some of those rehashed lines from previous films, because I think these bad moments could be easily edited out without it being noticeable.
Ridley is kind of tarnishing things, with his prequel mess, but I liked Romulus even with those awful if brief moments.
OMG an Alien franchise ranking video has me actually hyped! Can't wait!
I think we really need another colonial marines style alien movie
LET'S ROCK
No they need reinvent the series this is not it
I think you've become one of those critics that only like super artistic movies and that's fine if that's what you like, but I feel like I have to take your reviews now with a grain of salt.
I still think you are an incredibly hard worker and I appreciate all the effort you put in to the channel
I liked this movie. I rated it "It's Good." I liked Deadpool and Wolverine. I liked Twisters. I liked Inside Out 2 and Bad Boys: Ride or Die. I don't know why so many people keep saying I didn't like this movie when I did. I guess because I wasn't jumping out of my seat, it means I didn't like it?
Sounds like Ash got De-Aged
I’ve heard the same
Necromanced, as the actor died 4 years ago.
Not de-aged, just brought back a dead actor. He plays a different android called Rook who just happens to look like Ash. Looking alike has nothing to do with the story and could have been played by any alive actor. He's only brought back for the nostalgia and this is the one of many things wrong with movie. It's not terrible but it's no where near a classic.
Your review is very on point. It’s a mix of best hits from previous entries with the director’s unique take on horror which ends up producing an entertaining but flawed experience. I heard Ridley Scott placed his own ideas into the story instead of letting Álvarez do his own take in this universe.
When I saw the trailer for Romulus, I was underwhelmed simply because it looked like "more of the same": alien gets aboard a ship, eggs get planted into the crew, aliens come out, crew starts to die as claustrophobia and jump scares ensue. Sure, maybe it'll be really well executed and have a few twists but it's still diminishing returns (the way the last Mission Impossible, while very well done, is more of the same beats from mi4, mi5, mi6). I think Alvarez is talented and caught a few breathless early reactions, but think I can wait for streaming for this. Freshness is what most excites me; I think Dan nailed it when he drew the analogy to a cover song. Sounds like a broadly good time but ultimately a retread.
But that's what many fans wanted, Alien has a lot of deep concepts, but it's basically action or horror. I'm not saying that something new can't be done, but after Ridley's failed attempt, the smartest thing to do was to do something classic that didn't reinvent the wheel. Now that they've proven that Alien can come back, it's possible to make new and more ambitious stories
They tried to do something different with Prometheus and it didn’t go over well with fans.
So to make things short your still gonna see it lol
@thefilmeffect6089 it actually did which is why they made alien covenant it's the sequel to prometheus so idk what ur talking about
@@Weloveyoupyrex The studio made Ridley Scott shift his sequel into a more traditional Alien film because the reception was so mixed. He wanted to do something completely different. It ended up not pleasing anyone.
The callbacks that you dont like are actually great. They connect everything. Stick to the charts Dan.
I'm happy with where I am, thanks.