'Fixed' Romulus Director Ian Holm's CGI Resurrection In Home Release

After the original “Alien” in 1979, it seems like every subsequent film had some element that caused an immediate backlash among audiences. James Cameron's sequel was criticized for stripping away the horror and replacing it with dull action, while “Alien 3” reflected fan discontent on a grand scale by killing off beloved characters Newt and Hicks… before doing the same to its leads. lady, Ripley. (The less we say about “Alien: Resurrection,” a movie I actually had a lot of fun with, the better.) Both of Ridley Scott's prequel films rubbed many viewers the wrong way, though they've gained more and more acclaim over the years. but it's safe to say that last year's Alien: Romulus was meant to be a much-needed return to form.

In many ways, it did just that—maybe a little also ok as /Movies Chris Evangelista wrote about it in his review — but it also continued the franchise's grand tradition of alienating (definitely intended) audiences with other divisive creative choices.

This time it had to do with spoilers twisting about halfway through Alien: Romulus, where our new heroes discover a very familiar face on the abandoned space station Romulus. Meet the Hand, a newer model of the synthetic creature that still has the same face as the late, great Ian Holm, who memorably portrayed Ash all those years ago. Although not quite the same character, the same Veyland-Yutani malevolence was still ingrained in his system. But the scene was not without all kinds of controversywith fans resenting the sketchy look of the visual effects, as well as the whole idea of ​​digitally recreating yet another dead actor. However, for the home release, director Fede Álvarez claims he's “fixed” the problem … but that doesn't tell the whole story.

What's the Xenomorph equivalent of putting lipstick on a pig? Whatever it is, it appears to be the “solution” to what was easily the biggest outburst surrounding the release of Alien: Romulus. While many fans (myself included) questioned the very notion of Ian Holm's likeness being used as a cheap Easter egg in the legacy sequel, the ire directed at the scene seems to have been somewhat misguided on its way to landing on Fede Alvarez's doorstep. . Instead of addressing the actual issue, the filmmaker addressed the broadest criticism in a new interview empire. Admitting that the visuals weren't up to par, Alvarez explained:

“We just ran out of time in post-production to get it right. I wasn't 100% happy with some of the shots where you could feel a little more CG intervention. So for the people who react negatively, I don't. I don't blame them.”

So what's different this time? Apparently, 20th Century Studios (now owned by Disney, of course) made a rare commitment to invest additional resources in post-release VFX enhancements. According to the director:

“We fixed it. We made it better now. I convinced the studio that we needed to spend the money and make sure that the companies that were involved in making it were given the proper amount of time to finish it and do it right. It's so much better.”

That's all well and good, but it doesn't exactly solve the underlying problem. It's worth pointing out that Ian Holm's estate signed off on the decision (and likely agreed to be compensated for the film's box office success), but does that automatically make it right? This discussion turned out to be In the 2023 Screen Actors Guild strike and the debate, to say the least, isn't abating any time soon.

Now that I've gotten off my soapbox, readers may be wondering: How did the creative team even come up with Ian Holm's likeness for Alien: Romulus? Director Fede Álvarez helps us understand this in the same interview with Empire. Much of the film brought back the same tactile feel that the original “Alien” boasted, opting for practical effects and sets as much as possible, which was then enhanced by the VFX work. The same was true of Rock's image, though Alvarez admits that the balance between practical and digital in the final cut didn't fully reflect their intentions from the start:

“(Animatronic puppeteer) Shane Mahan actually made this Ian Holm animated movie based on the Lord of the Rings lead, and it was the only one that existed. What we did (for the home entertainment version) was way back. more for the doll , it's much better.

Apparently, during production, this initial “mix of techniques” ended up veering much more towards digital as the creative team rushed to finish the film in time for release. In addition to Mahan's animated film, actor Daniel Betts was recognized for his face and voice performance on set. Add in the digital work that went into actually recreating Holm's face and facial expressions in motion, and it took a village to bring this entire sequence to life. Was it worth it in the end? Again, I'd argue that it wasn't, and actually threw a tantrum over an otherwise enjoyable movie (and really, really rude) to watch. Either way, you can enjoy “Alien: Romulus” all over again in 4K, Blu-ray, DVD and digital.