Review of Life

A quick glance at the theatrical trailer for "Life" could of told you that it wasn't breaking any new ground but that doesn't mean it is a disposable product. Quite the opposite, in fact, While it clearly takes much influence from superior forebears, the movie does so with respect and with an approach more akin to science fiction than to the dread inducing horror that permeated those films.

Like the creature in the film, "Life" takes the strengths of other films to make something functional. This might sound cold and processed but it actually comes off as something that this viewer ended up warming up to quite a bit. Take a healthy serving of "Alien" (crew we get to know and enjoy the company of brings alien entity back into ship and soon fails to keep quarantine protocol), Carpenter's "The Thing" (creature adapts quickly by mimicking aspects of its prey and gets loose in the facility and, SPOILER, basically is a harbinger of the world's end), and even Gravity (astronauts coping in a variety of ways with real life issues back home and in space cope with a disaster) and you can begin to see what "Life" is all about.

Normally this would prove a deterrent to enjoyment but the film is very competently but together. The characters are empathetic, the science fiction framework is engaging, and playing with your expectations works out quite well without ever losing any tension or suspense. I stress this final part the most because, as you might be aware, the ending of this film was leaked early on and spoiled for many people. I went into this not only seeing how much of a pastiche of other works it was but knowing where it would all end up and it still was an engaging and enjoyable experience.

They say imitation is the highest form of flattery but that can only get you so far. "Life" manages to be a patchwork of many things, sure, but it handles itself deftly and does approach the material from a different enough perspective that it feels both like you're visiting old friends but also discovering something new about them. It also has that effect that makes you remember it fondly and want to revisit it again, if only because sometimes you're not up to putting yourself through the nihilistic terror of the films it borrows so heavily from.