The Thrill in Space with ALIEN: Romulus

 

Jeri Jacquin

Now on Digital (Prime Video, Apple TV and Fandango at Home) and coming to 4K Ultra HD, Bluray and DVD from writer/director Fede Alvarez and 20^th Century Studios is the science fiction thriller that comes from a legacy with ALIEN: Romulus.

It is 2142 and Rain (Cailee Spaeny) is a young girl trying to make it on her own in the Jackson’s Star LV-410 mining community taking care of her brother Andy (David Jonsson). After being forced to work under a contract wo the Weyland-Yutani company, Rain is angry that they have extended her contract when all she wants to do is go to the planet Yvaga. That’s when she received a call from ex-boyfriend Tyler (Archie Renaux) who wants her and Andy, along with sister Kay (Isabela Merced), Bjorn (Spike Fearn), and Navarro (Aileen Wu) to head to an abandoned ship to get cryostasis chambers that will help them get to Yvaga.

Of course they need Andy to make their personal mission work. Why? Because Andy can talk to the computer system on the ship and help them get the cryo-chambers. The idea is to get in and get out quickly before the ship falls into a destructive orbit. Agreeing, Rain, Tyler, Andy and the crew take off in the Corbelan IV to meet up with the abandoned ship and discover there are two sections called Romulus and Remus.

After a few miscalculations, they are learning as they go but not soon enough to release something deadly into the ship. They find a synthetic named Rook (Daniel Betts) who tells them that he has a prime directive and is loyal to the company. Rook is completely honest with the crew when something is happening to Navarro but Bjorn decides Navarro, Kay and the situation to take matters into his own hands. When the Corbelan spins out of control, it crashes into the ship’s dock and those inside are now susceptible to what is taking over the ship.

Andy has the idea that to get to the part of the ship that can help them, Rain and Tyler are told they must control themselves to walk through more of the xenomorphs. Rook is sending them to retrieve a compound that the company wants but when things become out of control, Rain takes over and does what she needs to helping to take out as many survivors as possible. Finding the fight in her, Rain isn’t about to go down easy!

Spaeny as Rain is a young woman who is trying to do right by adoptive brother Andy. Trying to start a new life on another planet, teaming up with Tyler seems to be the only way left. Frustrated about the extension of her contract, Rain has to make decisions that are now going to put her face to face with horror. Spaeny gives us a strong, empathetic yet very smart character and following in Sigourney Weaver’s footsteps, she does an excellent job to the very last frame.

Jonsson as Andy is a synthetic who has found a home with Rain. She takes care of him and when things go wrong, she is always there to turn the key. Jonsson gives us a tad different perspective of a synthetic showing care for one person even if it is his directive. Taking on this incarnation, Jonsson does an extremely good job of giving fans someone to root for besides Rain. Renaux as Tyler also wants to start a new life on Yvaga but also knows he needs something Rain has. Gathering his crew together to make the decision to go, he leads and fights for them all.

Fearn as Bjorn has a chip on his shoulder against Andy and does not try to hide it in the least little bit. Merced as Kay has a secret of her own that is so explosive (sorry, had to) but in a way fans are not going to expect. Wu as Navarro gets the opportunity to be the chest bursting victim because what would an ALIEN’s film be without it.

Huge shout-out to Betts as Rook because the way they bring Ian Holmes original character of Ash through Rook is stunning with the AI and, in a weird way, I was happy to see him!

Twentieth Century Studios Home Entertainment brings award-winning global product and new entertainment to DVD, Bluray, and Digital HD. There amazing collection offers fans an opportunity to expand their own home libraries with the best films. To discover what other titles they have please visit www.20thcenturystudios.com.

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Bonus Features include Return to Horror: Crafting Alien: Romulus, The Director’s Vision, Creating the Story, Casting the Faces, Constructing the World, Inside the Xenomorph Showdown, Alien: A Conversation, and Alternate/Extended Scenes.

An added note is that the original 1979 sci-fi thriller, ALIEN, is celebrating its 45^th anniversary this year. Fans can experience the terror in a 2-movie collection digital bundle (Alien & Alien: Romulus) on October 15 in 4K UHD, HD and SD.

Remembering vividly the first time I saw ALIEN in 1979, it was mind jolting because it was a new way to look at a thriller with space being the “box” this is all happening in. There was no where for Ripley, or anyone on the Nostromo, to run! The creation of a new cold, calculating and acid blood alien was and still is absolutely stunning in every way. Since then, any fan of ALIEN has followed each story that has come about and flocked to theatres to see them.

This new cast has given us another look at the space-horror-thrill but added easter eggs that are not hidden at all. They are there and when something works as effectively as they have from other films in the franchise, then use it right? The face-to-face scene between the xenomorph and Rain is an absolute classic scene as a nod to the original scene in ALIEN. Things like that just draw fans in and we are here for it. I’m thinking, it’s an ALIEN franchise binge weekend because ALIEN: Romulus is up on space deck!

In the end – in space no one can hear you!

THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER’S WEB: A New Dragon Tattoo Story

Jeri Jacquin

In theatres from director Fede Alvarez and Columbia Pictures is a continuation story of someone who finds herself once again as THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER’S WEB.

Lisbeth Salander (Claire Foy) has once again become invisible although wanted by the police. Making it her goal to stop innocent people from being hurt, she manages to do so while faded into the background…but not for long.

She is approached by Frans Balder (Stephen Merchant) who has created a program called Firewall when he was a NSA employee. This program has nuclear codes all over the world and now believes that he created a monster that everyone else wants to control. He asks Lisbeth to retrieve it so it can be destroyed.

She agrees and gets inside the NSA’s computer as a horrified Edwin Neeham (Lakeith Stanfield), NSA security, looks on trying to stop it. He immediately locates where the hack has come from and leaves for Europe. Neeham isn’t the only one looking for Firewall as Lisbeth is attacked. She turns to Mikael Blomkvist (Sverrir Gudnason), the Millennium journalist and even though their relationship turned rocky, she trusts him. He discovers that a group of Russian criminals are after Firewall.

Keeping track of Balder, she also worries for his young son August (Christopher Convery) as who ever else wants Firewall would have no trouble killing him. Keeping him safe becomes important to Lisbeth even if her hardened shell is still in tact.

Blomkvist turns to Gabriella Grane (Synnove Lund), Deputy Director of the Swedish Secret Service to discover who the men are with the spider tattoos. She has her own agenda keeping an eye on Neeham who she believes is also looking for Lisbeth.

With the cat and mouse happening between she, the spider tattoo goons and Neeham, there is one person she never expected to see. Someone from her past who has picked up the mantel of a father who is responsible for how Lisbeth came to be – Camilla (Sylvia Hoeks).

Lisbeth Salander makes no exceptions for evil!

Foy as Salander gives a stoic performance in the role of a character that doesn’t show much emotion. Everything that she shares emotion wise is all in her eyes. With every plan you can see the wheels turning jumping the track whenever she needs to change gears. This is a far cry from her comfy life in highly successful series The Crown but that’s the point of growing as an actress – bowl cut your hair and don’t be afraid to jump on a motorcycle.

Merchant as Balder is a man clearly afraid that those who have Firewall are going to use it to harm more than protect. Balder’s role might not be a big one but it sets the story up for his castmate.  Convery as August is a young boy who is as smart as his father but that doesn’t mean his fate isn’t being determined but someone smart but psychotic. This character is like Lisbeth in that he keeps his emotions in check trusting that he will get home to his mother.

Stanfield as Neeham panics when he sees Firewall has been hacked and knows the only thing he can do is find out who took it and why. Neeham’s character is just as determined as Lisbeth but he has one obstacle. Lund as Grane is the SAPO and has already threatened Neeham with deportation if he tries to interfere with the investigation but trust goes only so far.

Gudnason as Blomkvist is thrilled to hear from Lisbeth because his feelings for her haven’t changed. At the same time, the journalist in him sees the potential of cracking open the mystery of what is happening by following Lisbeth forward. Hoeks as Camilla is the sister none of us wants to deal with. The history that Camilla and Lisbeth share is of two survivors of an abusive father – one turns to trying to save others while the other turns to destruction. Hoeks is completely disturbing in her portrayal and scenes with Foy are intense.

Other cast include Carlotta von Falkenhayn as a young Camilla, Vicky Krieps as Erika Berger, Cameron Britton as Plague, Andreia Pelic as Maria, and Mikael Persbrandt as Zalachenko.

Let me first get this out of the way, the Noomi Rapace is my Lisbeth Salander and in 2008 when THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO was released I could not have been more thrilled with the film. This was followed months later with THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE and months later with THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST. This was the best three films I have ever seen and all released in one year proving that it is possible to make stunning films without two and three year gaps.

In 2011, the remake hit the theatres with Rooney Mara and Daniel Craig in THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO and as much as I enjoy these two actors, I wasn’t thrilled with the film. I don’t mind saying it either, there was absolutely no reason to remake it and I could not get behind the choice for Lisbeth Salander.

The choice of Claire Foy as the new Lisbeth Salander has one thing in her favor, this isn’t a remake. Instead it’s actually more of an explanation of where this character came from and how the past is never far behind any of us. Foy captures bits of the 2009 Salander but clearly makes her own mark as well.

As for the film, I enjoyed it but also have to say that the plot was fairly straight forward and slightly predictable. I feel as if I’ve seen these plot points before in other films and wished there was more umph to it. The action is definitely something I would expect to see in the Millennium series and the film lives up to that most certainly.

Understand that with the death of the series creator Steig Larsson in 2004, the characters are picked up by David Lagercrantz. This is his first novel taking over the series and it was released in 2015. It is not an easy thing to bring in another writer to keep a series going because, and let’s be honest, they aren’t Larsson. That being said Lagercrantz manages to keep Lisbeth Salander alive by bringing her past forward for us all to understand. He also seemed to take great care in being true to the complexities created by Larsson

For those who love the Millennium series, this new story and film is interesting and full of action. Foy gives Salander new life and if they plan to continue the films, keep the stories fresh and the fan base will stay true.

In the end – the past never forgets!