By Brett Blake LIFE is the sort of movie where it’s all about the execution. It’s dependent on its execution, in fact, since the plot is a patchwork of ideas from countless other films. This would be a gigantic problem if the execution were lacking, but in the case of LIFE, the execution is laudable and compelling, featuring terrific effects work and a handful of very convincing performances. Set aboard the International Space Station, LIFE tells the tale of an intrepid crew of scientists recovering samples from an unmanned mission to Mars. In these samples is a single-cell alien life form, which quickly begins to grow. Soon, this creature threatens not only the lives of the crew, but also - potentially - all life on Earth. Anybody who has even just a passing familiarity with the science fiction and horror genres will clearly be able to identify the films from which LIFE has taken its cues. The DNA of Ridley Scott’s ALIEN (which itself drew not inconsiderable inspiration from earlier works) is absolutely running through this movie, as you would expect for a story about a group of space travelers dealing with an extra-terrestrial life form in a contained space. There’s also no shortage of Alfonso Cuaron’s GRAVITY at play in the way the space station environment is presented and shot. There’s some SUNSHINE in here, a dash of SOLARIS, a sprinkle of LIFEFORCE, a helping of THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN, and so on. It’s what I like to call a “blender movie.” As such, there’s nothing too surprising about the movie’s plot. There’s little that even the average movie-goer will find shocking or unexpected. We’ve seen this basic story before, and we can sort of feel where its beats are going to go. The good thing, though, is that none of this feels like completely shameless rip-off-ery; it’s a movie which draws on influences and repurposes them, and it is executed at a very high standard. It’s a well made film with a good cast doing good work, even if it’s in service of a story that we’ve (mostly) already seen. Director Daniel Espinosa and cinematographer Seamus McGarvey do a fine job of conveying the geography of the space station early on, which aids both in keeping track of what events are happening where (and to whom), but also allows them to construct clear and engaging sequences of suspense and horror. McGarvey’s cinematography is particularly good, presenting a fairly vibrant and colorful palette which serves as a nice departure from what we conventionally expect from space-set stories with a pseudo-realistic bent. The one undisputedly unique element of LIFE is the alien creature itself. While the basic concept of life from Mars has been done to death, LIFE brings us a wonderful design, something which feels plausible in its earliest stages before progressing into something more overtly horrific. Though we can see where inspiration might have been taken from various real world animals, the overarching package is a creature of the sort I’ve never seen before. The CGI effects used to bring this alien to life are frequently tremendous, as well. It is weird for someone like Jake Gyllenhaal show up in something like this at this point in his career; he’s never done better work than he has been over the past few years, and I regard him as one of the strongest actors working today. He definitely doesn’t condescend to the material here - he gives it 100% - but it’s kind of amusing to see him in what is basically just a glossy B-movie. Ryan Reynolds brings some welcome comedic relief in the early going, which makes the more frightening and upsetting developments hit harder, and Rebecca Ferguson offers some surprising humanity which nicely contrasts with Gyllenhaal’s vibe, in particular. The movie is fast-paced without sacrificing character beats, and the stakes escalate in a compelling and fun way. Despite the many similarities to other movies, LIFE does what it does well, and it’s arguably worth seeing just for the alien creature alone. Thankfully, the acting and the solid filmmaking round out the package and make it a satisfying entertainment.
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