Life is Unexciting

Rating: 6/10 (25 March 2017)

(RATING: ☆☆☆ out of 5 )
GRADE: C+
THIS FILM IS MILDLY RECOMMENDED.
IN BRIEF: Life disappoints.
SYNOPSIS: Life can be quite deadly as a group of astronauts discover in this typical sci-fi thriller.
No one may hear a scream in outer space. But in Daniel Espinoso's well-crafted Life, the latest sci-fi horror film which follows that successful Alien formula, you do hear, with added certainty, an annoyingly loud music score that regularly blasts its notes to warn of impending doom. Six internationally diverse NASA professionals find life amid the soil samples from Mars. As this multi-celled organism begins to take form, so does the predictability of this film. It's par for the course, that the trained astronauts grow dumb and dumber while our little plant monster (affectionately named Calvin) grows stronger and bigger. There's no account that there will be room for human error on the screen. Dinner will be served soon enough!
However, the behind-the-scenes human talent have made a technically strong film. One can definitely observe that the filmmakers took a more intellectual and earnest approach to this genre with their willingness to spend more time with the characters and setting before the initial scares begin. Shamus McGarvey's fluid camera-work is above reproach as is Nigel Phelp's production design. Mr. Espinoso's direction builds some nice tension too.
But the script is a mere clone with its "been there / done that" formula. It's not that Life's screenplay by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick is lifeless...it's just redundant and unexciting in its lack of imagination. It's not as if the writers don't try to create compelling characters by establishing background exposition on the six astronauts aboard. And there is some nice sleight-of-hand moments in the film's climax. But all that skill cannot disguise the simplistic plot mechanisms so intrinsic with the sci-fi nature of its origins.
Life begins as a serious film odyssey about space exploration before it take the rote route into the horror genre and settles into a standard monster flick to see who gets offed next and how gruesome the death can be. The monster itself isn't very scary. It's not hideous or creepy, with its octopoid tentacles and jellyfish form undulating quite gracefully before lunging at its helpless victims.
The actors (or human entrees) along for the ride are an impressive group of performers who have done much better in other outings but are saddled here with stock characters caught in a familiar plot, no matter have solidly Mr. Espinoso directs them. They are: Ryan Reynolds, Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, and lesser known actors as Olga Dihovichnaya, Hiroyuki Sabada, and Ariyon Bakare, all rounding out the sextet of space travelers.
To summarize: Calvin is actually Audrey III of Outer Space, a toothless, less terrifying creature that preys on other lifeforms. Its appetite may be insatiable but moviegoers should take heed of this simplistic horror film with its cheap thrills and gory kills. As the saying goes, Life can be full of disappointments.