Rating: ***
Review Date: 8/18/24
Director: Fede Alvarez
Cast: Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced,
Spike Fearn, Aileen Wu, Ian Holm
Taking place between "Alien" (1979) and "Aliens" (1986), the Weyland-Yutani corporation is still up to its dirty tricks and sends a probe to recover the remains of the original xenomorph from the debris of the Nostromo. This is the film's first indication of its egregious disregard for remedial physics. Not surprisingly, things get out of hand when the revived critters get loose on the Romulus-Remus space lab and kill everyone. Meanwhile, in the mining colony on the planet below, a group of scrappy kids discover the lab and think it's a decommissioned spaceship that they can scavenge for valuable equipment. That proves to be a very bad idea, but the film makes sure to show us that these poor miserable kids have little choice and nowhere to go. It's either die in space, or die in the mines.
It's a good-looking film and the special effects are superb, although the palette is too orange for my tastes. I like the cooler hues of "Aliens" and the industrial neutrals of "Alien" a lot more. The use of practical effects is excellent and helps to sell the actors' performances. Cailee Spaeny is wonderful as Rain, and while she attempts to channel Sigourney Weaver, her character is really just a copy of Daisy Ridley's Rey from "The Force Awakens" (2015). She's an orphan and a scavenger, stuck on a miserable and dangerous planet with no prospects, while hopelessly working towards a way to escape offworld. She also has an empathetic heart of gold and is a wiz with electronics. Unfortunately, with the exception of Kay (Isabela Merced), none of the other characters are interesting or likable, and we're not invited to care about them.
For better or worse, the film is mostly an homage to the other films in the series and plays out like a greatest hits fan service compilation rather than a standalone entry. Unfortunately, most of the film's references simply remind you of how the other films did it better, and at worst they feel completely gratuitous and out of place. Having Andy say, "Stay away from her, you bitch" is awkward, unnecessary, and completely out of context, so it makes absolutely no sense at all. Having blue laser light on the floor in one area also makes no sense, and even the android is confused by it. The film definitely lacks subtlety, but I appreciated the smaller details, like the brief Reebok callback to "Aliens."
I'm torn over how to rank it. I feel like it's better than "Alien 3" (1992) and "Alien: Resurrection" (1997), but at least those were trying something original and unique with the material. At the same time, I prefer the film's more straight forward and back-to-basics approach over Ridley Scott's overly weird philosophical ramblings in "Prometheus" (2012) and "Alien: Covenant" (2017). Unfortunately, I was hoping for something great, and I left the theater disillusioned and disappointed. I feel like the whole franchise is tapped out at this point, and director Fede Alvarez's only option was to make it louder, faster, and sillier.
CAUTION: SPOILERS AHEAD!
While the film is modestly entertaining, it makes several unforgivable mistakes that made me wince. The most obvious and controversial one was bringing back Ian Holm's likeness for Science Officer Rook. First of all, it looks creepy and weird, and is the least convincing visual effect in the entire film. Second, and more importantly, there's no reason for it, and it would have made a lot more sense to use a different android with a real actor instead of a CGI facsimile. As I alluded to earlier, the disregard for basic physics is a constant distraction, and the fact that gravity is only available when the plot calls for it is beyond annoying and stupid. Also, having buttons conveniently placed about the ship to turn gravity on and off is completely ridiculous. The whole Romulus-Remus dichotomy is unexplained and unnecessary, and way too much time is spent pointing it out, like it's supposed to be important or significant in some way. Why would you design a space station like that? Then there's the overly contrived and silly "let's sneak past the facehuggers" scene which makes no sense and only exists to try and generate tension. Speaking of the xenomorphs themselves, their life cycle has been greatly accelerated in the film, which allows for more action, but less tension and suspense. In the original "Alien," the incubation process lasted at least a couple of days before the critter hatched, whereas in this film, the facehugger does its business in a couple of minutes, and ten minutes later there's a chestburster on the scene. The facehuggers are also WAY too agile, and having them able to outrun humans is problematic and over-the-top. The final Offspring form is a creepy CGI abomination that attempts to recreate the final scene from "Alien" with a hybrid creature inspired by "Prometheus" that Rook managed to cook up, but it's more tedious and annoying than anything. Once again, Weyland-Yutani steps in to make terrible decisions regarding the future of humanity. What's good for the company is not good for humankind.