There are spoilers for the film “Alien: Romulus” in this post.
In the venerable “Alien” film series, the Weyland-Yutani Corporation is unable to let go of a bad idea: it is determined to profit from xenomorphs, which are creatures that have an acidic bloodlust and a violent tendency to burst out of human hosts. The corporation, seeing potential assets in the aliens despite their unpredictable nature, is obsessed with capturing and weaponizing them.
Every time the firm discovers these aliens, they keep declaring, “This time, we’re going to make it work,” regardless of how many times they fail and how many people perish in the process.
Unfortunately, despite how much I like “Alien: Romulus” (which I did!), the new sequel, or “interquel,” is unable toHollywood’s obsession with utilizing CGI to de-age or revive great actors is a poor idea in and of itself.
Filmmakers have been trying to imitate younger versions of actors, such as Harrison Ford in “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” Will Smith in “Gemini Man,” and Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in “The Irishman.”
However, performers and characters have also been brought back to life with the use of special effects, such as Peter Cushing’s Grand Moff Tarkin in “Rogue One.” While it doesn’t recreate the exact same violent android from the first “Alien,” “Alien: Romulus” attempts to achieve the same trick by using an identical model that appears to be portrayed by the same actor, Ian Holm, who passed away in 2020.
The directors informed Variety that theybrought Holm’s likeness to the screen with the help of actor Daniel Betts’ performance and animatronics, though there is clear computer-generated imagery. It’s hardly surprising that “Romulus” director Fede Álvarez remembered hearing similar remarks during filming, since one of the main points of contention in last year’s actors’ strike was replacing people with digital simulacra. “I remember someone saying, ‘This is it, they’re going to replace us as actors,'” he said.To Álvarez, though, these worries are exaggerated.
“Dude, it costs me the money of one person if I hire you,” he told Variety. It literally takes 45 people to make it this way. Additionally, you still need to pay an actor to perform!
Thus, financially speaking, working performers might not have anything to worry about just yet. Additionally, every example I’ve seen—including “Romulus”—looks terrible.
These effects are undoubtedly the product of many gifted visual effects artists, who have undoubtedly advanced with time. Their persistent efforts to solve the issue seem almost heroic, but the uncanny valley outcomes remain the same. Regardless of howI have never witnessed a synthetic ghost or de-aged actor that isn’t readily apparent, no matter how close they have come to the actual thing. For every second they are on television, each and every one of them alerts me to their artificiality.
“Romulus” offered an especially striking example. The first time the audience saw Rook, Holm’s hybrid figure, his face was hidden. His voice was distorted and familiar, and we could only see him from the side and rear. It was unsettling. Nothing had to be done digitally—at least not in terms of appearance—because suggestion performed all the job.
Unfortunately, the video cut to his face at that point, and I instantly sighed with familiarity. Instead of concentrating on the blatant computer generated imagery, I imagined a studio executive stating, “This time, we’re going to
