Life (2017)

[Blankments]

After many contemporary auteurs have given their shot at a space film, Sony has recently decided to start allowing directors without an established style try it out. First they gave us the mediocre Passengers, but now Life comes, the biggest argument against the modern space movie craze yet.

 

Featuring a mind-numbingly dumb script, Life pilfers much of its aesthetic from other recent sci-fi. You've got the one-takes of acclaimed science-fiction film Gravity, the jokey vibe of The Martian, and the booming score of Interstellar all in one film. However, this all means nothing without a cohesive vision behind it, and Life jumps from being a cliche horror film to attempting to be a serious sci-fi film without once trying to marry these two tones.

 

The biggest problem the film has though is that all of its characters are morons. Maybe two make decently thought decisions the whole film, but these are scientists of the International Space Station. They're Earth's finest, most intelligent people, but yet, they frequently make decisions that are silly and hard to buy into, just for the sake of keeping the monster alive a bit longer, and thus, extending the film's runtime. It's rare that a film makes me root against the future of the human race, but when the only line of defense is full of complete idiots, perhaps it's time for humans to die out.

 

The last two minutes of Life are a foregone conclusion by the first twenty minutes. These are the best moments of the film because, although they are predictable, they are edited and shot in an extremely funny, campy way. Unfortunately, the previous excruciating hour and a half is not worth this pay-off. Life wastes its ensemble of fantastic actors and a huge budget on an all-too-calm horror film that basks in the cliches of the genre far too much. Ultimately, thanks to dull direction and a horrendous script, Life ultimately proves to be a lifeless film. D-

[nick64]

My review of Life:

https://grabyourseat.wordpress.com/2017/07/05/life-film-review/

 

Alien changed the shape of sci-fi when it became a smash hit forty years ago. Countless films (including many of its sequels) have tried to replicate its winning formula, usually to little success. The latest to take a crack at it is Daniel Espinosa’s Life. Being released just two months before Alien itself returns with Alien: Covenant, Life has even more reason to try to set itself apart. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really do that, but what’s missing in originality is made up for in nearly every other way.

 

Six crew members aboard the International Space Station are on a return mission from Mars, having just discovered and acquired a cell that proves that there is life beyond Earth. The cell is nicknamed Calvin and grows into a small multi-tentacled creature. All seems well until Calvin is able to break from his containment and begins trying to feed on the crew members. The crew must try to destroy, or at least contain, Calvin so that he does make it back to Earth, which would possibly put an end to humanity.

 

The concept of a six member crew trying to fight off a dangerous extraterrestrial that picks them off one by one is lifted verbatim from Alien, but it’s not exactly the same movie. Probably the biggest change is that Lifetakes place in modern times, as opposed to the far future found in Alien, so the film feels a lot more grounded in reality. All of the defense mechanisms and fight tactics used against Calvin are scientifically thought out and biologically based (which might remind you of The Martian). This gives the film a chilling sense of realism, as it seems like a very realistic portrayal of how this scenario might play out if it were to happen. Past that, it’s pretty much the same.

 

But if it’s not very original, it needs to at least be well made. And thankfully, it is. Many viewers underestimate the importance of good characters in a movie like this, but you need to feel connected to them if you are to have any sort of reaction to what happens to them. Life takes another tip from Alien in this department and spends time early on establishing their backstories and personalities. They may not be incredibly fleshed out, but this is still a creature feature, and it’s enough to make you understand and support them. Acting is phenomenal all around. Rebecca Ferguson absolutely knocks it out of the park, while Ryan Reynolds is able to provide a bit of comic relief alongside his serious moments. Jake Gyllenhaal is incredibly overqualified for the demands of his role, but he is as excellent as you’d expect. The actors not on the poster (Hiroyuki Sanada, Ariyon Bakare, Olga Dihovichnaya) don’t have quite as much to do, but are still very effective in their roles.

 

The film is also technically brilliant. Life takes place on a fairly small ship, but the brilliant set design makes it look both big and spectacular. Cinematography takes a hint from 2013’s Gravity. The lack of that phenomenon on the ISS is felt as the camera follows the characters around weightlessly, moving upside down and doing flips. It could potentially be dizzying for some viewers, but most will probably recognize it as an effective directing style. The visual effects are fairly impressive for the modest budget. The octopus-like Calvin is a really cool sight to behold, and even if he isn’t meant to look scary, you’ll feel a chill every time he comes on screen.

 

The plot runs fairly smoothly as well. Tense scenes with Calvin are interspersed with some scenes of talking in safety. These help to build your relationship with the characters and ground the film without taking you off edge. And those tense scenes really are tense. The film truly is thrilling, and Espinosa proves to be great at directing horror. So, yes, Life is very derivative from Alien and quite a few other films before it, but it manages to still be an enjoyable time by simply being well made. And it does have a few surprises up its sleeve. The film ends on a particularly grim note that will remind you of old school horror twists.

 

Grade: 7.5/10

[Joel M]

The misdirection for the finale was kind of clever and the early parts until Ryan Reynolds died were intriguing, but after that all the supposedly INTENSE sequences weren't really intense, at least for me. 

[FantasticBeasts]

 

I only recently started to get into space thrillers, so I can't quite tell how original the film was. All I can say is that I really enjoyed it. It was extremely intense,very well acted and fast paced.I can't get the complains about the ending. I was satisfied that we didn't go for the predictable road where everyone lives happily ever after.

Overall, a worthy watch. The only complain that I have is that I found the visuals a little underwhelming. Not bad, but having watched Gravity the day before, I got a bit greedy.

B+

Edited August 22, 2017 by FantasticBeasts

[Kvikk Lunsj]

The movie is okay the first act could have been better at building characters up, the second act was fun and intense however the third act was lazy and stupid.  The ending did not make sense.  However, there are some positive I thought the score worked and alien looked cool and overall the effects were good especially for its budget. but due to lazy writing and director decisions, in the end, it just does not work.

C