Alien: Romulus

Now before I get into this review I must preface that I am by no means an Alien fan. I've seen the movies a while ago and decided to go with my friend who's obsessed with the property. I came into here completely blind (Sorry Brad I never watched those trailers or clips) as I try to do with most films, especially horror. The director of this project has made many horror films I enjoyed like Evil Dead (2013) and Don't Breathe. With that all being said let's go over what I didn't particularly enjoy. The characters, besides Rain and Andy all of the other characters fall flat and have little character traits. And when some of them met their eventual fates I wasn't too moved, this point may not be an issue for most people but I do like characters being established in horror films before they meet their fates. The fanservice is very corny at times, there was a line said by Andy that completely ruined the scene that made him look badass. It genuinely would've been better if he either said something completely different or nothing at all. Also the events of Alien and Alien Prometheus play into this movie from what I've learned. Which isn't a terrible thing since this is a franchise movie and I was still able to keep up. The pacing in the middle slows down immensely to dump tons of exposition on you, and then when the 3rd act starts it feels like it carried the film. And a final part to this section of this review is that the kill count is surprisingly very low for this blockbuster horror flick. Now for what I enjoyed about the film. I really loved the setting and establishing shots of space. The scenery is very pretty and an awe to look at, from the interiors of the ships to the planets from orbit. It all looks very amazing and I have to give props. The practical effects looked amazing in motion and were very badass, there is this one scene with an xray machine that looks great and has some very gruesome visuals. The final Xenomorph of the film also is very scary and looks amazing because of the practical effects. The horror in these films don't really get to me but that design is pretty scary in my opinion. Despite most of the kills being lackluster in this film a couple were really amazingly shot and done with these practical effects. To cap it all off I'd say this movie is a pretty good watch if you are into the horror genre. Alien fans will be pleased by this addition into the universe and will fall in love with some of the designs. Although I'd recommend the earlier Alien films or a different horror film for someone starting in the genre. It's worth a ticket.