Movie Alien: Romulus

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Ocha905 said:
Only seen Alien/s this year (both fantastic). Haven't seen the Terminator/T2.
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How is this possible ?
WATCH THEM ASAP
 
i stopped being interest in this franchise a long time ago. went to see covenant in the cinema and wanted to walk out.

it's not that i don't think there's anything worth exploring in the universe. i've got other things to do instead of wait for gold to be struck amongst whatever franchise people feel like milking.

about the only thing that could interest me would be a bishop/android xenomorph cross, i'm sure there's fanfic of it or something else that would be more interesting than execs want churned out. heck origin stories and universe arcs and explaining everything.
 

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Kram said:
Did have one good part though, the underwater bit.
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Dont get me wrong, its a guilty pleasure of mine. I still like Alien 4, as it completes the Alien Story for me, its obviously far from perfect but I do enjoy it.

Underwater scene is great, because for the first time, they show the Alien underwater attacking.

Favorite part, I enjoyed the scene when that crippled guy on the back of the black actor, take on the Alien.

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Yeah in terms of the Alien movies I haven't watched ALL of them in a row in quite a few years. I'll tune in when one might be on tv every now and then (Aliens was on one of the extra Channel 7 channels last weekend (or the weekend before lol) which I caught the final hour of). I have the original Alien Quadrilogy box set from 2003 which has both normal and director's cuts of the movies. I've also got the Aliens/Predator mega box set (all Alien + Predator movies released up to that point, including both Alien v Predator films - first one was "ok" second one was a bit of a dumpster fire!). I believe the Alien movies are all on bluray format, but not the directors cuts. I'd spruce up for a 4K release if that ever happens (I know the original is out in 4K but the others are not... thus far).

Even then the 2003 box set was the first time I had watched 1 and 3 in full. I had seen BITS and pieces of them before that, I knew of the classic Alien scenes from other pop culture references to that point (Duke Nukem 3D, there was a parody of the chest busting scene on Fast Foward or was it Full Frontal back in the day - when I think Ronald McDonald popped out of the chest instead of the Alien). My extent of Aliens prior to that was a screening of Aliens (and watching Alien Ressurection on Foxtel in the late 90's). I remember the Alien 3 video games, and the climatic scene from the film - I was oblivious to the trouble of how the movie itself got made.

Alien Trilogy on Playstation was good, although it was one of the few games that gave me motion sickness.
 
Watching it now Alien 3 isn't really that bad. I mean it looks great with neat direction, acting is quality with decent dialogue.. thing is whilst maybe not as bad as 30 years ago when you first seen it come out its problems are still the same. Story is kind of ok but coming directly from the previous action packed installment switching back to a very slow moving film with 1 creature is just to hard to take. And it just shits all over the ending of the previous story along killing not one but 2 characters not to mention requiring some suspension of disbelief for the alien to have even survived.

Would be kind of interesting to see someones opinion of the film in isolation if they had never seen the first 2 beforehand.
 
Kram said:
Watching it now Alien 3 isn't really that bad. I mean it looks great with neat direction, acting is quality with decent dialogue.. thing is whilst maybe not as bad as 30 years ago when you first seen it come out its problems are still the same. Story is kind of ok but coming directly from the previous action packed installment switching back to a very slow moving film with 1 creature is just to hard to take. And it just shits all over the ending of the previous story along killing not one but 2 characters not to mention requiring some suspension of disbelief for the alien to have even survived.

Would be kind of interesting to see someones opinion of the film in isolation if they had never seen the first 2 beforehand.
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It foreshadowed John Connor's death in Terminator Dark Fate. lol :D

Killing of those two characters hurt the Alien Franchise, which is why when a 5th Alien film was in the making years ago, it was going to look at an alternate timeline of both the characters surviving with Ripley.

Alien 3 Theatrical Release was 1ht 54 and Assembly Cut was about 30mins longer. IMO I actually felt the Theatrical Release was better and "cleaner" in the story telling.
 
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GROTTO said:
It foreshadowed John Connor's death in Terminator Dark Fate. lol

Killing of those two characters hurt the Alien Franchise, which is why when a 5th Alien film was in the making years ago, it was going to look at an alternate timeline of both the characters surviving with Ripley.

Alien 3 Theatrical Release was 1ht 54 and Assembly Cut was about 30mins longer. IMO I actually felt the Theatrical Release was better and "cleaner" in the story telling.
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Watching the extended version there's flat or dare I say it nearly dull patches where even though the beast is 'out there' it doesn't feel like it's any sort of immediate threat and we almost forget about it tbh.

Never felt like that in the original 1979 film, was always still some tension where we were still pondering its location.
 
Kram said:
Watching the extended version there's flat or dare I say it nearly dull patches where even though the beast is 'out there' it doesn't feel like it's any sort of immediate threat and we almost forget about it tbh.

Never felt like that in the original 1979 film, was always still some tension where we were still pondering its location.
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I wont watch the extended version again of Alien 3, it loses the impact and threat of the Alien for sure.

With that said, for a viewer that loves the Alien Universe and watches the series repeatedly, its worth seeing just once at least for a point of difference.

I mistakenly thought in this particular movie, that longer would be better and thats not the case. However, I think they could add a scene or two here and there to enhance the theatrical release.
 
GROTTO said:
I wont watch the extended version again of Alien 3, it loses the impact and threat of the Alien for sure.

With that said, for a viewer that loves the Alien Universe and watches the series repeatedly, its worth seeing just once at least for a point of difference.

I mistakenly thought in this particular movie, that longer would be better and thats not the case. However, I think they could add a scene or two here and there to enhance the theatrical release.
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Ok that's interesting I thought that it was very often considered to be a version of a 'bad' film that makes it a lot better, in hindsight maybe I should have watched the theatrical first.
 

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Kram said:
Ok that's interesting I thought that it was very often considered to be a version of a 'bad' film that makes it a lot better, in hindsight maybe I should have watched the theatrical first.
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Oh wow. Normally youre 100% right about an extended version of most movies, I have always felt though that the theatrical release of Alien 3 was better. Its suspenseful and keeps you on edge. Once the Alien "arrives" its fairly suspenseful right till the end. By no means am I saying its a great movie or on the same level as Alien or Aliens, but the theatrical release is definitely the better product to view.

If others on here have seen both, would love to hear their thoughts on this?
 
GROTTO said:
If others on here have seen both, would love to hear their thoughts on this?
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I was already a big fan and defender of the film before the Assembly Cut was released so possible bias, and I think the Assembly Cut is worth several viewings if you enjoy that sort of atmospheric world and want more of it (and the fantastic cast & crew).

I agree though that there comes a time when it slips from chop'n'change regular rotation and is more of an alternative version. This is one of those imperfect films where the ideal cut would lie somewhere in between, but if I had to choose one to save I'd choose theatrical too. On the same note, I think the Alien 3 BTS doc Wreckage & Rage is similarly overrated a bit, their adulation both stems from a time when you could just thoughtlessly dismiss Alien 3 in pop culture without any counter debate (also see Godfather III & Waterworld from that era), and so Assembly & the Wreckage & Rage doc (from a time when Fincher was far more respected) benefited from that narrative.

I wrote the below cut-relevant review in December 2018 the last time I did an Alien series run through.

"After a few faltering experiences with the Assembly Cut, I have definitively found that my preference lies in the Theatrical Cut, and here is why.

The only sequences really worth saving from the Assembly Cut belong to the mid-film portion with Junior's redemption and Golic's breakout. Even then, the film doesn't really need them. I don't mind thinking of them as fire victims, or as picked off before the furnace baiting. As long as you can handle the total folly of the fire disaster (even so the bucket usefully foreshadows the climax), then you can move on, and have those characters standing at the door opened by Golic without any particular meaning attached to their meeting location. There are also a few short snippets I wouldn't mind keeping, like Ripley blackly washed up on the beach (visually a nice bookend to her fiery fate). However, the idea of her washing up on the beach from the EEV never sat well with me, and the beach looks too inviting for an otherwise dour, grimy mood. All the ox can be jettisoned, the rottweiler always worked better, both in facehugger discovery, facial aftermath, and the editing together with the burial.

Worst of all, there is that unnecessarily extended scene between Clemens and Andrews, as well as a lot of scenes where Dillon attends to his flock, which frankly add very little, and in some cases detract. We get Clemens and Dillon, audiences always enjoyed them since 1992, we don't need anything more from them, particularly when it is poorly written and therefore diluting. A few more "85" jabs, some additional scenes surrounding the Boggs and Rains demises, is also unneeded. The Alien Queen coming out at the end is also a more striking ending to the trilogy.

Naturally, given the beauty of the film and the brilliance of the accomplished ensemble, there are a few brief glimpses of prisoners which give them more individuality, but all in all the theatrical cut has superior consistency of mood and quality, whilst the Assembly Cut is a flabby thing that never would have been released without an additional edit undertaken. Despite reputation, the Theatrical Cut should be your primary viewing, and the Assembly Cut a (gorgeously welcome) curiosity maybe to play with the audio commentary.

Lastly, "this is rumour control: here are the facts": can we please get rid of the notion of the terrible CGI alien. There is barely any CGI in this film. Some examples are the flying debris in the wind outside, and the sprinkler crack-up impact on the Alien head, but there isn't a whole lot else in this film (which you have to remember was being filmed months prior to the release of T2). A lot of the "CGI" people are lambasting is actually optical effects and creature design ingenuity, and quite well done at that. It is a film straddling both eras, which seldom uses digital effects.

Still a most satisfying conclusion to my favourite narrative trilogy in film history"


In October 2015 (still in my mid 20s then fwiw take what you will) I wrote this one on the film more broadly:


"The film folklore triumvirate of Newt & Hicks, Assembly Versions and wooden planets are all equally over hyped. Alien3 is broken and unceremonious, but admirably ambitious, worthy of more than a mere "nice try", let alone the brunt of franchise blame, the reputational smear of director disownment and the tabled cruelty of canon expulsion (although in a twisted way that might do wonders for the film's legacy).

Alas, neither cut is ideal, and the plotting is a little clumsy, but I still adore this film. It has this wonderful fusion of Alien, Blade Runner (which is physically and spiritually littered throughout the production design, backdrop and tone of this film), Fincher & Ward, as well as an interesting cast that recalls something as far removed as Withnail & I. It could even be distantly related to the likes of Mad Max and Nolan's Batman.

As a lover of good editing and a detractor of expository overkill, I find the Assembly Cut too problematic (even to the point of exposing a lack of character depth), and therefore tend to opt for the more easily digestible and focused Theatrical Cut, but I dearly wish there was something in between the two, as the Assembly Cut has many indelible images too painful to leave on the cutting room floor (and to a lesser extent, vice versa). It had potential to be one of the greatest genre films we've ever seen, and despite the flaws it maintains one of the most visually seductive and thematically powerful sci-fi worlds we have ever seen on film. I just want to soak it up for hours and hours, like a drug.

However, this is an Alien film after all, and the antagonist eventually needs to start chewing through the human fodder and kick the plot into gear. Unfortunately in the case of Alien 3, the action kind of gets in the way at times of a film which should be much more than that, and the film begins to lose steam come it's fleet-footed third act. The likes of Alien and Blade Runner are comparable in this respect, but nevertheless succeed. Alien 3 on the other hand arrives injured and unwell. Alien 3 is a slightly unstable but fascinating loner and thinker shoved against its will into the multiplex marketplace. It has never truly recovered from those first impressions and savage dismissals, decried as a profane, depressed, brown, bald, British and all round unappealing family wrecker. Even its admirers will still recall those childhood memories of abrupt crew disposal, and its detractors were never able to get past this shameless, cardinal sin of sorts and greet the film on its own terms. It is telling that despite Alien 3 coming from a far more intriguing and mature place than Aliens, Aliens is a lot better executed and far less confused, and therefore a more polished film overall.

Alien 3 exhibits a stunning array of talents. The acting, directing, cinematography and scoring departments (which often prove particularly adept at leading the way in rejuvenating interest in overlooked and misunderstood films) are all bringing their A-game. However, the overall result is critically second guessed out of greatness, in dire need of a strongly plotted compass. I've always believed that the condensed story treatment we inherent on film surpasses any of the over-hyped precursor draft stories, many of which pragmatically bleed into the final copy in just the right way, but it always eludes confident, well thought-out coherency and therefore is cast aside from film greatness. Tragically short of something we can all get behind, but as far as film trilogies go it almost conquers the mountain. Whether regarded as an ill made mute which halted franchise momentum in its tracks, or a lost genre treasure, Alien3 remains a curiosity long after many less confronting sequels have been long forgotten"
 
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GROTTO said:
This is a standalone movie isnt it?

No connection to Prometheus or Ripley's Alien?
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Maybe if the series and film are received well they’ll do something which provides closure to the Prometheus story.

They should tie it up but to be honest I thought that story was killing the mystique of the alien. Might have been more they had in mind that they didn’t get to do.
 
Kram said:
If they can't be bothered wrapping up the Prometheus movies just let the thing die ffs.

But yeah milking $$$.
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When you think about it, it makes no sense after this many years to wrap up Prometheus.

That movie was like over 10+ years ago now. Sure fans like you and myself are invested in the storyline and would love a conclusion, but can they really afford spend $100s of millions on a new Alien movie that appeals basically to us?

Much like comic book movies, they will just reboot this movie for the new generation.

Alien 4 is like over 26 years ago, I would be very surprised if many people say under the age of 35 have seen any of the Alien movies.
 
Ridley originally wanted to wrap up the prequels, but after the Disney acquisition of 20thbCentury Fox, they announce a standalone film,, a synopsis that resembles the original Alien, and a cast full of new young actors.

Sounds like a reboot of the franchise. Doesnt fill confodence given how poorpy Disney rebooted Star wars
 
ShooterMcGavin8 said:
Thought they would have continued off the David storyline.
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They were meant to.

The David storyline is pretty much cooked and gone forever.

With the new Alien movie and TV series coming out, I dont expect there ever to be a conclusion to Prometheus story.

With that said, they may explore it with the TV series.
 
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