Romulus’ Biggest Franchise Tie-In Is Also Its Biggest Mistake

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Alien: Romulus.

The Big Picture

• CGI inclusion of Ian Holm as Rook in
  Alien: Romulus
  distracts from main characters and takes away from practical effects commitment.
• Rook serves as an unnecessary plot device with explicit expository dialogue, pulling focus from character reactions and creating narrative distractions.
• Rook ruins the twist of “The Offspring” by providing too much information, making the reveal predictable and less terrifying.

Alien: Romulus is not only being praised for its tense and refreshing update to the Alien franchise but is also exceeding expectations at the box office, taking the top spot over the weekend. Romulus is full of references to past Alien movies. At some point in the film, every property within the franchise appears to be called back. Even the video game Alien: Isolation gets a shout-out via the emergency telephone seen in the background of numerous scenes. However, whilst most of these work incredibly well, it is the CGI inclusion of the late Ian Holm’s likeness as the android Rook that sticks out like a sore thumb. Rook serves as another antagonist, pushing Andy (David Jonsson) to do “what’s best for the company.” However, Holm’s explicit expository dialogue makes him feel like a plot device, which isn’t good enough for such a great actor and character. It’s initially a fun quick hit of nostalgia seeing the actor who gave us the original villainous android, Ash, in the 1979’s Alien show up again… but that moment quickly passes. Not only does it not do enough with Holm’s likeness, but his presence takes away from the great cast and characters who should be the main focus.

Ian Holm’s CGI Inclusion Goes Against What Makes ‘Alien: Romulus’ So Great

Ian Holm’s Rook was created via a blend of practical and CGI elements. The actual body seen is an animatronic that Fede Álvarez, as he told the Los Angeles Times, always intended to create, with CGI used to polish the mouth movements. The lines were spoken by actor Daniel Betts, and AI was then used to re-create Ian Holm’s likeness. So, whilst the original intention was to create a mostly practical character, it was when it came to “what face does it have?” that the idea of using Ian Holm’s likeness came to be, as Álvarez explained in the same interview.

Whilst the creation itself is therefore mostly practical, the character is a CGI creation and this overt use of CGI for narrative purposes goes against the rest of the film’s commitment to practical effects. This commitment was something Álvarez seemed particularly proud of when speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, only using CGI when practical elements could not go any further. It’s interesting how the puppet head of Ian Holm’s Ash in the original Alien we see at one point is also a crude imitation of Holm’s actual face, and yet this feels more unnatural. Perhaps this indicates that practical missteps are forgiven because we can see the effort and limitations that have gone into the creation, or perhaps this highlights the uncanny valley effect of CGI.

As Álvarez explained to The Hollywood Reporter, “when it comes to face-to-face encounters… nothing beats the real thing” and that feels especially true for Ian Holm’s likeness in Alien: Romulus. It is an admirable attempt, and it should be noted that Álvarez was incredibly respectful towards Holm’s memory, constantly in contact with his estate for their approval, as he told Entertainment Weekly. However, when you have incredible facehuggers and xenomorphs on screen, and something even more disturbing than that in the final act in the form of a human-alien hybrid, named “The Offspring,” seeing what is still clearly a CGI face is something that can take you out of the movie, whilst the other effects in this film blend seamlessly.

Ian Holm’s Rook Distracts Us From the Main Characters In ‘Alien: Romulus’

Rook serves no purpose other than as an expository plot device. He is there to simply keep the other characters up to speed on information the audience already knows, like literally having his data inputted into Andy’s android brain, or telling them exactly how the facehugger, xenomorph, and alien Z-01 goo works. In a film where there are multiple great characters and stand-out performances, Rook takes away a lot of the shine from these characters and is a narrative distraction in scenes. As a character that Rain (Cailee Spaeny), Andy, and Tyler (Archie Renaux) cannot argue with, yet are in close conflict with, he feels unnecessary. Considering how great Rain and Tyler’s conflict with Andy is throughout Romulus, surely just giving Andy Rook’s data chip would have been enough?

Rook’s narration of what the characters are seeing is not only unnecessary exposition but pulls focus from the character’s reactions to those horrors before them. For example, the alien Z-01 goo feels like an object with little tension surrounding it when first introduced, as we are told exactly what it does. Whereas, if the characters discovered it for themselves and we got to infer the magnitude of the discovery based on their reactions, there could be far greater tension leading to The Offspring’s reveal in act three.

Rook Ends Up Ruining the Twist of “The Offspring”

Even though Rain prevents Tyler from injecting his sister, Kay (Isabela Merced), at one point, the moment when Kay injects herself feels predictable and takes away from The Offspring’s reveal that could have been even more terrifying. Imagine if we weren’t told exactly how the goo worked by Rook? Fans of Prometheus and Alien: Covenant would know its significance, but even they might not guess exactly what the consequences would be, ratcheting up the tension. Having no warning signs of such a disgusting creation in the final act would make The Offspring more unsettling. The Offspring would then fit more into the idea of humanity being punished for reaching for powers they do not understand, as the Alien franchise often explores.

Overall, Ian Holm’s likeness as an addition to Alien: Romulus is something that the film did not need, and might have been better without. As a worrying reliance on CGI and the issue of AI within filmmaking still stand as important issues within cinema, Holm’s likeness feels even more problematic when compared to the rest of Romulus‘ practical brilliance. Not only this but narratively, Rook does not serve a vital function within Romulus‘ story, as his dialogue sometimes removes the tension that would pay dividends later in the movie. Whilst an impressive and heartfelt effort, perhaps this is an aspect of the Alien franchise that should be left in space where no one can hear it scream.

Alien: Romulus is in theaters now.

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