Prometheus did it better.

Well, I saw Alien: Romulus and while opinions on the film continue to pour in and these forums bound to ignite into debate on whether the film lived up to the hype or not - I've had time to digest my thoughts on Fede's use of source material and nostalgic fan service.

In my opinion - Prometheus did it better.

While I thoroughly enjoyed the world building/exploiting in the first half of Alien: Romulus, I couldn't help but feel certain props and callbacks were thrown in my face on purpose. Sure, they made me go "oh look! That's from Alien!" or "I recognize that from Alien Isolation", but I didn't have to look very hard. It's like I was being spoon fed Alien tropes like a toddler, I could just sit back and enjoy my popcorn and watch the show with little to no mental stimulation beyond that. 

Prometheus was more subtle. While many complained about it being so far off-track from the conventional Alien trajectory, it forced us to look for connections. It had little bits and pieces that connected it to the universe, but ultimately it didn't feel like a regurgitation of things we'd seen before. It was fresh and new and uncharted territory. For me anyway, I preferred that.

Sure, there are aspects of Prometheus I didn't like, but on a grand scale the film felt more like a real attempt at exploring NEW territory within an established and beloved franchise. The ending of Prometheus vastly outdid the ending of Romulus as well - giving us a satisfying callback and the most "Alien" scene whereas Romulus gave us... I don't know what.

I get what Fede was trying to do with Romulus and I enjoy the film for what it is, but I think it tried to be too many things all at once. Tapping into the prequel universe was a mistake beyond mention of the Black Goo (of which Prometheus did a better job with also) and the abomination born at the end - was paced way too quickly and also tried to do wayyyyy too much as well.

Sometimes, less is more. And for that, I still think Prometheus did it better.