Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey M. Anderson , based on child development research. How do we rate?
Intensely gripping sci-fi horror with gore, shocks, cursing.
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Alien: Romulus
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 7 parent reviews
What's the Story?
In ALIEN: ROMULUS, Rain (Cailee Spaeny) and her "brother," synthetic being Andy (David Jonsson), live and work in a mining colony, vainly hoping to rack up enough hours to earn their freedom. They're approached by Tyler (Archie Renaux) and his crew—Kay (Isabela Merced), Bjorn (Spike Fearn), and Navarro (Aileen Wu)—with a proposition. The group has discovered a decommissioned ship drifting above the planet that has cryo-pods in it. If they can steal them, they'll be able to escape, surviving the nine years it will take to get to the nearest habitable system. They need Andy to access the ship's computer so that they can get in. They make it aboard and find the pods, but the devices are low on fuel. They successfully track down more fuel—and then unfortunately discover that it was being used to keep something in a deep freeze. And now it's awake...
Is It Any Good?
After a couple of science fictiony entries full of big ideas, the Alien franchise returns to pure horror with this ruthlessly gripping, brutally intense, refreshingly simple movie. Directed by Fede Álvarez, who successfully rebooted the Evil Dead franchise and whose Don't Breathe was a clever use of limited space, Alien: Romulus takes things back to basics. There are no scientists or philosophers here, no trained space explorers or soldiers, just regular folks who are trying to get out of a bad situation. Álvarez gets things moving well before the aliens appear with an impressive use of visual effects that gives viewers the most visceral vision of the perils of outer space since Gravity.
The movie also spends time on Rain and Andy, exploring their unusual but loving relationship; when Andy is installed with a new chip to give him access to the special alien room, he changes, and Rain looks at him with suspicion ("Andy, are you there?"). The themes of the original films (Alien and Aliens) come back into play here, with an evil corporation that's interested only in finding ways to exploit the aliens and their power for profit (no matter the cost in human life), but the real focus here is on survival. The sharp screenplay uses the familiar elements (the "face-hugger," the "chest-burster") but keeps them fresh. It keeps upping the ante, with bigger and bigger shocks and challenges as the clock runs down. Alien: Romulus easily ranks with the best of this series.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Alien: Romulus' violence. How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?
Is the movie scary? What's the appeal of horror movies? Why do people sometimes enjoy being scared?
Do you consider Rain a role model? Why, or why not? Does she demonstrate any valuable character strengths? How does she compare to the other women in the Alien franchise?
What's the appeal of the Alien movies? How does this one compare to others in the series?
How do you feel about the movie's message regarding corporate motivations and priorities?
Movie Details
- In theaters: August 16, 2024
- Cast: Cailee Spaeny , David Jonsson , Archie Renaux , Isabela Merced
- Director: Fede Alvarez
- Inclusion Information: Latino directors, Female actors, Black actors, Indian/South Asian actors, Multiracial actors, Latino actors, Latino writers
- Studio: 20th Century Studios
- Genre: Science Fiction
- Topics: Space and Aliens
- Run time: 119 minutes
- MPAA rating: R
- MPAA explanation: bloody violent content and language
- Last updated: August 13, 2024
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