Sci-Fi-Themed Thriller

Rating: 8/10 (12 April 2017)

Continuing my foray into sci-fi films, I recently went to see the movie Life, starring Hiroyuki Sanada, Ryan Reynolds, Rebecca Ferguson, Jake Gyllenhaal, Olga Dihovichnaya, and Ariyon Bakare. Before I went to see it, I identified the movie as "that space movie with Ryan Reynolds and Jake Gyllenhaal." While that description is accurate, the film actually stars all six main actors equally. Truthfully, I am disappointed that there isn't more of Ryan Reynolds; he plays one of the most, let's say, "infrequent" characters. I was impressed with how pretty much equal airtime is given to every one of the characters, and the audience is not forced to focus on only one character's timeline throughout. I guess in a storyline based entirely on the International Space Station there isn't much room for extremely varied plot lines.
I have to imagine that, while the cost to make this film was probably beyond my greatest guess, they must have saved some money by basically only having to pay six actors. IMDb lists only 17 cast members, 11 of which simply being extras, and the stars are a mix of unknown and popular actors. Even though there are only six main characters, any actual character development and exposition is lacking, although there are some slight attempts.
As far as the plot goes, they get right into it really quickly. In the opening scenes I had the feeling that the events that transpired before this movie could have been their own movie altogether, and we were just coming in in the middle. The ending is equally as notable, and an audience is left with the potential for a sequel. The ending in particular came as quite a surprise to me. In hindsight, I could maybe have seen it coming, but the film does an excellent job of leading its audience to believe one outcome and then concludes with another. I don't want to say too much about the end, I fear I've said too much already, but rest assured it is a good one.
One thing I also really like about this story is its complete lack of romantic interests. In a world that seems to revolve entirely around love, it is very refreshing to watch a movie that can carry itself along without having to use a crutch of romantic tropes. The closest thing to a love story is when we see Sanada's character in a video call with his wife, watching the birth of his baby. I'm sure you'd agree that this doesn't even come close to making the movie a love story, so we can just ditch that label altogether.
At the expense of the romance genre, the movie was much more of a thriller than I anticipated. There was much more gore than I was expecting and little actual science: a horror film disguised as a sci-fi.
Overall I really enjoyed this movie. I left the theatre feeling a bit mentally exhausted. I don't watch a lot of movies at home, but I can foresee myself making an exception for this one! This movie does not pass the Bechdel Test.
Read more of my reviews at mindovermoment.wordpress.com.