Where "Alien" meets "Gravity": thoroughly entertaining

Rating: 7/10 (31 March 2017)

"Life" (2017 release; 103 min.) brings the story of a 6 person crew on the International Space Station. As the movie opens, we see the crew getting ready to intercept a capsule flying through space. The capsule contains samples retrieved from Mars. Having caught the capsule successfully (which is filmed in one long shot, just beautiful), we get to know the crew, with members from the US, the UK, Russia and Japan. The British biologist finds there is life in one of the samples, and he nourishes it, and even giving it a nickname (Calvin). But alas, things don't always look what they seem, and before we know it, trouble is brewing... At this point we are less than 15 min. into the movie but to reveal more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.
Couple of comments: this movie is directed by up-and-coming Swedish director Daniel Espinoza. If you have seen the movie's trailer (which has been hard to escape in recent weeks), you know exactly what to expect. In essence this is a mash-up of where "Alien" meets "Gravity", the latter due to the spectacular in and around the ISS and space. The real question hence is: how does the movie measure up relative to the "trapped in space" genre? I am happy to tell you that the movie measures up very nicely, thank you. Almost from the get-go, tension is palpable and I found myself screaming out loud and even looking away from the screen a couple of times. When that happens, you know the movie is getting to you, in the best possible way. There are just enough plot twists to keep the action going quasi non-stop. Jake Gyllenhaal as the senior medical officer who is starting his record-breaking 473rd consecutive day in space ("I like it up here!", he says) leads the cast. Swedish actress Rebecca Ferguson is yin to Gyllenhaal's yang. Ryan Reynolds as the ISS pilot has a much smaller role. Last but certainly not least, Swedish composer Jon Ekstrand (who has scored several of Espinoza's earlier movies) delivers an excellent orchestral score that matches the film perfectly.
"Life" opened wide a few weekends ago and has done okay at the box office, although for a movie of this caliber (and budget) with this cast, it certainly feels like it should've done much better. Cut-throat competition from higher profile movies like Beauty and the Beast, Kong: Skull Island, Power Rangers and now Ghost in the Shell certainly isn't helping. I can only say that I was more than pleased, and thoroughly enjoyed "Life" for what it was. I'd readily recommend you check this out, be it in the theater, VOD or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray.