Meh, it wasn't bad but it wasn't great either

Rating: 6/10 (26 March 2017)

Okay so we've seen it right? So many times with the saturation of films from the sci-fi genre of late: Independence Day: Resurgence, Passengers, Star Trek Beyond, Star Wars: Rogue One and more - that was just 2016! What's more, there are more than 10 that are considered sci-fi coming out in 2017! We've also seen stories about murderous aliens so many times, when walking into this film I thought how is it possible to tell this same old story in a different way? How in the world does is this film going to set itself apart?
Well .it doesn't. Its good, there are moments of originality but not totally a new journey or refreshing. A la Gravity, the film includes vastly stunning shots of space that I enjoyed, but I will leave it to Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson to determine the accuracy of those scenes!
Lots of great scares, I was petrified for a lot of the first act (I have to admit it doesn't take much for me though), but I feel like it really dropped off as it progressed, at least until the ending. There was a palpable effort to kick up the drama in this film but I think it had an adverse effect. It seemed to slow the movie down at some moments and while I understand the intention of incorporating those scenes, some of them seemed to make the film drag a bit which was annoying. That said, there as a major twist that I enjoyed but, it's not that much of a surprise if your paying attention.
The film begins with the crew on the International Space Station with an organism widely believed to be the first evidence of life beyond Earth. This little Martian critter appears to be docile at first but after a series of growth jolting procedures, begins to grow at an alarming rate. There is something to be said for the downside of eagerness and in the famous words of Jeff Goldblum's character Dr. Ian Malcom in Jurassic Park, "scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn't stop to think if they should." This quote rings true in this film. I think it speaks to the lightning speed at which things move forward, and it makes you wonder if we are overlooking potential danger as we progress. Moving too fast has its dangers and this hubris is the source of all the conflict in this film.
Overall Life is definitely worth a trip to the movies, I mean all the best part of the film are exactly why we go to see films like these in the first place: suspense, scares, and excitement. The cast overall was pretty awesome, Rebecca Ferguson as always is pretty exceptional (loved her since The White Queen on Showtime); I can't wait to see her in The Snowman alongside Michael Fassbender as Harry Hole at the end of this year. Ryan Reynolds was great with his typical comic relief shtick and smart ass quips. I did feel he was slightly underused, but I think it was smart for him to take a role like this - it was small but memorable. Jake Gyllenhaal is also great most of the time, but I felt slightly underwhelmed by him. He's always so good at playing the tortured soul and I felt like it was the same kind of performance I've seen him do many times over. I wasn't feeling it this time, to be honest I felt more depth from Hiroyuki Sanada as crew member Sho, following a poignant moment in his characters life. Speaking of Hiroyuki Sanada, it was a nice surprise seeing him playing a supporting role in this film, he played one of my favorite characters in The Last Samurai, Ujio. Espinosa did pretty good job and I did enjoy it even though it felt like something I had seen 100x before. This film echoed so much of the Alien films, but I guess when you think about it most sci-fi films with murderous aliens do.
Overall, definitely check it out but its not life-changing, honestly their press interviews for this film are slightly more entertaining. Rating: C+