Rant …
spoiler
I’m talking about Ash/Rook, obviously.
Just saw the film recently, and while it’s a bit of a love it or hate it film I think, the Rook character is I think objectively egregious.
The idea is good, IMO, in a number of ways, and I can understand that the film makers felt like it was all done with love and affection for Holm and the character. As a viewer, not necessarily onboard with how many cues the film was taking from the franchise, I noticed the silhouette of Rook pretty quickly and was quite happy/hyped to see where it would go.
But OMG the execution is unforgivable! And I feel like this is just so much of what’s wrong with Hollywood and VFX, and also indicates that some execs were definitely intervening in this film. Somewhat fortunately for the film, it had a low budget (AFAICT, by Wikipedia) and is making a profit.
But it’s no excuse to slap some bad CGI onto shots that were not designed for bad CGI. Close ups on the uncanny valley! Come on! AFAICT, bad CGI is often the result of a complete disconnect between the director and the VFX crew, in part because the VFX industry is kept at arms length from the film industry, despite (it because of) its massive importance.
That CGI is not something you do a close up on. No remotely decent director would have done that knowing the CGI looked like that. This is likely bad studio management creating an unworkable situation.
What could have worked much better IMO is don’t have the synth functioning well. Have its facial expressions and movements completely artificial and mechanical. Rely on the likeness of Holm and the AI voice (which did and generally do work well). Could have been done just with a well directed animatronic coupled with some basic CGI to enrich some textures and details. Instead we got a dumb “we’ll do it in post” and tortured some poor editor into cutting those shots together.
For many the film was a mixed bag. For me too. But this somehow prevents me from embracing it because I just don’t trust the people who made it.
… End rant.
I mean I get the supposed justification for it, but all of those things you talk about are the very definition of continuity porn. All that could have been achieved just as well with another android model referencing Ash and his mission by name, or by a version of the Ash model that was more physically damaged to the point where it pushed him past the uncanny valley and onto a more unsettling peak. Imagine if his face had been acidified and we were seeing a sort of Mason Verger version of him instead, and when Andy uploads his implant, he takes on the mannerisms of Ian Holm’s Ash, as if he were possessed. Lean into the horror of it more.
Yea I agree, a simpler approach could have been taken. Though I don’t think any of the film’s fan service was intended to be subtle.
I personally liked the appearance of an Ash type synth. I think it adds weight to the sense of synchronicity of Romulus and Alien 1. Shame about the execution of it and the focus they put on it, of course.