"Life" is an engrossing and exciting science fiction horror thriller.

Rating: 9/10 (25 March 2017)

Life on other planets. It's a possibility that has fascinated humankind since we first understood what other planets were. Movies have reflected many different thoughts on the subject. In the great 1997 sci-fi drama "Contact", three different characters opine that if humans are the only intelligent life in the universe, that it seems like "an awful waste of space." In that film, Jodie Foster's character is involved with the scientific movement known as SETI (the Search for Extraterrestrial Life). One real-life SETI supporter, the late astronomer Carl Sagan, said that the existence of intelligent life beyond earth was a virtual certainty, considering the number of planets and stars in the universe. On the other hand, the Rare Earth Hypothesis holds that the complex set of conditions that led to the evolution of humans on earth is unlikely to be found elsewhere in the universe. Then, of course, there's the issue of whether humans would ever be able to travel the distances necessary to reach such planets (as we see addressed in 2016's "Passengers"). Renowned theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking has been a supporter of SETI, but he has also warned us that finding life elsewhere in the universe could endanger mankind's existence on earth. That "be careful what you wish for" attitude has given birth to countless expressions in the popular culture, from H.G. Wells' 1898 novel "War of the Worlds" and Orson Wells' infamous 1938 radio adaptation of the same, to movies such as 1956's "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", 1979's "Alien", 1996's "Independence Day" and, the subject of this review, 2017's sci-fi thriller "Life" (R, 1:43).
It's about 2027 and the International Space Station is teeming with life – six astronauts and one single-celled Martian. A dramatic rescue of an errant space capsule containing soil samples from Mars is executed by engineer Rory Adams (Ryan Reynolds, who had been set to star, but ended up taking a supporting role due to a scheduling conflict) and biologist Hugh Derry (Ariyon Bakare) is very keen to see if a dormant organism from that sample can be animated. The major responsibility of Crew Captain Miranda North (Rebecca Ferguson) is diminishing any potential danger from this unknown organism. Dr. David Jordan (Jake Gyllenhaal) is mainly concerned with the health of the crew, which also includes Japanese astronaut Sho Murakami (Hiroyuki Sanada), whose attention is divided between the mission and his wife, who is about to give birth, and Russian astronaut Ekaterina Golovkina (Olga Dihovichnaya).
Hugh adjusts the temperature and atmospheric gasses in the cell's secure transparent box in order to mimic primordial earth and then, to everyone's excitement, the organism begins to move. These astronauts have just found, in Hugh's words "the first incontrovertible proof of life beyond earth"! After a contest among elementary school students back on earth, this organism is named Calvin. The crew soon learns that Calvin's single cell functions as brain, muscle and eye. As Calvin grows, it replicates into many such cells. Soon it's big enough, smart enough and strong enough to reach up and gently touch Hugh's gloved finger, but as it continues to grow, so do its capabilities and its adaptability. Calvin's primary instinct is the same as that of every other organism in the universe – to survive. When it begins to perceive the presence of the people around it as a threat, what follows is a multi-species fight for survival – and a desperate struggle by the station's crew to keep Calvin from ever making it to earth.
"Life" is an engrossing and exciting science fiction horror thriller. The film can be seen as a 21st century version of "Alien" (and Columbia Pictures moved up its release date to avoid competing with "Alien: Covenant"), but this movie charts its own sci-fi course. The claustrophobic environment (with almost all of the action taking place in space and with essentially only six cast members) adds to the tension and makes the action feel very intimate and real. The writing team of Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick ("Zombieland", "Deadpool") give us interesting characters (brought to vivid life by six outstanding actors) and just the right balance of anticipation and action. Director Daniel Espinosa ("Safe House", "Child 44") delivers great visuals and a taut and entertaining thriller – with one of the best endings that I've seen in a long time. This movie is definitely worth one and three quarters hours of your life – and it's so good that the time will seem to fly by – and leave you wanting more. "A"