Life: Movie Review

The new sci-fi thriller “Life” was not only written by the guys behind “Deadpool”, but it also stars Deadpool himself, Ryan Reynolds.  That is a very creative team and yet, “Life” is pretty damn lifeless.  It isn’t a terrible film by any means but despite the talent behind and in front of the camera, this paint-by-numbers “Alien” knockoff lacks the thrills one would expect. Even the banter between characters is limp.

Set aboard the International Space Station in the near future, a group of Scientists have discovered proof that life exists on Mars.  David (Jake Gyllenhaal), Roy (Ryan Reynolds), Miranda (Rebecca Ferguson), Kat (Olga Dihovichnaya), Hugh (Ariyon Bakare), and Sho (Hiroyuki Sanada) have been prepping for months for the arrival of the pod containing the Mars soil samples. Once it arrives, they soon discover that it contains an organism that is not only highly intelligent but has a taste for blood.

Rapidly evolving with each victim it claims, the alien proves to be very hard to hurt, much less kill.  One of the things that I actually liked about “Life” is the alien itself, especially as it grew. It has a unique design that is unlike anything I have seen before. The problem with the film itself is that it just isn’t all that entertaining.  There is way too much dialogue and that wouldn’t be an issue if it was at least interesting to listen to.  The cast is fine but each of the characters, with-the-exception of Hugh are easily forgettable.  Sure, “Life” looks good, but it also looks a lot like “Gravity” from a few years ago.  Let’s hope that the new “Alien” film coming out in less than two months has more life than “Life”.

By Marc Ferman