A freshening non-Ridley sci-fi horror

Rating: 8/10 (3 April 2017)

First, I have to admit what you've probably heard. Life completely lacks originality, but not just in it's plot but also in it's characters (including the "Martian") and visual style. Then why would I gave it an 8 by 10 and say that this feature is freshening?
Well, believe it or not, the film's non-originality is not bothering at all (at least not me). The story is approximately the same as Alien's and Prometheus' till the half of the flick, but the filmmakers at least don't decline the similarity and influences of the plot. As for the camera-work, it's quite blatant that the creators tribute the cinematography to Stanley Kubrick, especially the opening 3 minutes long sequence which immediately reminded me to 2001: A Space Odyssey. The problem comes with the characters, because they not just lacks originality but also far from the so-called three-dimensional characters.
So let's start with the characters. Probably the only properly- developed character in this flick is Ariyon Bakere's Hugh Derry. He surprisingly stay alive after Kelvin nearly teared-off his leg and this survival gives a pretty emotional line to the story, which raises questions about survival, humanity and life itself. Fortunately, the screenwriters didn't want scramble up in these questions, so Life only raise them and don't want to answer them.
As for the technical aspects, we can state is pretty good. The direction is fascinating (especially in the closing scene but that's for later). I believe that Daniel Espinosa is a pretty director in the under-appreciated 'section' (of course not in the same level as for example Denis Villeneuve) and if he keeps getting better than he can easily become a classic filmmaker in the future. The visual effects are acceptable considering the limited budget of the picture. The cinematography and the editing are average possibly except the opening sequence.
And I cannot finish my review without highlighting the ending. Oh man I saw plenty classic and average movies with outstanding endings, but Life really among the top of them. I don't want spoil it at all, but I strongly believe that this movie's ending will become a classic in a few decades from now, just like 12 Monkey's did.
Life is definitely not a classic, but I think it's a bit under- appreciated and the ending definitely worth your time. Go and see it!