From the beginning, based on the trailers and pictures, the first film that would come to mind that Life would seemingly be borrowing from would be Alien. Obviously, the similarities are there, but I think comparing it to only Alien would be a bit misleading.
The set-up is reminiscent of typical 80’s Sci-Fi, and the bloody violence and general atmosphere of the film is sure to entertain fans of that genre. There’s also definitely a B-Movie feel to it. Though, it’s not exactly a low budget film, with the estimated cost to make the film sitting at $60 million.
The movie follows six men and women on a spaceship who intercept a probe returning soil samples from Mars, and find life from the planet. They name it ‘Calvin’ and watch it as it grows. Naturally, as you’d expect, Calvin becomes a problem, and the astronauts do what you’d expect them to do in a movie like this. They fuck with it and it has terrible consequences. Did you expect any different?
Jake Gyllenhaal seems to only be taking the strangest possible roles these days. Not saying that’s a bad thing, either. Just noticed it. Nightcrawler was one that he deserved at least an Oscar nomination for, but that’s The Academy for you.
Strong performances from Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson and Wade Wilson (whoops, Ryan Reynolds) help the film move along. Seriously, though – any one else have trouble seeing Reynolds as any other character besides Deadpool? I mean, maybe he is, considering the theories going around that this is a prequel to the upcoming Venom movie from Sony.
The direction from Daniel Espinosa is solid, the cinematography is amazing and the screenplay from Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick definitely keeps you guessing until the very end.
Fans of the genre will argue that Calvin should have been made with practical effects – but the CGI is on point in this one. I’m not sure it could have worked. When CGI looks bad, it’s bad, but when it looks good, you don’t even notice it.
It’s also hard to review a film that by simply talking about a couple minor things – will spoil the film entirely, based on what they’ve shown in the previews. There’s a lot to unpack here, and it doesn’t hit you all at once. It just keeps adding up.
To me, the best way to describe the movie: Life is what you’d get if Alien, Gravity and Pandorum had a child – and that’s certainly not a bad thing.