Goodnight Moon

Rating: 9/10 (23 March 2017)

If the Alien franchise never existed, 'Life' may be considered a groundbreaking movie in the sci-fi genre, but obviously that's not the case. The good thing is, 'Life' doesn't hide the fact that it's clearly inspired by the original Alien film. Because it's extremely well- acted, paced, shot, and structured, the similarities don't really matter. 'Life' is just a heck of a thrilling time at the movies.
I can appreciate original science fiction as much as the next guy, but when you have a film that is as entertaining from start to finish as 'Life', I don't need every scene to be something out of 2001: A Space Odyssey. 'Life' stars Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds, Jake Gyllenhaal, Hiroyuki Sanada, Olga Dihovichnaya, and Ariyon Bakare; written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (same guys who did Deadpool); and directed by Daniel Espinosa. There's nothing overtly new or refreshing with any aspect of 'Life', but at the same time, the film fires on all cylinders.
At a brisk run-time of 103 minutes, 'Life' never slows down. It reminded me a lot of 2013's Gravity in that way. The only time these films stopped to breathe was to add subtle but vital character depth to the story. Scene after scene is filled with terror, intrigue, and impressively shot action. It doesn't have the polished cinematography that the aforementioned Gravity or Interstellar does, but what films do? Life succeeds in nicely timed long takes, shocking deaths, and a terrifying creature named Calvin, but it doesn't always nail the emotionally gripping sequences.
However, what struck me most was the film's intelligence. All of the characters acted exactly how I would imagine these particular people would act in real life. Although some choices could be perceived as illogical, you have to put yourself in their shoes. Having an extremely dangerous life form trapped on your spacecraft isn't the most ideal situation, after all.
With stellar performances from the entire lead cast and it's single celled antagonist, 'Life' is one of the best films of the year thus far. Shocking, gruesome, and relentless, 'Life' manages to avoid falling into the forgettable sci-fi territory. It's better than I could have hoped this Alien knockoff would have been. If everything goes accordingly, we will have two great Alien films this year.
+Great cast
+The best Alien film since 1986
+Relentless tension
-Doesn't pack enough emotional punch
9.2/10