The most convincing thing about the Foreigner franchise is how each film follows similar narrative structures applied to different genres. The original was a claustrophobic high-concept sci-fi horror, the first sequel was all-out space marine action fun, then a dark and oppressive operatic horror arthouse film, an over-the-top traditional sci-fi blockbuster, a contemplative philosophical space adventure, and finally a brooding and depressive mystery about impending extinction. There are no two Foreigner Movies the same.
And yet, when a new installment comes out, you feel like you are seeing the first installment for the first time. We are constantly chasing that primal feeling of euphoria, even though stylistically and thematically each of the seven titles (and I am counting the Alien vs Predator trilogy) has its own DNA. This week, film critic Matt Zoller Seitz commented: “There are no bad Foreigner Movies, only good or great.” I tend to agree. They are all based on a simple idea (people in a confined space being hunted by an immortal organism) that provides an excellent sandbox for filmmakers to explore.
Alien: Romulusthe seventh film in the series, is the first in which a sequel looks back at his legacy. It follows the postmodern trend of self-referential self-perception and does not follow the latest Prometheus And Alien: Covenant but places you somewhere between the first two titles. It even appears before the title – a Weyland-Yutani spaceship retrieves a petrified Xenomorph from the wreckage of the Nostromo, the ship from the first film. We’re back in time, baby. A feeling that’s reinforced by director Fede Álvarez’s decision to do his best to imitate the same visual effects as in Ridley Scott’s original masterpiece.
From the prologue, we quickly get to the plot. On a mining planet, a ragtag group of young rebels plan to capture an abandoned spaceship in orbit, where they may find means to travel to another planet and escape their hellish corporate nightmare. Most of the characters are forgettable, except for Rain (Cailee Spaeny) and her android “brother” and protector Andy (David Jonsson), our factual point of view. Before we’ve even had time to explore the rest of the group, we quickly discover a good reason why the spaceship was abandoned.
So far, so general Foreignerbut where the films digress to find their own way within the same concept, Romulus goes out of its way to visually and thematically reference the original Sigourney Weaver “quadrilogy.” Weyland-Yutani’s evil antics once again take center stage, expressing that “the real monster is capitalism.” There’s a confusing moment where Álvarez decides to throw in a character from the original film played by a sadly deceased actor, which is both puzzling, poorly done, unnecessary and an insult to the memory of said actor. The second half of the film then degenerates into an action crescendo like Cameron’s AliensIf everyone Foreigner The film is a reflection of the state of pop culture at the time it was made. It makes sense Alien: Romulus is a work of reverence for the better films that came before it.
The disappointing thing is that it didn’t have to be this way. The beginning and the reasons why the children get on the boat wouldn’t have had to be so complicated if it could have been simply boiled down to “what if…” Reward of fearbut it is Foreigner?” The awful CGI of an old actor could have been replaced with better and scarier alternatives (I came up with a broken android with an unrecognizable face to further underscore the “faceless corporation” point), and throughout the film there’s a nagging sense that a lot of the decisions here were made by the studio committee and in test screenings in front of audiences. Particularly the moments where Álvarez promises some blood and guts, only to have them scaled back by quick and safe editing. The facehugger scene contains that disturbing image of the creature’s appendage forcing its way down a human’s throat, but it doesn’t linger long enough to really disturb us.
The natural course of a Foreigner film would be to reduce it to pure B-schlock madness: the kind of subgenre that, surprisingly, he hasn’t explored yet. And Álvarez is perfectly suited for that – his evil Dead Remake has happily traumatized me – but it can only get going in the third act of the film. And what a third act it is. Suddenly Romulus becomes a gruesome, gnarly, physical nightmare with a thrilling set. Where was the film 90 minutes ago? Is there anything else you can Foreigner except for your great idea being ruined by a big corporation?
Verdict: 3 out of 5
Even a mediocre Foreigner The film is good. It was disappointing that some great ideas were undermined by too many inappropriate franchise references and elements and the horrific misuse of a respectable deceased actor. Still, it pulls it off, really. I’ll go back to the theater just for those last 10 minutes.
