A dark scifi thriller that relieves the angst of waiting Alien Covenant

Rating: 8/10 (27 March 2017)

I went to see Life with little expectations, mostly because recent movies (scifi or not) had been huge disappointments. But I was gladly surprised how well Life hit me with its dark atmosphere, well executed scare tactics and brutal elements. Finally someone understood what the basic fundamentals of a good scifi-horror are. Good job.
Some complained about bland characters and their unprofessional behaviour, but none of it really disturb me too much. At least it didn't reach the level of stupidity seen in Prometheus where character flaws and their illogical choices affected the plot and nearly ruined the experience.
My complain mainly concerns the alien character. At first it was cute, slimy, singlecell creature developing into a large, multicell organism called "Calvin", that reminded too much of the tentacle/facehugger creature in Prometheus. In addition its every cell was supposed to be able to sense, move and perceive surroundings independently while still working perfectly together with each cell creating a sort of huge neural network with immense physical muscle power (as seen later in the movie). The crew's mistake was to underestimate its intelligence and strength and treat it like a simple singlecell organism. It was strong enough to survive harsh conditions unlike humans. In that regard, Calvin was truly a new, alien lifeform. Creature designers probably overstated its strength, though, as it was able to resist fire, cold, lack of oxygen and even vacuum while still being based on carbon. The organism was said to be hibernating on Mars when it was found. But why, when it could survive so well in the vacuum of space? Mars has atmosphere, gravity, water ice and sunlight (heat). Only thing lacking is oxygen. Maybe it needed oxygen and Earth-like temp to grow into more mature form. Who knows. And why did it need to have a face if it could sense indirect? Probably so that it could stare at the human characters menacingly. Unnecessary feature if you ask me and not scary.
Couple plot holes: This movie was probably not endorsed by Nasa, because the logo in the space suit was not accurate. Also, why was Nasa (or some other organisation behind the space program) willing to get rid of the space station so light-heartedly, as it was clearly pointed out to have cost 200 billion USD? Did Russia and China and everyone involved really agree? Considering, that on Earth they didn't know exactly what was going on because of communication failure.
The best part was probably the ending. Although it had a predictable plot twist I was satisfied with the choice. Next I'm waiting to see Alien Covenant. I expect it to surpass Life, or at least get rid of the stupidity that ailed Prometheus.