“Alien: Romulus” surprises me as showing that there are still enough fun and thrill in the series which was started 45 years ago. While there are nice old stuffs to be appreciated, there are also refreshing new stuffs to be savored, and the resulting mix is fairly enjoyable even though we already know what we are going to get right from its first few minutes.

The story, which is incidentally set at a time point somewhere between “Alien” (1979) and “Aliens” (1986), begins with how things have been grim and desperate for Rain Carradine (Caliee Spaeny) and her android brother Andy (David Jonsson). Along with many other poor working-class people, they have been stuck in a big mining colony on some alien planet for many years as exploited by their big company day by day, and Rain becomes all the more frustrated when she belatedly come to learn that she and Andy will be stuck there for several more years because of a sudden company police change.

And then there comes an offer she cannot easily refuse. Tyler (Archie Renaux), an old friend of Rain, and his several associates are planning to get out of the planet and then move to somewhere else in the space, and they happen to come across a good chance via a certain abandoned company space station floating outside the planet. This abandoned company space station may contain something necessary for their long intergalactic journey, and they really need Andy for getting access to this company space station. While initially hesitating at first, Rain eventually agrees to participate in their little operation, and Andy has no problem with that at all because, well, he is programmed to do whatever is the best for his dear human sister.

Of course, as already shown to us from the prologue scene associated with that big spaceship in “Alien”, things are going to be very bad for Rain and her associates. They soon come to realize that their target is not an ordinary space station at all once they get the access to it thanks to Andy, and we instantly notice many bad signs associated with that nasty alien creature of the series.

What will happen next is pretty evident to us to say the least, the movie wisely takes its time for building up more dread and suspense on the screen while peppering the screen with a number of familiar elements from “Alien” and “Aliens”. At one point, a certain plot element from “Alien” becomes more prominent along the story, and the movie has a little wry fun with how Andy becomes a lot more useful than expected when he comes to have a sort of upgrade later in the story.

In case of that nasty alien creature, it does not disappoint us at all as pulling off some old and new surprises. Yes, somebody will definitely be fatally impregnated with that nasty alien creature at one point, and we will eventually get another chestbuster scene later. Yes, we will certainly be served with a number of creepy scenes where that nasty alien creature may suddenly appear around the screen at any point, and you will wince a lot whenever it shows its many vicious sides including highly corrosive acidic blood.

While doling out one familiar stuff after another, the movie also tries some fun variations from that. For example, it shows a bit more of how that nasty alien creature grows up in size (Don’t ask me about what it actually eats for growing that big within such a short time), and I particularly like one key action sequence where the surviving main characters must quickly and carefully evade that very dangerous alien blood in a zero-gravity condition. In addition, the movie sometimes tips its hat to several memorable moments of “Alien” and “Aliens”, and you may chuckle a bit when one certain main character says a line not so far from what Sigourney Weaver defiantly utters during the climax scene of “Aliens”.

Above all, like its two monumental predecessors, the movie makes us care about the story and characters even when things get quite frantic. Although most of its main characters are more or less than stock archetypes, the screenplay by director Fede Álvarez and his co-writer Rodo Sayagues does some character development before eventually shifting itself onto a full-horror mode, and it is actually poignant to observe how strong the bond between Rain and Andy turns out to be.

The main cast members dutifully fill their respective spots as demanded. While ably balancing her character between toughness and vulnerability, Cailee Spaeny, who recently drew more attention from us thanks to her acclaimed performance in “Priscilla” (2023), shows another side of her considerable talent here in this film, and she is supported well by the other main cast members including Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, and David Jonsson, who recently became more prominent thanks to his solid comic performance in “Rye Lane” (2023).

Overall, “Alien: Romulus” is inherently redundant from the beginning, but it is interesting and thrilling to enough to hold our attention, and Álvarez, who previously gave us “Evil Dead” (2013) and “Don’t Breathe” (2016), did a commendable job of learning well from the old ones while also trying the new things. In my humble opinion, this is one of the better products during this summer blockbuster season, and it will certainly remind you again that no one can hear you scream in space.