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This week, the Alien franchise is celebrating its 45th anniversary by releasing Alien: Romulus. The film is a sequel to the original Alien, and takes place during the decades-long gap between that movie and James Cameron’s Aliens. The first reactions to Alien: Romulus have now arrived online; and while most of the early word is good, there are some mixed responses as well.
Borys Kit of The Hollywood Reporter called it the “summer’s best movie,” and teased a “crazy new direction.”
Variety’s Courtney Howard added that the film “subtly plays the greatest hits” of the franchise.
IGN’s Amelia Emberwing wasn’t quite as enthusiastic, and critiqued the character development and the set pieces. But she did praise the “effective scares.”
The Mary Sue’s Rachel Leishman said she was “terrified” by the film, and promised a wild third act.
Critic Isaac Feldberg appreciated the performance of Cailee Spaeny, but he was otherwise not a fan of the new film. He even said he preferred Ridley Scott’s most recent entrees in the franchise over Alien: Romulus.
Slash Film’s Matt Donato had a more middle-of-the-road take on the film. He noted that it’s “never on the level” of director Fede Alvarez’s 2013 remake of Evil Dead.
Inverse’s Hoai-Tran Bui echoes the earlier sentiment that the film plays “like a greatest hits of the Alien franchise.” But Bui also praised the jump scares and “a delightfully disgusting third act twist.”
Reporter and author Max Evry noted the film references more than just the first two Alien flicks.
Alien: Romulus will hit theaters on Friday, August 16.
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