How Alien: Romulus' Tension Fails

[@Dippydipdip]

Alien wrote a great sentence. This movie is just that sentence, but with little hearts dotting the i’s. Saying all the same things. With some really nice aesthetic flourishes. But there’s already a movie that had these ideas for itself. And didn’t need to copy someone else’s homework to get there. Aliens is a new thing. Apples and oranges to Alien. I think that’s why it survives comparisons so well. When you make a movie like this? You’re comparing apples to apples. And in doing so, highlight the fact that you didn’t bring much that wasn’t there before. I like Romulus a lot. It’s a great Alien Movie. But Alien is a great movie, period. *SPOILER* Even deciding to end an Alien movie with a pale-white-humanish-xenomorph, then pulling a twist on the airlock…is just the end of Alien Resurrection.

[@Strugen.]

The weird creature at the end should have been Ridley Scott

[@Curt_Randall]

It is awful they decided that of all the endings to resemble, they went with the ending from the worst movie in the franchise, Alien Resurrection.

[@Strugen.]

@@Curt_Randall What I like about Resurrection despite its flaws was that it had the idea first of what happens when people try to play God with genetic engineering, every movie since has just recycled that idea but they are prequels that keep changing the origins of those original movies where at least Res was a Sequel that left those great original films alone.

[@Curt_Randall]

@@Strugen. I actually liked the general premise of Resurrection. But pretty much the entire production of it was poor: the cast, the screenplay, the acting, and the score.

[@Strugen.]

@@Curt_Randall Fair enough buddy this whole franchise is really just B grade horror sci fi with 2 films that were elevated to A grade by younger hungry Directors in their prime

[@andrew3642]

@@Curt_Randall Resurrection - GREAT premise : Horribly executed. ….Just like Romulus.

[@giganticzombie]

I was really bummed out by how tied down by references this film was. The trailer looked great, it seemed like an original take on the franchise that stayed consistent with the previous films but got bogged down by all the references.

[@insanedominator8176]

I was annoyed that Romulus wasn’t actually a standalone movie

[@nobodyexceptme7794]

Also solid ranking, respect to predator 2. The internet created a narrative for the longest that it was somehow the worst (the internet has never cared for black lead actors anyway). But they weren't outside. I never met a person growing up that didn't like predator 2 or know quotes from it. It gave us the first AvP crossover, my dad put me on to that as a kid, even he was hype as a casual movie buff at the time in the 90s.

[@jbakertaylor]

The script was plagiarism. plagiarism in film = significant portion of a movie’s ideas, themes, or plot is copied from another work without permission or proper credit... Here they freaking lied, it was a multi remake or something, thus failed to give proper credit.

[@BKsBullets]

Those aliens evolved too fast. The first one didn't build any tension it burst and grew so fast. And then the hybrid was born and fully grown in 3 minutes. I could have done without another hybrid. I was so tension fatigued I fell asleep at times so I felt your critique accurate.

[@JoeGrizz1y]

“Alien evolved too fast” have you seen the original Alien 😂. Not to mention they literally explain in this film how the Xeno as a species is able to evolve so fast. That’s what makes it important to the corporation and makes it a perfect specimen. Its DNA allows it to rapidly evolve. This is how and why they have the best survival and are able to build hives fast. Which is what happened in Aliens to the Colony. Not to mention, the first Xeno wasn’t supposed to exit its cocoon early. You forget that the guy injected it with a stun baton, pissed it off, and forced it to come out. The hybrid “offspring” at the end, evolved rapidly due to the black goo “Prometheus” concept. It is sharing the DNA that the Xenos have. That allows it to rapidly age and evolve. Once it breastfeeds off the mother, we see it starting to rapidly grow more limbs as it obtained the nutrients. Either you don’t know shit or have the TikTok attention span. Because they literally setup and explain all of these details.

[@BKsBullets]

@@JoeGrizz1y I've seen em all. I guess it was the pacing of the film made it feel much faster than the original Alien film. That's all

[@jbakertaylor]

@@BKsBullets they had time to get ready for dinner.

[@davidgun07]

i thought it started good but then got worse it started ripping off other alien movies off and find the ending bad

[@MrChangmaster100]

Love the new videos. Really like your comic book content and I do love that you are also doing videos on franchises you are passionate about. Keep up the good work!

[@MrWezman3000]

I had some issues, but honestly, for me... It's best Alien film since Aliens. I thought it was a terrific and terrifying blend of Alien and Aliens, while simultaneously doing its own spectacular thing. I loved it.

[@rayjaxstv]

Real

[@luckykat08]

It sucked.

[@MrWezman3000]

​@@luckykat08 Well, it's all entirely subjective. It's a shame you didn't like it. But, I enjoyed it. I also thought it was worthy of being the 3370th film I've seen in my life.

[@luckykat08]

@@MrWezman3000 Wanted to love it - big fan of the series. Production values are great, but the script and characters let me down.

[@filbert910]

Same. Loved it. The characters and world building were amazing.

[@rayjaxstv]

This is going to be a movie people are very critical of on release but when the smoke settles people will realize how solid it is

[@MoonDevoured]

waiting for the smoke to clear so people can be critical of it. all I'm seeing is praise. in a few months that 7.5 on IMDb is gonna drop to a high 6

[@rayjaxstv]

@@MoonDevoured perspective is funny like that isn't it

[@jamestaylor727]

It’s really not solid

[@rayjaxstv]

@@jamestaylor727 you want to say why or are you just going to share an opinion like it's a fact

[@TheModernPioneer]

I feel like it’s the exact opposite. I think the reviews are currently mostly positive because it’s new, but I feel like it plays so safe and is so repetitive that it will have no rewatch value. I would compare it to The Force Awakens.

[@CNTconnoisseur]

It was pretty rushed. The alien gestation. The reaction to death in general. I also would have liked it a lot more if the CGI wasn't terrible.

[@idiot_city5444]

There's literally only one cgi thing that's terrible, lol.

[@CNTconnoisseur]

@@idiot_city5444 I was irked in the very beginning. Nobody else noticed the immediate juxtaposition with the amazing retro-future tech and the spaceships cutting back and forth?

[@ZeroG]

Yeah it was rushed. There needed to be more downtime like in Aliens. They probably were under pressure to keep it under 2 hrs.

[@AgentNevets]

I forget you’re a musician…can we have more music theory (real question)? Great video of course!

[@pixelcharlie]

When I first clicked on your video I was worried. I was like noooo Josh is doing to click bait now. But after watching it, you do have a very very valid point about how relentless this movie was. There was hardly any respite once the tension starts. I didn't feel tension fatigue though, but it's a good lesson to keep in mind when writing stories like these. I loved the movie btw. I can't wait to watch it again. Also, awesome review!

[@DiegoReviews]

That dial up sound paired with that footage cracked me tf up 😂

[@AkiDave]

Very CN’s MAD coded 😂

[@nathanielcava4128]

Can anyone explain the scene where the xeno is born? Did the baby turn into the birthing pod or did it get into it?

[@jpcjoinery6345]

i loved the look, sound design and first 60-70mins, did not like the multiple endings or the call back line of get away from her, its easily the 3rd best alien movie though

[@chet_inator_gator]

This film was frustrating bc so much amazing work went into recreating the sets, sound design, costumes, etc but the story and sequences felt like a soft reboot in the worst way. Clearly the filmmakers respected everything that came before but brought nothing new or interesting to the table. For the question on Segourney Weaver, her acting abilities in Alien surpassed anything done in Romulus. The writing in addition to her acting in Aliens turned Weaver into a legend. I don’t think the acting was bad in Romulus but the writing and young actors aren’t seasoned enough to compete with even the performances of Alien3 or Resurrection. I only truly love Alien and Aliens, but seeing a regurgitation of lines and scenes make me appreciate 3 and 4 so much more now.

[@leightonbate7516]

The only thing in it that really bugged me was the bad CGI on the new Ash and 1 or 2 callback lines other than that thought it was a great night out at the movies,this is entertainment not great art.

[@ProbablyRicky]

lol people will find a way to complain about anything.

[@TheModernPioneer]

Coming from someone who went into the film thinking it was going to be great, I left feeling that the entire film is an unoriginal greatest hits compilation that has no central theme or sense of direction.

[@yowasup1001]

People will like anything just cause it's new lmao

[@PanelstoPixels]

Me: Mostly praises a film for 12 minutes This guy: pEoPlE cOmPlAiN aBoUt AnYtHiNg

[@dannnnng]

lol people will keep drinking the Disney+ Kool Aid

[@tezkatepuka]

Hope they come with a way to use the concepto of the Wooden planet in a movie

[@Jackfromshack]

They have animatronics? Ok, I'm interested

[@mridp7695]

I feel the exact same, this was a nice comeback for alien but please don't give us another one like this

[@MoonDevoured]

I felt that the tension relied too much on facehuggers and not xenos. Once she has a pupse rifle, she becomes OP and the xenos pose no threat. the first xeno stalking Kay was possibly the most intense scene imo, but it lasted a scarce 30sec at most. btw has anyone ever told you that you look like a cross between Bill Skarsgård and Kyle Gallner? (compliment)

[@timmehjimmeh]

As someone who only got into the franchise around the time Prometheus was announced (went back and watched them all in anticipation) I thoroughly enjoyed Romulus. The production design was gorgeous, and was a loving callback to Alien and Aliens in my mind. The weird technology in Prometheus and Covenant never sat right with me as prequels. But if anything, I'd say it did what Force Awakens was trying to do. It was clear that while JJ Abrams was making a Disney Product ™️, it feels like the team on Romulus were trying to make something they cared about. So while some references are a bit hammy, they didn't feel as beat for beat as Force Awakens did. Although I'll always be squicked out by using an actor who's died likeness. They really didn't need to do that specific callback. I see WHY they did it, but it's a real Dr Malcolm, "should they have" moment.

[@JurassicRod]

It was pretty much just a greatest hits show. It did nothing original at all. It was fine as a simple Alien action romp until the female lead killed all the Aliens in one go like shooting fish in a barrel. Where had these aliens been through the movie? They should have wiped out that crew of six civilians in minutes. But they only turn up in a group for her to stand there picking off easily. No threat at all. The facehuggers also just get slapped away now. Then the now obligatory new monster that has had to show up at the end since Resurrection that no one ever really likes or remembers. Just a copy of the Newborn from Resurrection just like everything else in the film was copied from a previous one. But this time the newborn looks like slenderman. The human characters were pretty uninteresting except the android.

[@idiot_city5444]

Did you miss the part where there are two sections of the space station with really only one way across the two...? The aliens are in the hive in one section. Same thing happens in Isolation

[@galactic85]

She did not "kill them all" literally a few minutes later they are trying to climb the elevator shaft and she almost dies until Andy saves her.

[@topiasperamaki]

I’m gonna have to disagree with the tension fatigue point you made. I feel like the tension was very well paced, and think the tension was the least of the movie’s problems. I felt like getting to know the characters better and the forced lines were the movie’s downfalls but I wouldn’t say at all that the tension here fails 🫤 the movie also established a sense of urgency right from the start because there was the timeline of the impact event, so there wasn’t really time to have lengthy discussions and meditation on the horrors surrounding them. It was supposed to be a quick heist for the crew but then there were obstacles in the way.

[@TheGhostOfJohnWicksBeagle]

Can't believe people are defending this film.

[@jarellano1014]

I'm stick with the more positive reviews an take my son to check it out next week!

[@Lavonne1]

You are spoiling lol

[@galactic85]

It had its flaws (I think the final fight at the end in particular was forced and could have been set up way better) but overall it was a good watch. I don't know, maybe it's just nice to see an old fashioned blockbuster with practical effects, great atmosphere and beautiful shots of space. I do think that the movie did have some interesting stuff to say though with rain and Andy. This is the first storyline where it's about a character trying to leave someone behind. Andy can't come with rain and rain is ready to make the sacrifice to start her own future. We get the warning about "sentiment" from the rook android early in the movie but the movie is about reaffirming the sibling bond that they have. Also I was warned about the nostalgia bait stuff in advance but when I watched the movie there was much less than I expected. There was less than in "force awakens" or "rise of Skywalker." I honestly wonder if people would be having a more positive response to this movie if they had just forgot to do the deep fake of ian holms face.

[@pbeeby]

Thought it was poor. Like an AI generated alien film. Had nothing new to add and was completely derivative. I like your point about the tension, there wasn’t any tension for me. I watched alien covenant last night, far better film

[@zaruuchshekel5806]

Movie was super boring took me 2 tries to finish it. Fell asleep once and honestly the actors are so bland. The only non cardboard acting was the android but That wasn't enough to make it a good movie. The story felt forced and illogical at times the first hour of the movie is literally just some cinematic shots with stale conversations. I thought i was on min 20 when infact i was at min 80 because simply nothing happened before. Dont spend your hard earned cash for that film

[@jamesjackson7004]

This film was shit.

[@PierceArner]

I felt somewhat similarly. I think that the pacing of events and overlapping sources of tension end up not just blurring together, but especially for the flow of time with how long it takes for certain countdowns, travel times, etc. to occur have an uneven feelings to it because the back half of the film is on several timers in the background that smear together, or are unnecessary because the tension already exists. Moreso than that, the "meta nod and wink" of repeated lines or echoes to particular sequences being a little too overt made the second half of the film end up feeling more like a patchwork quilt than an original work. I think some very minor editing to trim those out would significantly improve the film but overall - I still liked absolutely EVERYTHING that it did.

[@zenquantum1246]

It was largely an enjoyable watch for me, but you pinpointed what the "dry aftertaste" was: no tension release during the later portion of the film. It makes the plot mechanics stand out painfully when you don't have the moments to connect with the characters. It's like only the drummer coming back for the encore of a concert. Maybe their skills are impressive for a big solo, but it's not truly a song

[@TevyaSmolka]

Great review man

[@maxr6118]

I can't say that it was a bad movie! I'm a story kind of guy not a jump scare kind of guy. So it was an Ok movie but mannnn i wanted some more alien lore! (past or future dates, I'm not picky.)

[@ZeroG]

Felt like a reboot for gen-Xers to take their 17-24 yo kids to... but I did enjoy it.

[@Leo_artistero]

I felt like I was watching a better Force Awakens, remixing on the old, adding new, and respecting the whole saga.

[@galactic85]

It's better than force awakens because there isn't a walking "mystery box" shaped like the movies protagonist, the director has a good understanding of horror, there are clear objectives that the characters are trying to complete, and even if it isn't perfectly told there is still a story we are seeing about a girl and her brother. It's not a story about trying to find Ripley so that she can defeat the aliens, and while the references to other movies can be groan inducing they aren't treated with the same "holy reverence" that Luke's lightsaber and the millennium falcon are in force awakens. We don't get a sweeping shot of a powerloader as the music swells and even when Rain gets the pulse rifle the movie treats it as a "here is a gun. Here is how to use it so you can hopefully survive" moment instead of a big badass action hero moment where the movie is screaming "she is just like Ripley now!" Heck even if the "get away from her" line lands like a lead Ballon at least Andy gets to say it instead if Rain.

[@aselliofacchio]

​@@galactic85🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@Leo_artistero]

@@galactic85 I really disliked that line, didn't even make sense, Andy never said any insluts the whole movie, if something similar was said to him earlier it would've landed better, and yes I agree, that's why I said reminded me of a BETTER Force Awakens, the protagonist fails and LEARNS to be a hero, makes mistakes, grows, empathy is both her strength and weakness, and Andy even gets to save her, something Rey and Finn never had.

[@galactic85]

@@Leo_artistero Yeah I didn't like the line either. But as I said at least we didn't get Rain saying so that the movie can tell the audience "RAIN IS JUST LIKE RIPLEY! YOU LIKE RIPLEY RIGHT?" I wish the line was just "get away from my sister!" but if they had to include it I'm glad it was used in a way that wasn't 100% nostalgia bait.

[@thiagomantovani6858]

I didnt like this movie

[@Jackfromshack]

Is it woke?

[@thiagomantovani6858]

@@Jackfromshack yes, basically there is some woke thing about the brother of the the main character...a silly movie about silly people, with an acid pool in zero gravity and a girl that goes from zero to hero...the ending is bizarre

[@frogurtcremebrulee5252]

@@Jackfromshack”iS iT wOkE”🤓

[@dialhforhero24]

Very thoughtful review of a disappointing film, but where did you get that rad Spider-Man hoodie?

[@nobodyexceptme7794]

Na, Sigourney Weaver displayed realistic fear in her performances and actual emotion. Everyone in this movie was just going through youtube reactor faces. No performance really stands out or brought any empathy/connection/emotion. But all this means is Disney is about to pump out the AVPCU. That fox acquisition has to make $$$, already have an alien tv show, 2 other predator movies, and u know a new avp is coming. They will probably let Ridley spin off his own little Prometheusverse 😂 Just hope most of them are done decently well.

[@doomguydemonkiller]

I watched the film twice on Thursday haha. I really like it and enjoyed it. But I still can’t wrap my head around the last 15-20 minutes. In general, the film went from Alien to Aliens too fast and I wished it stayed more to Alien. I’d still watch it again.

[@MoonDevoured]

The last 20min ruined the movie for me and usually I can still enjoy a flick even if the ending sucks, but this one went from being a decent Alien movie to a Splice/Prometheus crossover at the snap of a finger. Hopefully it'll grow on me some once I see it on my own TV where I can have subtitles and focus on the scarce xeno scenes

[@AkiDave]

Cooked!

[@aselliofacchio]

Horrible movie.

[@jesperrasmussen9624]

Was bad movie :(

[@alecmolina3005]

Awesome movie

[@jamiefarrell6049]

It is nothing like as dark as AvP requiem. And it doesn't look like Alien 3 in any way. Think you need to watch again dude

[@filbert910]

Did you even watch the movie??? My whole theater jumped constantly. And when they weren’t you could hear when people were holding their breath during tense scenes.

[@aselliofacchio]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@zaruuchshekel5806]

Sounds like you watched the movie with a kindergarden class ^^

[@aselliofacchio]

@@zaruuchshekel5806 the special kids class probably

[@LukeLovesRose]

I cant believe are still calling Romulus perfect.

[@alexhunt2055]

Look the film isn’t perfect. It’s good with problems.

[@LukeLovesRose]

@alexhunt2055 It's not even worth defending. It's just a MEH movie. It's a 6/10 tops

[@clorofilaazul]

This is a movie for teenagers. Quite bad.