It was a genius movie, vaulted by the sense of dread that Scott employed for much of its first half, only to transcend that dread by giving us actual, visual horror once the Xenomorph appeared. Yes, instead of taking you to what once seemed to be an idle dalliance, you’re confronted with a rapidly emerging entity that’s very likely to be much more intelligent than any human assigned to this space station.
Advertisement
As directed by Daniel Espinosa and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson and Ryan Reynolds, “Life” is efficiently constructed to unsettle audiences.
Plenty, even though it’s an unapologetic knockoff, but one that’s intensely suspenseful enough to scare us silly.
You know things. You’re ultra-super smart.
When a capsule containing Martian specimens is brought aboard the International Space Station, scientists discover the first proof of life outside Earth. Pretty soon it’s out of its cage and into the air vents, and the crew faces an ongoing battle to stop the ever-expanding predator from overwhelming them. While that might make it sound like it lacks focus or may try too hard to bite off more than it can chew in terms of character development, it actually lends an extra level of unpredictability to the whole film. It’s a film that isn’t reinventing the wheel of space horror, and never seems intent on it either. Their approach to the film features their signature wit and banter that made previous efforts like Deadpool and Zombieland stand out, but they bring an edge of ruthlessness to the material that elevates it above other, Alien-inspired sci-fi horror films throughout the years. Not so. The film that Life has the most in common with is probably Alien, or, more accurately, the work done by Roger Corman when trying to capitalize on Alien’s success. The pacing of the film is strong enough, with the audience barely getting to chance to catch their breath between attacks from Calvin.
However, factoring in an ending that saves one last punch, Espinosa and company have cooked up something a bit heartier than an appetizer, even if it isn’t always that tasty. Being so loud all the time, I wasn’t able to determine whether it should get an A or D.
David, on the other hand, is more quiet and contemplative. No, I’m not talking about Ridley Scott’s genre defining Alien-we should all be so lucky-I’m talking about a similarly vague title: Life. Gravity may have ensured that we never again get a bad-looking studio space movie. Sho Kendo (Hiroyuki Sanada) has a wife and a newborn.
Gyllenhaal, Reynolds and Ferguson are competent as the scientists, but fail to humanise their characters, making them expendable to us. Most of that time would have been better served allowing us to get to know our characters. Life looks tremendous from that standpoint – and it’s really well-shot, too.
Life movie review: It’s gratifying that a film would treat a Ryan Reynolds with the same economy as an Olga Dihovichnaya.
The film’s final act also hinges upon a plan that derives from the “Goodnight Moon” book which, without going too much more into it, is a really awful plot device. He prods it back to life and everyone on board is giddy over the fact that they’re the first to come across life not born on Earth.
Advertisement
Before Calvin takes centrestage, most of the film feels like a documentary on life at the International Space Station, wherein the terrestrial humans’ curiosity about the eating, sleeping, exercising and defecating habits of astronauts is addressed. The film takes a moment to bask in the wonder of this epochal discovery, but while the title, “Life”, suggests a grandiose meditation on the nature of existence, there is no time for the what-do-the-visitors-want ponderings of “Arrival”.
