“Romulus” is the best-rated film since “Alien”

“Don’t screw it up.” That’s the advice Ridley Scott gave Fede Álvarez when he wanted to make Alien: Romulus. And it seems he didn’t do that, making an Alien film that’s even better than at least one of Scott’s.

With 127 reviews, Alien: Romulus has a “Certified Fresh” rating of 83% on Rotten Tomatoes, which happens to make it the highest-rated entry in the entire, very long series since Alien. Here’s what the post-release list looks like now by score:

1. Aliens – 94%
2. Alien – 93%
3. Alien: Romulus – 83%
4. Prometheus – 73%
5. Alien: Covenant – 65%
6. Alien Resurrection – 55%
7. Aliens 3 – 45%
8. Alien vs Predator – 22%
9. Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem – 12%

So here are a few things to note. Even at number three, it’s still a big jump to the two most classic films in the franchise. But it’s also notable that Romulus beats out Ridley Scott’s own Prometheus, arguably the most controversial entry of all. Also, A) I didn’t realize critics hated Alien Vs. Predator so much and B) I’ve literally never heard of Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem. It seems there might be a reason for that. And finally, I also forgot that David Fincher directed the “didn’t do well” Alien 3 despite having access to Sigourney Weaver.

These ratings are definitely good enough to make me want to watch the movie tomorrow, because if it was much lower, I probably wouldn’t bother. I’m not exactly a huge Alien fan outside of the originals, but if this movie really is as good as everyone says, it seems like it would be worth leaving the house for.

And what about the box office? That depends. It’s R-rated and is literally the ninth film in the series, so we’ll see how big of a crowd-pleaser it is. Critical acclaim isn’t the big box office indicator you might think, and the film will have to do well through word of mouth. This is also the second weekend of It Ends with Us, the blockbuster starring Blake Lively, and I expect that one could be strong enough to hold on to the top spot. Still, I’d probably expect Romulus to do well in the long run, although I’m not sure how big the budget might be for a fairly ambitious sci-fi blockbuster.

I’ll watch it tomorrow and let you know if it’s as good as the critics say. I’m looking forward to it now.

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