Director: Daniel Espinosa Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds Studio: Open Road Pictures Genre(s): Drama Rated: R (For language throughout, some sci-fi violence and terror) |
My dad complains that the problem with movies about aliens
is that they all look the same and they all want to kill us. It’s hard to argue with a logic like that,
and it becomes even more of a problem when that is the very thing that is
driving the story of “Life,” which is little more than a movie where an unidentified
life form is discovered and brought onto a space ship, with the crew fawning
over it until it proves to be hostile and wants to eat everyone. It’s not a remarkable story and it’s
certainly one I’ve seen many times before, but once in awhile the presentation
creates real scares and tension, which is what people go to movies like this
for. I’m not certain it’s going to
dethrone the annual showings of Ridley Scott’s “Alien,” but I suspect many will
find it to be a suitable placeholder until those nights make their annual appearance.
I suppose what adds more tension to this from the get go is
that it has high profile actors like Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, and
Ryan Reynolds headlining the thing, which means there is some serious
questioning on who’s going to live at the end of all this. To say that people die in the movie is
probably not a spoiler. What could be a
spoiler is how they die, who dies first, and what happens to this creature when
they do. Most of the actors are largely
just doing enough to skate by, but it is nice to see film makers taking
advantage of Reynolds quick wit and sly sense of humor. The special effects normally take center
stage in a movie like this, but director Daniel Espinosa has gone with a
minimalist approach and placed the focus on camera angles and lighting. This is something that Ridley Scott did so
effectively with his killer alien movie.
While the simplicity in the movie makes discussing it a
little difficult, it is amazing how effective that simplicity frees the movie
up to be what it ultimately is. Sort of
like how Spielberg got a lot of mileage over a shark that eats people, so too
does Espinosa with a white blob that seems to gain more personality the longer
this goes on. As the creature gains more
personality, so too does the audiences fear of it. The obligatory jump scares of the film are
usually annoying and half baked, but here they seemed more calculated and effective,
because are coming from a creature we begin to genuinely fear and want dead as
soon as possible. I mean, sure, this is
the case for most monster movies, but this is a rare case where there is no
rooting for the creature to come out on top of the world. Maybe briefly during a particularly epic
kill, but not much beyond that.
What can make or break a movie like “Life” is how much you
remember it. I think the movie would
have struggled a bit in that department even with the wonderful production
values, but thankfully in a world where no one can be offended and everything
must be happy, the movie ends on such a dour note that it’s actually kind of
brilliant. It elevates the movie into a
sort of revenge classic of the most unexpected kind. I don’t personally see myself watching it
again, but there were many times I was scared and uncomfortable, which is
pretty much what movies like this promise to deliver and what audiences
expect. The fact that this got an
average C+ rating from test screenings is mostly likely because it pulls a fast
one on the audience, which is apparent because one of my friends claimed the
movie cheated him. I admit that I don’t
fully understand where he’s coming from, as a movie whose purpose is to kill
most of the characters already is likely never going to have the happy ending
you want anyway.
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CONSUMER ADVICE |
Parents, there is strong language throughout as well as some VERY gory moments! Recommended for ages 17 and up.
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