The Movie: Life
The Director: Daniel Espinosa (Safe House)
The Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Ryan Reynolds, Rebecca Ferguson, Hiroyuki Sanada, Olga Dihovichnaya, Ariyon Bakare, and Naoko Mori
The Story: A team of scientists aboard the International Space Station discover a rapidly evolving life form, that caused extinction on Mars, and now threatens the crew and all life on Earth.
The Review:
If this story sounds very familiar, it should. The idea is basically a combination of Alien and Gravity and not really much else at all. Director Daniel Espinosa gives a valiant effort in trying to piece together a script that really doesn't know what it wants to be. That being said, there are still a ton of plot holes and, at every turn, you're thinking of all the different ways the guys at "How it Should Have Ended" would be able to turn this story inside out.
Whoever picked the cast for this film deserves a bonus because it's about the only good thing I can say about the movie. Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler) is always great in everything he does and Rebecca Ferguson (Mission Impossible - Rogue Nation) is proving herself to be a major player among her Hollywood peers. If you like Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool), you will like him in this movie because he is basically Ryan Reynolds in space and that's really about all he can do. Hiroyuki Sanada, Olga Dihovichnaya, and Ariyon Bakare are all really good in their roles as additional crew members. I really wish this ensemble had been given better material to work with as it could have made for something really special.
The Verdict:
I am convinced the Life really has no idea what kind of movie it wants to be. Is this a horror movie? Not really. Is it a science fiction movie? Technically yes, because it's in space and involves an alien. Is it a comedy? It tries to have a few moments, but those moments feel out of place and awkward. Is it a drama? There is too much other stuff going on for it to qualify as a drama so it ends up being all of those things but doesn't do any of them very well.
Jeff Goldblum once said "Life finds a way." Just not this time, apparently.
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