Anyway, Alien: Romulus is the seventh film about these particular monsters. According to the producers, the film takes the franchise ‘back to its roots’. So we get a group of grimy crew-mates piloting a big rust-bucket of a spaceship who pick up an extraterrestrial stowaway and end up having to use their wits and courage to survive as it gobbles them up, one by one.

And it’s not a bad film. It’s nicely creepy, the special effects are good, the acting is perfectly serviceable. In fact, I could give you a normal review of Alien: Romulus, but just writing this is making me feel a little crazy. It’s not a bad film, but it’s also a direct copy of a much better film that already exists. That film is called Alien, and it came out in 1979. It had Sigourney Weaver in it. It hasn’t vanished. If you have a Disney+ subscription or a torrent client, you can watch it tonight. Why have we made it again? What’s the point? Why have we spent the past 45 years – which is longer than I’ve been alive – making seven different versions of the same film? What on Earth is going on?

  • DrSteveBrule@mander.xyz
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    2 months ago

    I haven’t watched the new film yet, but saying that 7 remakes of the first movie have been made is total bullshit.

    • Telodzrum@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      Yeah … Alien is one of the greatest movies of all time and Aliens is a rare sequel which is almost as good as the original and it does it while switching primary genres from the first. 3 is weaker but is carried by set design and incredible acting.

      Honestly, all of the Alien movies that don’t have “Predator” in the title are at worst above average films.

    • vxx@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      Anyway, Alien: Romulus is the seventh film about these particular monsters.

      That’s not the same.

      • chiliedogg@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        Why have we spent the past 45 years – which is longer than I’ve been alive – making seven different versions of the same film?

      • DrSteveBrule@mander.xyz
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        2 months ago

        Why have we spent the past 45 years – which is longer than I’ve been alive – making seven different versions of the same film?