The Alien franchise is unique in its subject but familiar in its execution. A lot of beloved film series spawned two groundbreaking landmark titles before descending through levels of mediocrity into tragic failure. Alien shares this space with Terminator. They've attempted the same solution multiple times. Rather than make bold narrative strides, both franchises try and fail to recapture their early success. Alien: Romulus represents another attempt, but it may face the same impossible climb.