Review: ‘Life’: humans vs. alien thrill ride

In case you haven’t noticed, space flicks have been brought back into fashion by big sci-fi creations like Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar and J.J. Abrams’ new Star Wars trilogy. I say “space flick” instead of “science fiction” because films set in space are a varied group. There’s the epic space drama (Star Wars). There’s the philosophical science fiction (Arrival). There’s the horror survival in space (Alien).

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Based solely on the title, Life has the makings for a science fiction film that explores the philosophical implications of discovering life on Mars. The trailers paint a different possibility. Life on Mars may not be as friendly as previously thought. Don’t let the title or even the trailers fool you.

Life is a space thriller set in the International Space Station where dust samples from an unmanned Mars expedition were delivered for a crew of scientists to study. The dust samples carry an inert single-celled organism that inconvertibly proves the existence of life outside Earth. A school from Earth names the organism Calvin. Further experiments suddenly wake Calvin up. But Calvin grows faster than what anyone predicted. From a single-celled organism, Calvin grows into an intelligent tentacle predator in practically no time at all.

What follows is a plot everyone who knows even an inkling of the Alien universe is familiar with. The predator takes out the six-man astronaut team one-by-one. The remaining survivors in the final act are tasked with killing the creature or ensuring that it never reaches Earth. It’s not a spoiler; anyone can figure out what’s going to happen.

Is it a rip-off of Alien? Life is released barely two months before the new Alien: Covenant film. Its timing borders between convenient and coincidental. Heck, even the jump scares and thrills are similar to the cult classic. If you edit Calvin with a Xenomorph, you have a passable Alien movie on your hands. But it still is and isn’t Alien. The case for its diversion from the Alien prototype lies in how it carries it characters and how it ends.

Inarguably, the most refreshing treatment of Life is how its characters are so alive. There are six characters and each one of them is motivated by their own personalities.

Even if his body is against it, Dr. David Jordan, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, breaks the record for most time spent in space and he’s faced with the possibility that he might like it better up in the sky. Sho Kendo, played by Hiroyuki Sanada, anxiously wants to return to Earth after the birth of his son. Hugh Derry, Ariyon Bakare, is a handicapped scientist committed to the success of the Calvin project. These are just some of the motivations that shape their decisions. They’re not just story-movers. Every action, victory, or failure is a product of the characters’ ways of life and motivations. Even a character’s death shapes the story somehow whether their bodies act as food for Calvin or the loss of their skills lead to more drastic measures.

Seemingly a fight to the death, Life changes its trajectories at the very last second. Besides characters, a less thought-of ending pushes this away Alien territory. A change in the ending seems like a small thing in the grand scheme of things. However, Life does it in a brave way that will either appease or frustrate curious viewers. It’s enough of a change to deviate from the perception that Life is just an Alien rip-off. Personally, it’s a frustrating ending but diverging opinions have been heard.

The pre-showing consensus of Life is to skip it in favor of Alien: Covenant. After watching it, you’ll be surprised to know that it’s a thrill ride from start to end. It offers little in the way of space philosophizing but fans of Alien will find a home in the monster-infested International Space Station.