Alien: Romulus (First Teaser)

[Zantera]

First teaser just dropped: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTNMt84KT0k&ab_channel=20thCenturyStudios

Even though Alien is one of those franchises that kinda keeps getting your hopes up only to let you down, I can't help but be excited for this (just as I was for previous movies). I'll die on the hill of Alien 3 being fantastic but I do recognize why some people disagree. Resurrection is dumb fun and quite nostalgic for me, Prometheus and Covenant for their flaws are still beautiful looking movies with strengths. It is interesting though that a franchise can still get you hyped for a 7th movie even though the last 'agreed upon' great film was the 2nd one almost 40 years ago.

But I think this teaser looks good even if it doesn't give away much. It looks like a return to a darker Alien / Alien 3 vibe and I can't wait to see it!

[bosk1]

Forgetting the two AvP films, are we? 

But I like a lot of the sentiments you expressed. 

Prometheus and Covenant are interesting.  The tension between Ridley's vision, studio politics, and fan politics really made a mess of what could probably have been better movies than what we got.  But that said, there was some good storytelling going on and the seeds of something really good, and I enjoyed them (other than the stupid premise of humanity being created by aliens, which I can never get onboard with).  Covenant was actually pretty terrifying in all the ways the first one was, which is something I think none of the other films in the franchise have managed to pull off.

[The Realm]

Looks great. I guess I am mildly excited. Also agree with the thoughts expressed by Zantera but just to add Aliens, is my number 1 favourite movie of all time and Alien isn't far behind.

[soupytwist]

I really like Alien 3 as well.  Prometheus was interesting but flawed.  Resurrection and Covenant were huge letdowns.  The AvP movies exists.....

This franchise is pretty much identical to The Terminator franchise.  First 2 are classics, 3rd one is solid and the rest are a mishmash of messy ideas and bad execution.

[Orbert]

Alien 3 isn't as bad as many say, but it really is a mess.  I take it for what it is, an interesting idea fucked up by too much studio interference.  I even like Alien Resurrection more than most.  Its next-level weirdness, especially with that creature at the end, actually works for me.

So anyway, this looks pretty cool from what we can see.  A new female protagonist; fitting for the Alien franchise.  Never heard of Fede Alvarez, though I've heard of some of his movies.  Horror cinema, especially modern horror cinema, isn't really my thing, but in a way it seems appropriate for an Alien movie and could be very cool, so why not?  Dan O'Bannon in the writing credits is also a good thing (original Alien screenplay).

[BlackInk]

The tension between Ridley's vision, studio politics, and fan politics really made a mess of what could probably have been better movies than what we got.

Yeah it feels like this is what derailed Covenant a little for me, even though I still enjoy most of that movie.

Excited about this new one. Trailer looks good, which I guess isn’t saying much since it’s just a teaser, but still. Was going through the first Alien movie in my head last night and was amazed by how many iconic sequences and interesting scenes it has. While I love Aliens as well, there’s just something magical about that first movie to me. 3 is pretty good, cool unique atmosphere, but I think the execution was a bit off, and even though it maybe shouldn’t matter all that much, I think their ambitions were larger than their ability to achieve it from a technical standpoint. And yeah I agree, Resurrections is really dumb, but at the same time a oot of fun. Such a weird movie.

I also have quite a soft spot in my heart for the first AvP movie. Loved that movie growing up, and it probably still has my favorite xenomorph design. Not so much the second one though.

[hefdaddy42]

There are only two objectively good Alien films.  All the rest are, at best, imperfect, and that's being extremely generous.  Imperfect enough that I can't really get excited about a new film in the series, or even say I'm a fan of the series. 

I'm a fan of those first two films.

Having said that, I really hope this new one is good, as I have hoped for every new film when it came out.

[WilliamMunny]

Massive fan of the entire series (sans AVP, which I consider ancillary), and I dare say Alien 3 is my favorite of the bunch.

That said, on any given day I could go with any of the first 3.

Alien Resurrection is, as was said above, good fun, but definitely a bit flawed.

As for the last two, I really enjoy the fact that Ridley took some big swings–not that they all paid off, but the movies certainly aren't merely re-treads or fan-service (although, there's a little of that in there as well).

Very excited for the series...love this universe and feel like a long-form arena will suit this next chapter.

[hefdaddy42]

Massive fan of the entire series (sans AVP, which I consider ancillary), and I dare say Alien 3 is my favorite of the bunch.

Wow, never heard anyone say that before.

Hey, I'm glad you like it that much!

[WilliamMunny]

Massive fan of the entire series (sans AVP, which I consider ancillary), and I dare say Alien 3 is my favorite of the bunch.

Wow, never heard anyone say that before.

Hey, I'm glad you like it that much!

It's not a popular opinion, but even with the many production issues, I think the final (at least, it was at the time) installment to the trilogy is a perfect final act. Newt is dead, Bishop is dead, and Ripley decides to take one for humanity (and stick it to Paul Riser, who's tremendous in his five minutes of screen time).

I love the vibe of the film...even though it takes place on a planet, it's every bit as claustrophobic as the original, and the action sequences at the end definitely nod to Aliens.

That all said, all three original films are fabulous, pitch-perfect examples of their respective genres.

[BlackInk]

As for the last two, I really enjoy the fact that Ridley took some big swings–not that they all paid off, but the movies certainly aren't merely re-treads or fan-service (although, there's a little of that in there as well).

Yeah I agree, they’re really pretty out there and fresh, which is precisely why the final act of Covenant felt so out of place when it just turned into the first Alien movie.

[hunnus2000]

There is an excellent YouTube channel but some dude named Kroft who goes through the Alien movies and explains what is going on. I found them extremely helpful, especially with the latter films (which I needed). He's got a creepy voice which adds to the intrigue.

[Orbert]

The original four were pretty straightforward, but I've seen Prometheus and Covenant a couple times each, and I'm still pretty sure I don't know exactly what's going on with them, what the lore is supposed to be.  I've read a few things online explaining them, but I consider myself a pretty hardcode sci-fi geek and if I need multiple people to explain to me WTF is going on, then maybe it's not just me.  So basically I don't really care at this point.  They looked cool and were interesting films, so there was that.  I like having to work a few things out, but those films seem intentionally cryptic.

I'll still check out the new one, of course. 

[Zantera]

I'm also one of the people who think Alien 3 is amazing. I think the first 3 movies if they were a trilogy would be a darn strong one. Alien 3 isn't flawless though, it has some wonky effects and when you see how David Fincher evolved over his career and making some masterpiece films, it does feel like a shame that he was blindsided by the Studio in many ways and that aspects of the movie was rushed. Still, I think a lot of the choices people usually hate (killing off 2 beloved characters, making Ripley a walking bomb essentially) were brave ones that fit the tone of that film very well. I definitely struggle to pick a favorite Alien movie, some days its Alien, some days its Aliens but there have been days where Alien 3: Assembly Cut is in the conversation as well.

Everything about Romulus so far has me excited though because it feels very much like they are trying to do for Alien what Prey did for Predator. Just getting back to basic, the horror aspect of the franchise will be refreshing. As much as I love Aliens it definitely nerfed the alien itself to not feel as scary (it was more about the numbers) and this seems to dig into the Alien/Alien 3 vibe more that just one of these will pose a serious threat. Also - being chased by a group of facehuggers has to go down as one of the scariest nightmares I could think of. I would rather just face the full grown Alien and take the death than being chased by 20 facehuggers. 

[Dream Team]

Massive fan of the entire series (sans AVP, which I consider ancillary), and I dare say Alien 3 is my favorite of the bunch.

Wow, never heard anyone say that before.

Hey, I'm glad you like it that much!

It's not a popular opinion, but even with the many production issues, I think the final (at least, it was at the time) installment to the trilogy is a perfect final act. Newt is dead, Bishop is dead, and Ripley decides to take one for humanity (and stick it to Paul Riser, who's tremendous in his five minutes of screen time).

I love the vibe of the film...even though it takes place on a planet, it's every bit as claustrophobic as the original, and the action sequences at the end definitely nod to Aliens.

That all said, all three original films are fabulous, pitch-perfect examples of their respective genres.

I assume you meant Lance Henrikssen not Paul Reiser?

[jingle.boy]

Saw this the other day, looks intriguing. 

I'm with most of you on this.  Alien/Aliens are the best them.  Hands down.  Alien³ was the one where Weaver crash landed on the colony infested with lice, right?  That was ok, iirc.  I have no recollection of Resurrection.  I remember bits and pieces of Prometheus, and do remember seeing Covenant in the theatres with jingle.son. 

As far as AVP goes, the one in Antarctica was pretty good, but the one in the small town was awful.

[Orbert]

I remember in one of the AvP movies, they said that the alien ship crashed on Earth, hitting at a 60-degree angle or something.  So they went to the crash site and started digging straight down, even made a point of saying that, after earlier making a point that the impact was at an angle.  But they dug straight down and found the aliens.  Maybe a bit pedantic, but I thought that that was pretty stupid and couldn't believe it made it to the final cut of the movie.

[BlackInk]

I don't remember that. I can't recall if there's any digging for aliens in the second AvP movie, but they do go down to a now underground pyramid in the first one (not anything that's crashed, angled or not). They don't really dig their way down though, they follow a tunnel (at an angle) that the Predators made down to it. Maybe I've forgotten some aspect of the movie, it's been a long time since I saw it.

[hefdaddy42]

So interesting to me to read the love for Alien 3 here.  I remember seeing it in the theater and thinking it was just AWFUL, and then I saw comic book writer Peter David's review, which he titled something like "Aliens 3, Fans 0" which I thought was the greatest title I had ever seen.

[Orbert]

I don't remember that. I can't recall if there's any digging for aliens in the second AvP movie, but they do go down to a now underground pyramid in the first one (not anything that's crashed, angled or not). They don't really dig their way down though, they follow a tunnel (at an angle) that the Predators made down to it. Maybe I've forgotten some aspect of the movie, it's been a long time since I saw it.

Maybe that's what it was.  It's been years, and I have no intention of rewatching it, but I thought they dug straight down when it should've been at an angle, yet found the place anyway.  I guess I had it backwards; they went down at an angle (no digging) but I do remember that someone said they were directly beneath.

[Zantera]

So interesting to me to read the love for Alien 3 here.  I remember seeing it in the theater and thinking it was just AWFUL, and then I saw comic book writer Peter David's review, which he titled something like "Aliens 3, Fans 0" which I thought was the greatest title I had ever seen.

It's a film that has developed a following over the years for sure. I think a lot of it comes down to your own thoughts on the decision to kill off 2 beloved characters in the opening minutes and basically make the film a 2 hour dark and depressing film where you wait for the beloved main character to bite the dust. Some people have beef with Alien 3 based on those decisions alone and nothing else really matters. And I think I used to be one of them when I was younger but I've definitely changed my thoughts on it over the years and it feels fitting for the franchise to be like that. No fairy tale endings, everything is just kinda shitty.

But it does have some problems of course and some of the effects look really rough. This was in that awkward era of "we're trying to phase out practical effects a bit because now you can start using CGI" but it wasn't there yet. You see glimpses of Fincher coming through and there's scenes where you do see the director who went on to make some fantastic films, but it's also bogged down by studio interference and I believe the script wasn't even entirely finished and they were working on parts of that as they were filming.

As much as I love Alien 3 I can't deny that time has been kind to it because of how the franchise turned out. Resurrection is the "dumb schlock" movie of the franchise where you get Joss Whedon humor mixed into a horror franchise and by that point there wasn't much suspense left. The AvP movies got mixed reception and the huge Ridley Scott comeback resulted in 2 muddled movies that some people love, some people hate, but overall the community seems fairly split on. So after all these movies you look back and Alien 3 for its flaws is the one sequel that came the closest to the original in terms of tone and style. And I think that has changed some people's opinions on it. (Also the Assembly Cut being released which is a big improvement on the Theatrical Cut in my opinion)

[HOF]

Granted I was like 12 when I saw Alien 3, but I thought it was really good then. I didn’t see Aliens until about 10 years later and I thought it was kind of a throwaway 80s action flick without much art to it (unlike Alien and Alien 3). It always surprises me when I hear that Alien 3 is disliked among that initial trio. Resurrection was pretty unmemorable except I remember they had splotchy colored aliens I think.

[hefdaddy42]

Granted I was like 12 when I saw Alien 3, but I thought it was really good then. I didn’t see Aliens until about 10 years later and I thought it was kind of a throwaway 80s action flick without much art to it (unlike Alien and Alien 3). It always surprises me when I hear that Alien 3 is disliked among that initial trio. Resurrection was pretty unmemorable except I remember they had splotchy colored aliens I think.

Why did you see 3 without having seen 2?

[hunnus2000]

Granted I was like 12 when I saw Alien 3, but I thought it was really good then. I didn’t see Aliens until about 10 years later and I thought it was kind of a throwaway 80s action flick without much art to it (unlike Alien and Alien 3). It always surprises me when I hear that Alien 3 is disliked among that initial trio. Resurrection was pretty unmemorable except I remember they had splotchy colored aliens I think.

My kid FREAKED OUT when the dog was impregnated and blew open. He was close to your age when he saw the flick.

[Orbert]

Granted I was like 12 when I saw Alien 3, but I thought it was really good then. I didn’t see Aliens until about 10 years later and I thought it was kind of a throwaway 80s action flick without much art to it (unlike Alien and Alien 3). It always surprises me when I hear that Alien 3 is disliked among that initial trio. Resurrection was pretty unmemorable except I remember they had splotchy colored aliens I think.

Why did you see 3 without having seen 2?

Why indeed.  But actually that provides for a rather unique take on A3, because it was the singular xenomorph raining hell on the masses.  Aliens was more action-oriented and overall had a very different feel.  The horror and suspense elements were downplayed in favor of action and explosions.

Big picture, I think maybe that's where most of the sequels go wrong.  Once you've established that a single organism can wipe out an entire ship, or entire planet, how much more mileage can you get out of having a shitload of them?  In that respect, A3 is much more like the original, and as Zantera says, and while it may have been considered weaker when there were only the three flicks, so many additionally flawed sequels have come out since then that A3 is now in the upper half of them overall.

[HOF]

Granted I was like 12 when I saw Alien 3, but I thought it was really good then. I didn’t see Aliens until about 10 years later and I thought it was kind of a throwaway 80s action flick without much art to it (unlike Alien and Alien 3). It always surprises me when I hear that Alien 3 is disliked among that initial trio. Resurrection was pretty unmemorable except I remember they had splotchy colored aliens I think.

Why did you see 3 without having seen 2?

Because it was on TV. I might have seen it before Alien, but I’m not sure about that.

[BlackInk]

But it does have some problems of course and some of the effects look really rough. This was in that awkward era of "we're trying to phase out practical effects a bit because now you can start using CGI" but it wasn't there yet.

I always thought it was bad CGI as well, but I think much of the Alien in the third movie is a small puppet, so technically a "practical effect" but composited into the shots afterward. An interesting approach, but unfortunately it just didn't work out.

[Zantera]

I feel like seeing movies in franchises out of order was quite common as a kid. For example I know my parents had Aliens on a VHS they recorded from the TV when it aired and I remember doing the same with Alien 3 on a VHS, however the original Alien I probably saw after both of them because my parents did not have it on VHS and it wasn't in the TV rotation as much. I don't pretend to know how TV works but I remember they always used to show certain sequels a lot on TV but the original film was maybe once a year if you were lucky. Similar with Die Hard - they always showed the first one every Christmas but Die Hard 2 and 3 were both pretty frequent. It does suck a bit because Alien is slightly ruined by having seen sequels before it. It's still a masterpiece as far as I'm concerned but if you know the full life cycle of the Xenomorph and what awaits, that definitely takes away a bit from the mystery aspect of it.

One thing I want to mention that I really loved with the Alien films was all the lore that was only really hinted at but never fully explored. Probably because it wasn't that important to each movie, but it was more like setting up a breadcrumb in case they wanted to do something with it later. But the mystery around the company and their motives. If they knew about the Alien or not, if this was just a happy coincidence for them discovering something new and wanting to have it. Alien 3 has that short scene with Lance Henriksen at the end as "real" Bishop but was he real or another android? I swear I probably rewatched that scene alone a bunch of times as a kid trying to decipher every line and find some nugget or piece of information I didn't know.

And that's probably my biggest gripe with Prometheus and Covenant is that the route they went to explain how we got the Xenomorph just didn't feel that satisfying to me. I think I would have been happier if this was just an organism that someone found somewhere and it spread from there.

[HOF]

I feel like seeing movies in franchises out of order was quite common as a kid. For example I know my parents had Aliens on a VHS they recorded from the TV when it aired and I remember doing the same with Alien 3 on a VHS, however the original Alien I probably saw after both of them because my parents did not have it on VHS and it wasn't in the TV rotation as much. I don't pretend to know how TV works but I remember they always used to show certain sequels a lot on TV but the original film was maybe once a year if you were lucky. Similar with Die Hard - they always showed the first one every Christmas but Die Hard 2 and 3 were both pretty frequent. It does suck a bit because Alien is slightly ruined by having seen sequels before it. It's still a masterpiece as far as I'm concerned but if you know the full life cycle of the Xenomorph and what awaits, that definitely takes away a bit from the mystery aspect of it.

Yeah, I know I watched both Alien and Alien 3 on TV/cable. I don't recall Aliens ever being aired when I was growing up (might have been, but I'm guessing maybe it was a little too gory for TV?). I never really rented or bought movies as a kid, so there wasn't much other way I would have seen it. It was some time around college when I watched Aliens with some friends, and I just didn't think much of it as a movie.

[jammindude]

Only 2 sci fi movies exist that I can think of off the top of my head that were so awful that they actually pissed me off. One was Star Trek Nemesis, the other was Alien Resurrection.

I remember seeing it in the theater because I had fairly high hopes and I have ALWAYS had a huge crush on Winona Rider.  But the whole alien hybrid thing just felt completely stupid to me.

I’ve only seen Alien 3 once and I’m pretty sure it was the theatrical cut. Some people have said the director s cut was better. What’s the DTF consensus on that? Is there a big difference?

[Zantera]

I’ve only seen Alien 3 once and I’m pretty sure it was the theatrical cut. Some people have said the director s cut was better. What’s the DTF consensus on that? Is there a big difference?

Unlike a lot of alternative cuts where the difference is a few scenes, the assembly cut of Alien 3 is actually about 30 minutes longer than the theatrical so it's quite the difference. A lot of the film is the same but parts have been greatly improved and some characters have been given a lot more to do. One fairly big character in the assembly cut is barely in the theatrical cut at all. I highly recommend it if you ever want to give Alien 3 another chance.

It's as close as they could get to Finchers original vision and they made it following his notes. He didn't want anything to do with the film after it came out because of his bad experience with the studio, so that's why it's called the assembly cut and not director's cut.

[Dream Team]

I feel like seeing movies in franchises out of order was quite common as a kid. For example I know my parents had Aliens on a VHS they recorded from the TV when it aired and I remember doing the same with Alien 3 on a VHS, however the original Alien I probably saw after both of them because my parents did not have it on VHS and it wasn't in the TV rotation as much. I don't pretend to know how TV works but I remember they always used to show certain sequels a lot on TV but the original film was maybe once a year if you were lucky. Similar with Die Hard - they always showed the first one every Christmas but Die Hard 2 and 3 were both pretty frequent. It does suck a bit because Alien is slightly ruined by having seen sequels before it. It's still a masterpiece as far as I'm concerned but if you know the full life cycle of the Xenomorph and what awaits, that definitely takes away a bit from the mystery aspect of it.

Yeah, I know I watched both Alien and Alien 3 on TV/cable. I don't recall Aliens ever being aired when I was growing up (might have been, but I'm guessing maybe it was a little too gory for TV?). I never really rented or bought movies as a kid, so there wasn't much other way I would have seen it. It was some time around college when I watched Aliens with some friends, and I just didn't think much of it as a movie.

Aliens is the LEAST gory of the three; Cameron is smart enough to know you don’t need gore to tell a great story and he’s proven it time and again. It’s universally recognized as one of greatest achievements in the sci-fi/action adventure genre.

[HOF]

Gory was maybe the wrong term. Maybe more violent? I dunno, the movie didn’t make that big of an impression on me. I just know I didn’t have an opportunity to see it on TV growing up.

[hefdaddy42]

Why did you see 3 without having seen 2?


Because it was on TV.

You just watched it because it was on?

You were a different kid than I was.  Even as a kid, I wouldn't have watched a sequel, or chapter 3, or whatever, if I hadn't seen the ones preceding.  I would have assumed I would be lost or missed some crucial context.  It would never have occurred to me to watch Alien 3 if I hadn't seen Aliens.

[HOF]

You just watched it because it was on?

You were a different kid than I was.  Even as a kid, I wouldn't have watched a sequel, or chapter 3, or whatever, if I hadn't seen the ones preceding.  I would have assumed I would be lost or missed some crucial context.  It would never have occurred to me to watch Alien 3 if I hadn't seen Aliens.

I mean, you watch what's on. I was not really thinking about continuity at that age, no. And just to clarify, this was the early 90s so it was either the theater, the video rental, or TV for movies back then.