Originality Vs. Execution

Rating: 7/10 (12 August 2017)

When I first heard of this movie the first thing that came to mind was a list of movies that had the same similar concept of Ridley Scott's original Alien. They are... CREATURE, FORBIDDEN WORLD, GALAXY OF TERROR, CONTAMINATION, INSEMIOID, LIFEFORCE, ROOTS SEARCH, STAR CHRYSTAL, DEEPSTAR SIX, PARASITE, SPECIES, LEVETHIN, 51, EVENT HORIZON, PANDORUM, PITCH BLACK, DARK UNIVERSE, OUTLANDER, EUROPA REPORT, and let's throw in SUPERNOVA and SUNSHINE for good measure. My point is all these moves have pretty much ripped off Alien in some way or another... A crew is on a mission in a remote area (space, underwater, a city or the frontier) and they come across a creature that kills them off one by one. SO what did LIFE bring to the table that was new? What did LIFE cover that none of these other films cover? What made major stars Ryan Renolds, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Rebecca Ferguson want to star in a movie whose concept was done many times before? Those questions were the reason I had to see this movie and the answer is...the execution.
The movie's originality is in its realism of the concept. What if a situation like this REALLY happened. How would astronauts on the ISS in space deal with it. With the odds against them like a confined space, no weapons and most importantly NO Gravity. And there my friends is the catch. If I were reading the script and I discovered that this creature can maneuver in zero G's like a fish in water then yes I would be hooked. And It doesn't hurt that you have good actors to carry you along. You feel their desperation and their struggle and pain. And with clever direction from Danial Espinosa, you get a good movie that is executed well. No it's not a new concept, and yes we have seen this story before but when you execute it well it becomes original.
"POSSIBLE SPOILER"
Oh, and the alien itself was original too. This monster is pretty not menacing and ugly but approachable. Like a small cute dog you want to pet but look out, it bites...hard. The creature was made for a zero g environment which puts the victims at a disadvantage. They can't run down corridors like in Alien they have to float and push...slowly. Chills yet?
All in all, this is a good movie and the ending does lead itself to possibly have a squeal but I hope it doesn't because it won't capture the magic this film did with the environment it created. At times this movie reminded me of Gravity but with an alien in it. This movie goes on my list as one of the best Alien knock-offs. LIFE is not original but it is executed well.