Back in 1979, a science-fiction film scared the bejesus out of audiences and presented something frightening and new. This was the story of a group of astronauts exploring space until "something" has climbed aboard. It starts out small, then grows to something gigantic, picking off crew members one by one as they try to figure out how to stop it, as well as survive. The movie was so frightening, it's "poster slogan" is still remembered to this day. It also spawned several direct sequels (and can be considered one of the few sequels better than its predecessor) as well as spin-offs. You may recall this movie called Alien. It's a spectacular film that defined a genre and launched several respectable directors to Hall-of-Fame status. And while it has also spawned some serious misfires when it comes to film, it has also led to the creation of Life. A script that not only honors the ideas of Alien, it pretty much straight-up copies it entirely. And while there are decent moments within the film... the movie winds up being pretty life... less.
Much like Alien did, nearly 40 years ago... Life tells the story of a crew who manned a Mars mission who brings aboard a new sign of life outside of our world. They grow this alien in a lab until it becomes big enough, strong enough, and smart enough to start killing everyone on board. There's the leader (Rebecca Ferguson), the pilot (Jake Gyllenhaal), the wise-cracking tech guy (Ryan Reynolds), and a few other people who are given very little backstory or characterization. In fact, the person who gets the most backstory is an Asian pilot whose wife just gave birth to a new little girl back on Earth and then he's given very little more to do for the rest of the film. Ryan Reynolds brings his same schtick of being a wiseass, tough guy. But, there's nothing else below the surface. The strangest part is Gyllenhaal. He's essentially the lead of the film, but doesn't get hardly any screen time until shit starts to go haywire, and the only thing we know about him when it is hitting the proverbial fan... is that we recognize him as actor Jake Gyllenhaal and he might have PTSD from being up in space so damn long. Anyway, the alien gets loose and becomes more resourceful, outsmarting the crew left and right and picking them off in order to save itself.
There are definitely moments of high tension. Just because we've seen this movie before (seriously... if you've seen Alien, you've seen Life) doesn't mean that there's a lack of tension. The fear of the unknown is very much present in the film and when they're trying to get around the ship avoiding getting killed by this alien... it can get pretty tense. And this is where the film works. Where if falters, is when that tension breaks. Life lacks any balls whatsoever. One facet of the sci-fi genre that is rarely seen these days is the R-rated sci-fi film. Science Fiction is a niche genre, and by limiting the audience to 17 and up is always a risk, so it's rare when you find one rated R. The last R rated sci-fi movie we got was essentially District 9 way back in 2009. R-rated sci-fi is great because the filmmakers aren't limited by a rating system to go balls to the wall. Sci-fi can be a pretty dark genre, so giving the filmmakers free reign on violence is something that can definitely elevate a movie-- especially one dealing with a creepy-ass alien murdering astronauts.
But, Life doesn't do this. Most of the deaths happen offscreen. The ones that happen onscreen are, for lack of a better term, boring. If you've decided to write an R-rated Alien rip-off, at least have the balls to up the ante a little bit. The first Alien works because it's all about the unseen threat on the ship and the suspense leading up to the final battle. Aliens works because it goes balls-out with the action and the violence and the alien gore. Life doesn't do either of these. We continuously see the alien, but realize there's a threat. Then, when it attacks... it's just kind of a a letdown due to the underwhelming nature of the scene. That's how Life feels... just very underwhelming. It's got a great cast and a proven writer and director, but apparently putting all of these people together in a flawed movie... what you get is an all-encompassing 'meh'.
I'll give the movie this... it has a great ending. The ending almost makes up for the rest of the film by giving you some sort of sign that there was once a great idea floating around. The movie honestly could've spawned from the writer envisioning the ending first. It's such a cool end of the movie that if you came up with that first, and then wrote a story around that... it could give a little bit of insight as to why the rest of the film comes up short. But, obviously, the last ten minutes of a two hour film doesn't necessarily justify the lack of balls and creativity on display for the rest of the movie. This movie lacks such vision and creativity, the film's title is even stolen from a previous film:
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| Seriously?? Remember this movie??? |
Life is a perfect example of a don't-waste-your-money on seeing it in theaters. It's always going to appeal to most people due to the popularity of the story and the cast, but it's going to let down a good majority of you looking for a balls-out, scary and well-told R-rated story of the discovery of a malicious alien life. Do yourself a favor and go watch Alien and Aliens again and get ready for Alien: Covenant later on this year (which we can only hope is better than Prometheus)
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