Review by Sarai Lewis
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 apples
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 storyline was engaging from beginning to end. I felt it was unique enough to make you want to go see it but wasn't extremely striking as an original story.
Life reminded me of a combination of many space thriller movies but that was not a distraction from enjoying this story. The movie carried a vibe that was fresh enough to keep you interested and curious. The story itself was slow in the beginning but it didn't bother me and started to pick up shortly after.
There wasn't a lot of time spent on character development, but you were given a decent idea on who the characters were and how they functioned together. Ryan Reynolds’ character was as Ryan Reynolds’-y as it could get with his cheeky humor and overall personality. The cast itself had a good mix of temperaments and the acting was good for the most part.
One thing I wanted to mention was that the film work in this movie was reminiscent of the Alien movie franchise with dark colors, a shadowy spaceship and other details. The special effects were fine, but I do have to mention that I recently read an article that fire functions quite differently in space than it does on Earth. There was one scene in particular involving an incinerator that didn't quite add up to those functions and that definitely stood out to me.
The action in this movie was good and kept you engaged all the way through. It was suspenseful in nature and created a “thriller” feel that made you wonder what was going to happen next (It sure did make the grown man next to me jump!).
The Martian creature that was technically the villain of this movie was reminiscent to an aquatic / floral hybrid. It wasn't believable as an alien per-say but gave a good representation of a creepy being. In my opinion, tentacled creatures seem a bit played out. It wasn't extremely original, but I cant truly complain about it. I will say that the concept of the octopus-like alien left me wondering how it would function or exist on land.
The soundtrack of this movie wasn't very definitive and wasn't what it was cracked up to be.
I read a press kit about this movie before hand and the soundtrack was supposedly “melodic” which I didn't hear at all.
The movie’s ending was good and tied everything together, and seemed to be set up for a potential sequel! It was fulfilling and I left the theater without any big questions or confusion.
Overall this movie was good and definitely enjoyable to watch. It wouldn't be one that I would recommend to go rush out and see, but it lived up to my expectations and beyond.
Semi-spoiler alert: There isn't an after credits scene AT ALL! Can you believe it?