Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Speaker A: What is that?
[00:00:02] Speaker B: I don't know. It's a little air horn or something.
[00:00:04] Speaker A: Oh, air horn at the top of the pod is crazy.
[00:00:09] Speaker B: Hey, man, we got to get them. We got to get them started. We got to get them hooked.
[00:00:13] Speaker A: Could you imagine waking up and you're just, like, chilled out, mourning? Yeah, I can't wait to listen to Realheads podcast, you know, like, on my morning commute.
[00:00:23] Speaker B: Like, yeah, man.
[00:00:24] Speaker A: No, yeah, and do that to him.
[00:00:27] Speaker B: Anywho, welcome to the Real Heads podcast.
We got some music, generic music, out of the in post.
[00:00:36] Speaker A: Okay. Heard God.
[00:00:38] Speaker B: Anyways, welcome to real heads. Yeah, we're coming at you, putting the real film in our real heads, and we're trying to reel in the heads to listen and us talk about film.
[00:00:52] Speaker A: And our heads are real.
[00:00:53] Speaker B: And our heads are real.
[00:00:54] Speaker A: It's a triple entendre. Don't worry about it.
[00:00:57] Speaker B: So we got a movie we watched on Sunday. We went pretty early morning. I don't think they were even open yet.
[00:01:05] Speaker A: Matinee.
[00:01:06] Speaker B: Yeah. Very bad name film.
It was a little, like a little indie film, you know, not super big, you know. Alien Romulus.
[00:01:16] Speaker A: Yeah. Alien Romulus.
[00:01:18] Speaker B: Yeah, it was a movie.
[00:01:21] Speaker A: It was a movie. Yeah, that was it. Thank you, guys. Have a good. Have a good week. I'll see you next time.
[00:01:27] Speaker B: But, no, no, no. We got alien Romulus going up, and this is a pretty. It's. It's a legacy horror science fiction film from the some pretty big directors who have been in the game for a very long time, starting off with the Ridley Scott and moving on forward from there.
So, yeah, I just. Do you know anything about this film franchise? Have you ever experienced this film franchise?
[00:01:58] Speaker A: First, I know that this movie kind of fits in between alien and aliens two.
[00:02:03] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:02:03] Speaker A: Which for some reason, they decided to not call it aliens, too. They called it aliens, which. Fair enough. Yeah. I think they should add two s's at the end. It's like aliens.
[00:02:15] Speaker B: Maybe a z.
[00:02:16] Speaker A: Maybe even a z. Yeah, aliens. That could have been cool. But, you know, I digress. Yeah. So we got aliens, Romulus one s.
I've only seen Covenant and Prometheus, so going in, I've got, like, maybe a slightly different view than some other fans of the franchise who have seen them all, so. And we'll definitely get into that. But, yeah, man, it's. It was a cool movie. I enjoyed it. I want to talk a little bit about, you know, kind of like the. A little bit of the backstory of the production of this film.
[00:02:52] Speaker B: Sure.
[00:02:53] Speaker A: Go ahead. Not too deep. Into it, but just kind of like the. Just want to touch on the fact that, you know, this movie got Greenlit after Disney acquired Fox. Right. Because, you know, you see, it's a Fox title.
[00:03:06] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:03:06] Speaker A: So 20th century now. Yeah. And if you remember how long ago that was, that when Disney acquired Fox, it had to have been.
That wasn't recent. It's been.
[00:03:18] Speaker B: That was around the 2020. So it's been about four years.
[00:03:21] Speaker A: Has it been four years?
[00:03:22] Speaker B: About maybe towards the end of 2019. So maybe five ish.
[00:03:27] Speaker A: Hmm. Interesting. I don't know why I thought that. Maybe it was earlier than that, but, yeah, I think you're right, actually. Cause, yeah, you might be right, but I don't know. I liked how this movie had a lot of really good practical effects.
[00:03:42] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:03:43] Speaker A: They really went to town. Stan Winston school did the effects for this one, which was sick. I love anything that the Stan Winston company does.
Obviously credited with original aliens, Jurassic parks, and many, many, many other, like, jaws. Like, just high, prolific, super reputable, you know, people, and, like, just doing the damn thing. So the. The practical effects were really, really sick here.
I want to talk a little bit about the director being fede Alvarez.
[00:04:24] Speaker B: Go ahead.
[00:04:25] Speaker A: And did you know he's the director from Evil Dead?
[00:04:29] Speaker B: The newest one.
[00:04:29] Speaker A: The newest one.
[00:04:31] Speaker B: Not. Not the newest one.
[00:04:33] Speaker A: No. Because there's the Evil Dead 2013 remake. I want to say it's 2013, whereas where she cuts her tongue. Sick. And. And I I loved when I. When I kind of made that connection with. Oh, that's what he's from, because I love that movie. You know, I I've never seen the original evil Dead.
[00:04:52] Speaker B: I haven't either.
[00:04:53] Speaker A: But I've seen the remake.
[00:04:55] Speaker B: I have.
[00:04:55] Speaker A: And I've also seen the new one.
[00:04:57] Speaker B: I've seen that.
[00:04:58] Speaker A: And I like them both. But I really like the remake. I thought it was just, like, just punchy and bloody and, like, the practical effects.
[00:05:09] Speaker B: I was like, oh, I like this.
[00:05:12] Speaker A: I like this. And he also did don't breathe.
[00:05:15] Speaker B: Yeah, I haven't seen that one either.
[00:05:16] Speaker A: You've never seen don't breathe? Wow. That. That movie would. Would give you anxiety.
[00:05:21] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm sure.
[00:05:22] Speaker A: But knowing that. That he did don't breathe in Evil Dead, that gives you a really good insight on what to expect from an alien film made by him. And I think that perfect, perfect hiring choice, perfect director for an alien film. In my eyes, you know, I think he nails the tone, he nails the atmosphere. Practical effects on point, like. And it's evident in his past work, and it's proven here. You know, he also collaborated on this project with Roto Sia gase. I'm hopefully, I'm saying that right. I apologize if I, if I am not. They both work together on previous films as well and also work together on this one, so we love to see that, too. You love to see two creatives who frequently get to work together because obviously, if you've got two hands in the pot and you guys have done this in the past, it's not going to come out like a mishmash project.
You're clearly shown that you've been able to work together in the past and you're doing it again now. And that's what's going to be a great product or showcase a great product moving forward. And that's what we got. I felt like, you know, so obviously fede has a good background in horror, suspense, gore, atmospheric horror. And, and those elements, would you say, were implemented pretty well into aliens? Romulus.
[00:07:00] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. It definitely got back because I've seen the original. That's the only one I've seen.
And, you know, even then, like, that one is a science fiction horror film. But I feel like this, like the original aliens.
[00:07:16] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:07:17] Speaker B: But with this one, I feel like this was more horror than it was. Like, it's still science fiction.
[00:07:23] Speaker A: Right, right.
[00:07:23] Speaker B: I felt like this was a traditional horror film to an extent. Yeah. Then the other one, the other one was like, oh, crap, bad things are happening. You know, like, we got to get our stuff together and, like, there's a scary monster afterwards. This one is like, similar things, but it, like, dives deeper into the, the scary aspect of these, like, spider, like, alien creatures are chasing after you.
[00:07:50] Speaker A: Yeah. Which is, which is fun, you know, I like that. I like that, that he was able to dial in on the horror and dial it up a bit, you know, because, like, people always talk about the xenomorphs and, like, the alien franchise being a part of horror, a big part of horror. But I mean, I haven't seen the first aliens, but even, like you said, like, it's never really been that scary. And even when I watched, even when I watched Covenant in Prometheus, they're not that scary. They're not really scary at all, really. They're, it's more so on the Sci-Fi and in, like, horror elements. But, yeah, this one definitely. I think you hit the nail ahead, dialed in on the horror.
So, yeah, from here, I guess we'll, let's break into the cast. So we got some interesting players here. So you've got Kaylee Spaney, who plays the titular character, Rain. She is known for her role in the recent civil war movie. She also played Priscilla. Yes, and Priscilla. She also was acting opposite John Boyega and Pacific Rim uprising.
Then you had David Johnson as Andy, her lovable cyborg, who has really not been in a lot of movies, but he was in a popular tv show. The industry, or industry. And deep state he was in Rylane. What's that?
[00:09:12] Speaker B: It's a Hulu film that came out a couple, maybe last year.
[00:09:16] Speaker A: I didn't see that one.
[00:09:17] Speaker B: Yeah, it's a rom.com type of situation.
[00:09:20] Speaker A: Interesting. So you got Archie Renault, who played Tyler, and he is known for Shadow of Bone, or Shadow and Bone. He was a character in that and also a character in Morbius.
Bear with me here because we're going to make some connections. Okay, I got you. Hold on. Isabella. Mercedes, or Merced plays k. And she was Dora. And Dora, velocity of gold.
[00:09:46] Speaker B: Oh, really? And she also in Denan.
[00:09:49] Speaker A: I know, crazy, right? She also was in Transformers the last night, Madame Webb.
And. Yeah, so there's that. Then you had Spike Fearne as Bjorn, and he was in after sun and also his dark materials.
[00:10:11] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:10:12] Speaker A: And then you also had Eileen Wu as Navarro, who doesn't have a lot of acting credits per se in the terms of Hollywood films, but has been in a lot of shorts. And I think also maybe some Broadway. I think some Broadway as well. So how did you feel overall about that cast?
[00:10:32] Speaker B: It was a solid cast, you know, like, they're obviously very. So young.
I didn't realize that Andy was from Rylan, because I have seen it. But after I noticed who he was, I was like, oh, yeah, that's like, that's the. The main love interest from that film. Good film.
But anyways, he's favorite.
[00:10:55] Speaker A: Yeah, he stole the show.
[00:10:57] Speaker B: My opinion, the best actor in the entire movie.
[00:11:01] Speaker A: Yeah, it's still a show.
[00:11:03] Speaker B: They were all really great, though. I don't want to get that, like, oh, they were all terrible. Except him. That. That's not the case against him.
[00:11:09] Speaker A: No.
[00:11:10] Speaker B: I don't know. There's just something about it. Just his acting is the writing for that character and just everything he was in. I was like, I want. Like I am with this man, even though he's somewhat. Well, I want. That's kind of spoiler territory. I won't get into that at that moment. But I was with him the entire time. I'm like, he did good.
[00:11:30] Speaker A: He did every. Everyone did great. But standout performances, I would love to point out, is definitely David Johnson as Andy. Kaylee Spaney is rain. She did phenomenal, I would say also, Archie did pretty good as Tyler. Every, everyone, honestly did. Even, even Eileen, who didn't have a lot of screen time, like, for the screen time that she did have. Like, I felt like she, she played that role pretty solid, like, it felt. This is if you want to tag on, because we know we, we talk about this a lot in other episodes of podcasts and just in our, or movie talks in general, movies that wanna take from the Guardians. Like, you know, kind of.
[00:12:12] Speaker B: Ragtag group.
[00:12:12] Speaker A: Yeah, ragtag group and whatnot. Like, this movie does that they are and does well. That's what we were talking about in the other episode, though, ian is just that, like, it's not even, like we're saying, like, the Guardians thing. And, like, obviously, we do give a lot of homage and a lot of praise to James Gunn and everyone who worked on those films for what they did. They were very amazing films. But, like, you know, it's really just the. Just a trope of ragtag team, right? So, you know, here it is again, ragtag team of people. And we, and we talked about in our Borderlands review and how that was done so wrong, and here it's done so right. And we also talked about in that review how in a horror film, you, you get a ragtag group often, you know, people from different walks of life, maybe even some somehow similar, but still, they have their own unique backgrounds and stories, their own motivations, and you can pinpoint every person's individual motivation in that film and how it regards to what the mission is, what the goal is, and what then? How the plot takes all of those and drives the narrative forward. Made for a great movie.
[00:13:28] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:13:28] Speaker A: As when we talked about Borderlands, it didn't do any of that. You know, not to jump back to that, but we'll get. We'll get back into it here.
So I want to talk a little bit about how did you feel about fan expectations of the film going in? What was your expectation going in? How do you feel the film balance nostalgia with innovation in terms of fan expectation?
[00:13:55] Speaker B: Yeah. Like I said, I don't, like, have that high of expectations. I've only seen the first one because I do like to go back and watch films that are considered classics.
So I saw that. I really loved it. It's really great. I suggest anybody to go see it. I haven't seen anything else prior to seeing that, and I haven't really watched anything else after that, but I tend to, I think that with this film going in, I was just expecting that maybe like, I was, I'm sorry I paused so long. My thoughts were trying to figure out how to come out. I was expecting if this film piques my interest more, I'm going to dive deeper in sooner rather than later, if that makes sense. Oops. That was my expectation. Sorry, my headphone.
So I was like, this movie's not super great. I'll probably just like, well, when I catch them, I'll catch them. If it was good, then I'd be like, okay, well, I want to dive deeper.
[00:15:07] Speaker A: So you were, so you would say you were looking for something to peak your interest. Something may like, it didn't have to necessarily be new or old because you don't really have that base knowledge of what that would look like. You just wanted something that felt good to you.
[00:15:22] Speaker B: Yes. And not that the first film from the seventies didn't feel good to me.
[00:15:28] Speaker A: No. But that's the thing, though. I feel like a lot of people when we have these kinds of conversations, they don't want to hold up a film on its own merit. They want to always compare. And obviously, that's the name of the game. That's how you usually review things. You gotta compare it to something.
But at the same time, we do gotta hold this film up on its own merit and see if it holds up on its own merit. So I think, you know, you can say, like, yeah, like, I, like, I want to see if it's. If it's good. Not necessarily if it's good. Meaning that alien is not just, is this good?
[00:16:01] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:16:02] Speaker A: So would you say you felt like it was.
[00:16:03] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. But, yeah, I. I'm a big. Well, I love science fiction. You know, I. I love just a good, just weird science fiction. Like, 2001 is one of my favorite science fiction films, which is. It's not. It's kind of, it's kind of horror, maybe. Like, yeah, kind of. But it's more so of like a space Sci-Fi adventure thing.
[00:16:27] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:16:30] Speaker B: So I want, like I, when I watch Sci-Fi I want to be drilled in, into that universe that this is what life is like for humans now, you know?
[00:16:43] Speaker A: 100%. I agree with that. 100%.
[00:16:45] Speaker B: So when we watch Dune or we watch Star wars or whatever, whatever other science fiction film to that extent, like that, either far in the future or like, close future, I want to be like, okay, this is what it's like for these people now. And how are they interacting with this world, how is the atmosphere of the, the universe shaped? Right. And this movie, I think, takes all those with the, like, you know, the very first film, it's just, they're on the ship. That's it. They don't go to the planet. They don't go or they don't start on the planet, whatever. It's just they are on the ship.
[00:17:29] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:17:29] Speaker B: We know they're working for a company.
[00:17:31] Speaker A: Right.
[00:17:35] Speaker B: I think they're expecting, like, inspecting an old ship that it's kind of like linked to old alien life or ancient life in the universe. And that's kind of it. Like, that's all we kind of know, you know, I mean, obviously we get introduced to the aliens, the xenomorphs and the spider things, which are xenomorphs, I think, still, but I don't know if they have a separate name. But this one, I was just, I loved the, everything about, like, their universe that they were just expanding upon. And it just, when I'm going to go back and watch, because now I'm going to attend to watch it in start, like, storyline order and not necessarily when it's released.
[00:18:22] Speaker A: Right.
[00:18:24] Speaker B: When I go back and watch, it's going to make me. I'm going to feel more appreciative of this universe, of like, okay, well, I got this small snippet of whatever this was happening over here right now. I got to go back and, like, experience it in the past, in that life, if that makes sense.
[00:18:42] Speaker A: Right. No, I get that. And I'm glad that this film has lit that fire under you. It did the same for me. I mean, I had already planned on doing it anyway. I just curiosity. But now I'm more jazzed about it than I was before. Definitely more jazzed about it to go back and see the other films. So I want to get into the title. Right. Romulus, it carries a significant symbolic meaning. It's big. Okay, so Romulus is a figure from roman mythology known as one of twin brothers, along with Remus, who founded Rome. So according to legend, Romulus became the first king of Rome after a series of conflicts, including the fratricidal killing of his brother, Remuse.
[00:19:27] Speaker B: Hmm.
[00:19:28] Speaker A: So it's a story of rivalry, survival in the creation of an empire.
Think about that in regards to the movie alien Romulus. Right. So we'll talk about a little bit like that significance. So we got themes of survival and leadership. Yeah. How do you feel the film tackles that theme?
[00:19:53] Speaker B: Very well.
[00:19:53] Speaker A: And I would say we can, but let's. Let's ease our way into spoiler territory at this point, if we. If need be, because I feel like that'll just better serve the, you know, kind of like the engine, if you will. So if you guys don't want to get spoilers, go see the film. Go see it. Go see it. Go see it. Go see it. Go see it.
[00:20:12] Speaker B: You'll see it.
[00:20:13] Speaker A: It's great. Go see it. Okay, spoiler time it. Potentially, we're just gonna say now spoilers. So talk to me. How do you feel. How do you feel this film does in terms of the theme of survival and leadership?
[00:20:26] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, it does really well now that you're. I knew. I mean, I know that Romulus and Remus has some type of historical background, you know, I mean, even Prometheus, like, you know, they obviously are coming off the backs of that roman type of, like, vibe. If, you know, the first original director Wiz being Ridley Scott. Like, I mean, he directed gladiator and, like, some more historical epics.
It makes sense.
[00:20:58] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:20:59] Speaker B: In the sense of leadership and survival.
I think that's kind of interesting, like, because Remus is the other part of the ship, you know, and Remus is kind of, like, dead to an extent. And, like, everybody enters into, like, the ship in Romulus, you know what I mean? So we get these new people who are going to be taking over the reins of what to do next, you know, into this, and they do end up in Remus on that side of the ship where old guard, the Android that was kind of dead but not dead. He's an Android.
[00:21:42] Speaker A: Right.
[00:21:43] Speaker B: Kind of tries to take back over leadership to an extent, with Andy being kind of, you know, watch the movie. Like, they have to, like, break some people out to, like, save them, to get them out of where they got stuck in. And, like, to do so, they have to put a computer chip into Andy's brain that is connected to the larger, older guard, if that makes sense. Yeah.
So in the sense of, like, leadership. In that sense of, like, Andy does have a very, like, hard nose ground. Like, I'm the leader to an extent, as. But, you know, with Rain. Rain, these are two friends. Like, they're brother and sister.
[00:22:31] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:22:32] Speaker B: So it's like.
[00:22:33] Speaker A: Well, it's interesting because I feel like you have that. That leadership and survival happening in tandem from different perspectives throughout the film. Like, you're saying, like, you get. You got it with Andy. He was trying to be a leader and. But also trying to survive. But survive what? And for who? Same thing with Rain. Same thing with. I'm forgetting his name now. Let me scroll up for a sec. Same thing with Tyler. Same thing with Kate. Like, it you. It. It went for every character. Pretty much every character at some point was making decisions or trying to. Trying to lead and trying to survive. So I felt like that, like, yeah, I agree with you. I feel like that theme hit heavy in this film.
The other one that I want to touch on, too was duality and conflict. Right. So the story of Remus and Romulus obviously involves a fraternal conflict.
And there was a lot of fraternal conflict in the film. Right?
[00:23:33] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:23:33] Speaker A: And not just. Not like. And not just fraternal, but also just conflict in general. Like, you obviously had the conflict between Andy and rain.
You know, you had the conflict between Andy and the other. The mean kid, the. The one that was being, you know, had his own thing with androids. You had that conflict that you had, obviously, the conflict between all the protagonists and all the aliens.
And it was just like, like how those all balanced each other out and all intertwined with each other. Like, just made for a lot of interesting duality, I would say. You know, it's just like, it felt like each character had, like, a string connected to a different character, you know, and they all kind of intertwined in a way. And, like, some people had certain relationships with one character that they didn't have with another character. It wasn't like not everyone was just on even ground with each other. And I felt like that made for a very interesting cast and a very interesting plot device, because now you can. You can really play with that, you know, when scenarios happen, Andy might be thinking, well, why would I want to save you? You, like, you treat me like crap. Whereas rain might be thinking, this is like, this is a human. This is someone who's like, he's one of us. Like, he might, you know, in this moment, maybe I'm forgetting that you're also an Android, so you're not really one of us. But you and I also have a connection that feels fraternal, that feels, you know, maybe not fraternal, but that's not the right word, but it feels like. Like family. Yeah, but those lines get muddied, they get blurred. So it's very interesting that duality and that conflict between everyone's relationships.
Yeah. I don't know. How do you feel about it?
[00:25:37] Speaker B: Yeah, it just, you know, I wasn't, like, when they were trying to play up the brother and sister aspect of. Of Andy and Rain, I really wasn't fully understanding to an extent, at first, not necessarily.
One's an Android and one's a human. So it's like, how can an Android. How can an AI have that type of kinship with the human? Is what my mind is thinking.
[00:26:11] Speaker A: Well, that was the thing. It was just purely coding. It was just like. And that was, I felt like, added kind of, like, a bit of layer of more feeling to it, even though it's, like, ironic because she. You can tell in different scenes like that where she might be upset, where she might be realizing or, like, trying to process in the moment. Like, this Android isn't really real, but I are. Like, my feelings towards it are real, you know? And it's like sometimes she almost has to remind herself that. And, you know, because it's like, it is an Android. It's an AI.
So it's like some people might think, well, this is just nuts and bolts. It doesn't, you know, it doesn't have a mind of its own. But, like, we've all seen Terminator.
[00:27:00] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:27:00] Speaker A: You know, like, it does, but it's. It's a different. It's a different kind of mind, you know? So, like, I get. I get what you're. I get where you're coming from, but I think that that's why this movie was so interesting is because, like, you. It really got you to kind of, like, look at their relationship from different perspectives, because you're seeing it from different people and how different people are viewing it, and you're also seeing it from a source and seeing how those two view their relationship. And I don't want to speak for you, but I know, for me, at the end of the day, walking away from that film, I felt like. Yeah, I feel like they do truly think of each other as siblings, and the relationship felt believable.
[00:27:40] Speaker B: Yeah, I totally agree. Yeah.
[00:27:42] Speaker A: Okay, so the last thing I'll say about the title. So we've got also themes of empire and expansion. So obviously, Romulus was credited with founding Rome, and then you had, obviously, the human drive to colonize space in the alien franchise. Right. So in this film, we had the. The rook Android guy from the old movie in this one who is trying to get them to take this goo that they've derived from the face huggers, and they're like, this is you. They just. It's like the secret mission that he puts Andy on.
[00:28:29] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:28:30] Speaker A: You got to get this to the. The other colony of, like, humans, right?
[00:28:35] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:28:35] Speaker A: So we find out later in the movie that it's. It's not really a good thing. It's this is how we create the. The perfect human. This is how we. This is how we create those weird looking bald headed men.
[00:28:51] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:28:52] Speaker A: Yeah. So we gotta. We gotta use their blood and. And that's how we'll create, like, this little goopy stuff.
So. Yeah. Again, it's. It's that. That expansion. They're trying. He's trying to. For some reason, the AI. And I'm pretty sure it's probably just cause that's what it was coded to do. It was coded to. To do this mission. So it's trying to expand this rate.
[00:29:16] Speaker B: What's. What's good for the company.
[00:29:17] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:29:17] Speaker B: What's good for the company is.
[00:29:19] Speaker A: What's good for the company. What's good for us.
[00:29:21] Speaker B: The expanding.
[00:29:22] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:29:22] Speaker B: You know, Waylon. Yeah.
[00:29:26] Speaker A: So, yeah, so there was that.
How do you feel like this film would influence future alien films?
[00:29:36] Speaker B: I think it's gonna dive more into.
It's gonna dive more into the lore, and if they continue with this director, then it will probably dive more into horror. Um, and if you really, like. You see dune like dunes, very, like, strange out there to an extent, Sci-Fi.
[00:30:00] Speaker A: So it's you to believe in a lot.
[00:30:02] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, I think as it should. Yeah. I think the next logical thing is to.
I don't know if we should see where these characters end up, but maybe you don't.
[00:30:13] Speaker A: You wouldn't want to see.
[00:30:15] Speaker B: I would love to see a direct sequel. I just am trying to think of how can we get to the future for this franchise by just continuously going to the past, because there is. You know, this one is set between two films.
[00:30:32] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:30:32] Speaker B: It's a legacy sequel to an extent. It's prequel to an extent.
You know, these characters, like, we are super in the far future with the last alien film, to my knowledge.
[00:30:46] Speaker A: Right.
[00:30:47] Speaker B: So how do these, like. Where do they end up? Where they, like, is their stories more important in the future? You know, even though we're just now finding out about these characters, you know?
And then FX is making a prequel series called Alien Earth.
[00:31:05] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:31:06] Speaker B: It is coming out either this year or the following year.
[00:31:10] Speaker A: I didn't know about that.
[00:31:11] Speaker B: Yeah. And it's about.
It's set before Prometheus.
[00:31:16] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:31:17] Speaker B: So, you know what? You know, do we keep on just making these in the past movies or do we.
[00:31:26] Speaker A: I do really want to. Wanna unpack this. Cause this is a bigger kind of topic that I really wanted to hit on in this episode specifically, because I feel like I have a lot to say about it, and it kind of leads into the next point as well. So we're gonna kind of combine these, these two points talking about, you know, the future of the franchise as well as I wanted to also talk about some of the reviews and critical receptions of the film, mainly in regards to fans of the franchise. Right. So I have this issue with when franchises do stuff like how what's going on with the alien franchise, because what's going on with the alien franchise is no different than what's also going on with Star wars. Right. So let's, let's, let's talk about Star wars for a quick second. Star wars, you have a love it or hate it? Great first trilogy, 456 George Lucas. People love it. People are like, yeah, this is great. It's great things to slice bread. We love it. We want more Sci-Fi okay, we'll give you one, two, three. We'll give. We go back, we give you the prequels to show you how we got there.
Love it or hate it, I think they're great, too. They're cool moves.
[00:32:36] Speaker B: Yeah, they're good.
[00:32:37] Speaker A: Yep.
Then we go, we got this multi billion dollar company.
What do we do? Well, there's all this source material here. We got all these books.
Books over here. I mean, let me jump in. No, I don't want to do that. Well, what do you want to do? Well, I want to. I want another trilogy that's going to talk more about those old characters from over there, back there from those six movies. We need to get people to come see because we want them to think that we're. We're going with those characters still. Okay. I mean, they're kind of old, but. Yeah, we're doing that. Right. So we do that.
Love them or hate them, they're okay. Not all of them are. I would argue that seven, eight, nine are worse than the prequel. Then. One, two, three.
[00:33:26] Speaker B: Yeah, I agree.
[00:33:26] Speaker A: I. Yeah. Yeah. So. And then you could see the writing was kind of on the wall at this point. You had too many cooks in the kitchen, too many people with their own ideas, and not a person at the head that could say that, that not even just could say, but could have the proper future thought to for the franchise. Not just for a film, not just for a run of films, but for the franchise. Where are we going with this? Because like you were saying with alien, you're wondering, well, how are we going to move forward if we do keep going back? You know, I'm going to bring it back. Just. Just bear with me so you don't get that with with Star wars, what do we do after seven, eight, nine? Well, we get two more movies going back, right? You get Han Solo.
[00:34:19] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:34:19] Speaker A: It's okay.
You get rogue one. People love rogue one. It's great. But people argue. Well, what about those other characters? What is. What are they doing? What do we, you know, they want more lore. They want. They want to see ultimately this franchise move forward. Right. Okay, so we got Disney plus. Well, we'll get. We'll get you the Mandalorian.
We'll get you boba Fett. It's an older guy. What about new? Okay, well, we got it. We got. We got you. We got, we got, uh. What, what was.
[00:34:51] Speaker B: What was the.
[00:34:52] Speaker A: The fighter jet one with the. The one that came out before the newest one. I'm forgetting the name of that one now. People like that one that had Andy Serkis.
[00:35:00] Speaker B: Oh, and, or Andor.
[00:35:02] Speaker A: We got you.
We got your fighter jet dudes going on a secret missions. It's got a really great scene with any Serkis in it. Fans are so like, hey, yeah, it's ok. It's okay. But like, you know, it's like you. You can't win. Right?
[00:35:16] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:35:16] Speaker A: You to the point where you can't win because now we even got the. The series where they go.
They, they really, they just. Yeah. Acolyte.
[00:35:24] Speaker B: Yeah. Really just done too, by the way.
[00:35:25] Speaker A: Yeah, I know. Got axe, got canceled. And you know why? Because they don't know what they want to do. They don't have a cohesive vision for not just a movie, not just a show, not just a run of shows, but the franchise. What do you want this billion dollar ip to be? Do you want it to be Jurassic park? Where it's just people going to the park in different time periods of life. Is that what you want? Because you can do that. That's what they're doing is a fantastic. No, but at least they know what they're doing with the franchise. You know what you're getting in every single Jurassic park movie, right, exactly. So take it to Alien.
I've seen covenant. I've seen Prometheus, and now I've seen Romulus. I like Romulus more than both of those. And I think it's because I think that movie hits the atmosphere of what I thought. What I feel like could be a really good Sci-Fi horror franchise on the head. But what I see the problem is, is that a lot of the people who are fans of the entire franchise are in the reviews. They are saying that they, they feel like this has no innovation. They didn't push the needle forward. It feels like a legacy film. It feels like a rogue one. I've seen that criticism thrown around. It feels. Everyone's just said they gave it a three out of five. Three out of five. It feels like. Like, you know, a greatest hits of alien franchise. Why? I question and I. And I. I wanna know, what do you want as an alien fan for the franchise? Not a movie, not a tv show, not a run of tv shows, not a run of movie for the franchise. What do you want this franchise to be? Because if I was the head, if I was the one, I'd say, no more. No more. No more. No more. And this is another franchise we could have delve into. But for time's sake, I won't do it. X Men. No more. No more X Men type movies where like, you've got a cool ip, but you've got so many movies that jump here, there and there. No one can follow, you know?
[00:37:38] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:37:38] Speaker A: It's getting to that point with Star wars, we can't follow. It's all over the place. I don't know what I'm getting. I don't know what to walk into when I get. When I see. When I see the Star Wars. I don't know what I'm walking into when I'm getting alien. Because Covenant in Prometheus doesn't really play like Romulus. People might say Romulus might play a little bit more like Alien, but even Liu said Alien just starts you off on the ship and you're just there. And I'm sure Alien is a fantastic movie. I know it's a fantastic movie. But do we want a franchise that is focused on just making every movie is going to be some way to one up the original in terms of what. What is it about the original that we. We love so much? Well, we love Ripley, right? We. We. What? We want to see. We want to see more badass female characters. We get that. We got that. With Kayleen. I'm saying her name, right.
[00:38:37] Speaker B: With Rain.
[00:38:37] Speaker A: With Kaylee. Yeah, it's her name, right? Yeah, with Rain. Kaylee. Yeah, we got that with her. She's great. She's got cool suits and everything. She's great. Well, we want atmospheric quality. We got that. We got that here. Got that. It's great. So did you see some of those scenes? The lighting, the sound design. Shout out to the sound design team and the editing team. My God, you guys did phenomenal.
Okay, well, we like the lore. We like. From what I understand, I haven't seen the movie, but from. I understand, there wasn't really a ton of lore in Aliena, but people liked the vibe. They liked the idea of the mystery, of not knowing, really. Why are these things here? Why are they here? And, like, I don't know if they explore that more in aliens. And if they do, then cool. But, like, where does the franchise go from there? Do you want, like, how do you keep.
[00:39:31] Speaker B: You.
[00:39:31] Speaker A: You can't keep making films that are supposed to chase after one and two. You know what I mean? Like, you can't, like, like, if you're always making your sequels, trying to be. To be the better version of Alien and aliens. It's never gonna be. Those movies were those movies, and they were good for the things that they were good at. But, like, what's the next step in terms of the story? Like, does. Does it, because, like, I feel like at a certain point, you know, it can't get any bigger. There's aliens that eat people and kill people, and they breed them to make more.
What more. What more do you want?
[00:40:12] Speaker B: Their hive mind, to an extent, to my understanding. So, like, a queen.
I know there's a queen.
[00:40:19] Speaker A: And we. And I think in the alien versus predator movie, there was a alien queen in that. So, like, okay, cool. Like, and you can do stuff like that, but, like, I see a lot of these fans that are. That are really, like, they're craving just, like, the fans in Star wars, like, they're craving something that I don't think is obtainable. I just truly think that if you sit back, like, what? Like. Like, if you think that there is this grand alien movie that hasn't been made yet, that is, in the end, all be all aliens film. To top aliens one and two, by all means, write it, pitch it. Hopefully it gets made. I'd love to see it, but I just don't. I don't see what. What is. What's going to come out that's going to top those movies? What is it that we want, even, like, for topping those movies? Because I just feel like even without seeing one, without seeing two, that, to me, this. This. What we got here is what I want out of an aliens franchise. I would just love to see characters who have goals and missions and dreams in this world where, like, life is a little bleak, like, it's hard out here, and we gotta go to the extremes to get to where we need to go.
And that's just it. And maybe that means we don't get a million alien films. Sometimes you only need one or two.
[00:41:42] Speaker B: Yeah, I agree.
[00:41:43] Speaker A: And let it be after that. But I get it. It's an ip. It makes money.
[00:41:48] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:41:48] Speaker A: People have ideas and they wanna try them. I get that. But sometimes I think there really does need to be someone at the head that says, hey, this is where this franchise goes and that's where it stays. We're not, you know, if you really have a great idea for something in here that doesn't fit this vision, tweak it, make it your own ip. Maybe we do that because rogue one could have been a fantastic just space adventure movie that had nothing to do with Star wars.
[00:42:16] Speaker B: Well, have you seen this? Side note, have you seen the guy's most recent film, the creator?
[00:42:25] Speaker A: No, I haven't.
[00:42:26] Speaker B: It's super similar.
[00:42:27] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:42:28] Speaker B: Like, tune it. Not, not in the sense of, like, it's a ragtag group of people, but, like, just the atmosphere looking. Yeah, it looks like.
It looks like rogue one.
[00:42:38] Speaker A: Yeah, it's.
[00:42:40] Speaker B: A lot of people weren't super and, like, they were impressed with the visuals, but they weren't. Like, the story wasn't really, which I get, like, I did hate it.
[00:42:50] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:42:52] Speaker B: But anyways, do you feel like to.
[00:42:55] Speaker A: Bring it back a little bit? Do you feel like how this film is being received by the fans of the franchise? You feel like it's going to hurt the. The film success or the legacy of the franchise at all?
[00:43:07] Speaker B: I don't know, mandy.
[00:43:10] Speaker A: And I don't want to come across either. Like, I'm just, like, wanting to just cut down all these people's opinions and whatnot because obviously, like, I know, like, I haven't seen all the films in the franchise, but I'm just speaking from, like, a more broader perspective, you know, just how I see or how I would like to see the franchise go. And I just want to encourage people to think more about that and what you truly want and less about what I'm assuming is, can we make aliens one and two again?
[00:43:42] Speaker B: My opinion, because I'm a new person who's interested in this franchise, okay, is that people will show up. I feel like regardless, to an extent, I'm gonna show up and I'm gonna enjoy myself with going back and revisiting the old ones and maybe catching the FX show when it comes out or whatever.
But ultimately, like, I just feel like these fans, like, not say that the fans don't are important because they're definitely important.
But sometimes there can be an extent to be where, like, it gets too much.
Just everything is poo pooed on, you know, and that's the same thing with Star wars. It's like Mandalorian one and Mandalorian two, season two. They're great. You know, in my opinion, they're a really good tv show. I didn't really catch all of three, and that's fine. Do I plan to? I don't know.
I don't know what was really super wrong with that. I think that it was just kind of, like, felt like they kept on going back to the old when, like, I was more so invested into the Mandalorian himself in his missions, you know?
But I think that, you know, they. There was a rally cry behind that Mandalorian because that was like, oh, the man. Jon Favreau, you know, like, he knows what he's doing. He knows the vision. And now the third one comes out and people are like, ah, it's all right.
[00:45:21] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:45:21] Speaker B: You know, so truly, I think that, like, I think, honestly, it's probably going to be similar to Star wars, where they're going to be just fans who always be negative about stuff.
But I'm interested and I'm going to enjoy myself, and that's. I think all that matters is just enjoying it yourself.
[00:45:47] Speaker A: Yeah. Not, at the end of the day, everyone is free to like or dislike what they want.
[00:45:53] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:45:53] Speaker A: You know, if you enjoy it, you enjoy it. If you don't, then you don't. And that. And that's okay. I'm with you. I think that I'm gonna consume any alien content that comes out. I'm hoping that, you know, it is good content and it's enjoyable content. I'm hoping to see more fede alien content. Please. My God. Please.
[00:46:16] Speaker B: I'm interested to see what he does next.
[00:46:19] Speaker A: Yes, I would. Oh, my gosh. And I need more. Andy needs my Andy. I love that guy. Such a. Such a. Such a cool character.
But do you have any, anything else to add before we kind of close this one out?
[00:46:33] Speaker B: No, not really. I mean, you say a lot and hit a lot on the head.
I think that Aileen Romulus was something really good. It was great show. There's a lot of great horror. There's a lot of great action.
[00:46:48] Speaker A: Yeah. I also thought it was kind of interesting, too, because, like, we're talking about, like, our closing thoughts and, like, like, and obviously, we're going to kind of do our little fun ranking of, like, the film and whatnot. And that made me just think back to, you know, some of the reviews that, like, I was reading and how a lot of them were middle of the road, like, three out of five stars. But they never said anything necessarily negative outside of it would always be like, three out of five stars. Really great film. Love the film. Blah, blah, blah. Feels like aliens one, or feels like a retreading of this or blah, blah. And I feel like you and I, it sounds like we really enjoyed the film, and I know we did. And I just. I wonder, like, when it. When it comes to people who make reviews, I wonder, like, why. Why did. Why, why discount something because it's not what you expected from for an older film. I think that's our why. You. Or you think that maybe it was too similar to an older film? I said earlier in the pod, like, I think films need to stand up on their own merit.
[00:47:52] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:47:53] Speaker A: And I think in a movie that is based off of a famous ip that gets to use this ip, obviously there's going to be some similarities and some parallels and some callbacks. Like, someone said something like, yeah, they. They took the whole cadence of one scene from another scene from alien. And, like, I mean, I haven't seen it, so I don't know the validity of that. But even if they did, that happens in movies. There's like a direct, like, almost shot, the shot comparison of two different scenes from Doctor Sleep and the shining. Sometimes we do that, you know, for. Just to pay homage or just for the narrative sake, if we're able to go to similar locations or the same locations, you know, and it's like little. Almost like little Easter eggs, you know, for yourself. I don't think that that should get discounted. I don't think things like that should really.
[00:48:44] Speaker B: I mean, Tarantino does that. All of his films, all of his original ips are callbacks to films that he loves.
[00:48:50] Speaker A: Yeah. So it's just like, stuff like that. I'm just like, I don't know, if you enjoyed it. Why don't you just say you enjoyed it? It's okay that maybe you like something more than the original or the first one or the second one now. Maybe you liked it more yesterday. Maybe you like it more now. I don't know. I just feel like some people are afraid to like things nowadays. You get that. Yeah, like, some people, like, I feel like we're so quick to want to crap on something and be like, yeah, this is. This is terrible. It's not like this. Or, I don't like that. And, like, yeah, all opinions are valid. Your opinions and thoughts are valid. But, like, can we. Can we not just, like, enjoy something that is genuinely good? Because, you know, what happens is if we don't, for one. Always, always vote with your wallets. Always let studios know that you want more of a product by obviously paying for it. Right. But also, when you're vocal online about it, you know, if you're saying that you don't want XYz, a lot of times they do listen. And if you're saying that you don't like a movie like aliens, Romulus, because it feels more like too much like this or that, and they go and course correct, and they change it to something totally different, and then you hate it. Then you hate it even more. And that's what I feel like we get. We ended up getting with Star Wars. I feel like it became a lot of that. A lot of fan outrage. Course correcting. And it wasn't the course correct. And they thought they wanted. And then it just got more bad. Cause they're like, ah, this is even worse now. I don't want to see that happen with alien.
[00:50:22] Speaker B: I don't either.
[00:50:23] Speaker A: I hope it doesn't. I don't think it will.
[00:50:26] Speaker B: I will finish up my final thoughts, I guess, unless you had something.
[00:50:31] Speaker A: No, no, go ahead.
[00:50:32] Speaker B: I really love the opening. I love the silent opening.
[00:50:36] Speaker A: That was good.
[00:50:37] Speaker B: Yeah, it's such a good opening. Um, I was almost off.
[00:50:41] Speaker A: The sound was broken in the theater. I was like, hold on. Y'all not about to do this to me.
[00:50:45] Speaker B: That's funny. That'd be really funny.
No, it is great opening. Really love Andy getting to. I love the chase sequence that he has the first initial change sequence where he's just start. You know, he's like, I'm gonna fix this. And he just said, you know, robot running.
[00:51:03] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:51:04] Speaker B: And then he catches the doors. That was really sweet.
[00:51:06] Speaker A: That was good.
[00:51:07] Speaker B: So, final thoughts, final review. Are we still trying to do the.
[00:51:11] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:51:11] Speaker B: Okay, this is one. Andy's holding the door, trying to snatch the other guy out of multiple Andy's appearance on screen.
I don't know. It's what.
[00:51:26] Speaker A: It's what? Which one is that?
[00:51:28] Speaker B: When Andy catches the doors that were closing.
[00:51:30] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:51:31] Speaker B: And he's trying to, like, get to the kind of the guy who hates androids.
[00:51:35] Speaker A: Oh, okay, okay, okay. I was gonna say, I would rate this film.
Andy catches the. The facehugger by its tail.
[00:51:46] Speaker B: Oh, I forgot about that.
[00:51:48] Speaker A: Cause that was badass.
[00:51:49] Speaker B: Yes. That's in the, like, the. Pretty much when he first gets redownload.
[00:51:54] Speaker A: Yeah. When that happened, I was literally. I was so locked in. I was like, oh, we've arrived. We. The train has met the station. We're freaking here.
[00:52:03] Speaker B: You. Yeah, that was. That was a good scene.
[00:52:05] Speaker A: That was sick.
[00:52:06] Speaker B: Especially when, like, his eyes roll into the back and it shows, like, the company logos.
[00:52:10] Speaker A: Yeah. Oh, I love stylistic stuff like that. I'm like, ooh, that's. That's purdy. I like how that look looks good, but, yeah. Guys, go see the film. Go see it. Go see it, go see it, go see it, go see it.
[00:52:21] Speaker B: It's good. It is a really good.
[00:52:22] Speaker A: It's pretty good. And don't listen to the haters. They're gonna hate. Haters gonna hate.
[00:52:26] Speaker B: Haters gonna hate.
[00:52:27] Speaker A: We're gonna potato.
[00:52:29] Speaker B: What?
[00:52:30] Speaker A: Nothing.
[00:52:30] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:52:31] Speaker A: All right, guys, that's gonna be end of the podcast. We're gonna catch you guys next week, so. Yeah, have a good week, and thank you guys, for listening. Yeah, check out our patreon. Got good, good stuff over there. Great stuff. Extra shit.
[00:52:44] Speaker B: Follow us over there for their fun little things.
[00:52:47] Speaker A: Fun little community over there.
Yeah, we got. We got AI. We got AI.
[00:52:52] Speaker B: We got AI. And don't worry about.
[00:52:54] Speaker A: No, it's. It's. It's. It's. It's out of RD. It's there.
[00:52:57] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:52:58] Speaker A: It's ready.
[00:52:59] Speaker B: All right. You know more than what I do.
[00:53:01] Speaker A: I know. All right, guys, so have a good week. We'll catch you later. Bye.
[00:53:05] Speaker B: See you later.
