Review: Life (2017)

A team of scientists and astronauts on board the International Space Station find a life form among specimens returned from Mars...

Does a film really need an original idea or thought to be enjoyable? Life has nothing original in its makeup at all. There are clear references from the likes of Alien, The Last Days On Mars, The Thing and many, many other sci-fi or horror films that have come along over the years. The basic idea, a group of people in an isolated place dealing with a threat has been the staple of many of the so called B-Film genre films. Does throwing an A-list cast and budget at proceedings change things at all?

The short answer is not really. 

There are actually no surprises in this film at all, right down to sadly the predictable ending. Well, that's not exactly true, there are a couple of surprises but really they are more to do with characters living and dying. In this kind of film you know most of them will probably die, but when and how does catch you off guard at moments.

The script (from Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick) though, does have a couple of interesting points to make. An exchange between characters at one point is really good, as they realise they all may have to die to prevent the alien creature from reaching earth. At that point, I thought the film might go off in a different direction, but soon after, the more predictable elements came back in once more.

But there are two things that help make the film work. The first is director Daniel Espinosa. The film is very well directed, with Espinosa never letting the story get out of control. The ending, which I didn't like admittedly, is well shot and edited. But  throughout Espinosa keeps the tension levels high as characters make the decisions that may or may not cost them their lives. He's helped too by some truly impressive visuals, including the life form itself.

Then there is the cast. It truly is an impressive one. Jake Gyllenhaal, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ryan Reynolds, Rebecca Ferguson, Olga Dihovichnaya and Ariyon Bakare are all very good indeed. Although we don't get a lot of backstory for most of them before the action truly begins, you do learn enough to make you care what happens to them.

Life might look like a horror film and it certainly echoes horror films of the past, like Alien, but. despite a couple of good 'jump' moments, Life definitely falls more into the Sci-Fi/action genre more. However, whatever way you look at the film, for the most part, I did enjoy the film a great deal. It's visually well designed, the score from Jon Ekstrand is quite good too. I was disappointed with the very end, which I didn't think the film needed and one I felt let down some of the more interesting ideas in the film, that of being willing to die to save the Earth. 

However, despite this misgiving, Life is worth a look. Like I said, there's nothing original in the film at all. But that doesn't mean you can't retell a familiar story well. 

And Life does, well, breathe life into it.

Rating - 3/5