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04/06/2017 12:01 AMRated R
Life can be tough on the International Space Station, especially if the specimen retrieved from a Mars capsule turns into a fast-growing octopus-like creature who is hungry for humans. Unfortunately, not even a strong, international ensemble cast can save a recycled horror-in-space story familiar to everyone—and the aliens in the Alien series were much scarier.
In Life, first, there’s wonder at the miraculous, graceful life form who clings like a baby to the good doctor’s finger. The doctor, Hugh Derry, played by British actor Ariyon Bakare (Rogue One, The Dark Knight), is wheelchair bound on earth, but in the weightless atmosphere, he feels “like a bird.” Not for long. The creature, quickly named Calvin, grabs onto to his arm and won’t let go. Cue the running and screaming, or rather floating and shouting.
The trouble escalates, naturally, and the crescendo of music trails along non-stop as Calvin grows larger and smarter than anyone expected. The characters scramble to contain the creature. Ryan Reynolds plays Rory Adams, and hints at humor to offset the dire circumstances, but that dies fast. Too bad he isn’t allowed more of his Deadpool wit to save this script, written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, the duo that penned Deadpool and Zombieland. Even Green Lantern’s naiveté might have helped. Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler, Nocturnal Animals) as Dr. David Jordan, who has been in space for far too long, is all serious business. So is Sho Murakami—played by the award-winning Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada (TV’s The Last Ship, The Wolverine)—whose wife is having a baby back on earth. All he wants is to return to his family, and Sanada embraces his anguish with heart.
Swedish director Daniel Espinosa (Safe House, Child 44) keeps the suspense and the creature rapidly slithering, with only a few dropped moments when Rebecca Ferguson’s (The Girl on the Train, Florence Foster Jenkins) character, Miranda North, and David recite the children’s classic Goodnight Moon in an odd emotional exchange that doesn’t quite settle well. Indie film actress Olga Dihovichnaya (Portret v sumerkakh, House of Others, plays Ekaterina Golovkina, another brave, self-sacrificing explorer.
All the characters have about the same degree of bravery and chutzpah, and because they reach the status of heroes, there’s no fascinating or layered character who remains memorable. No corrupt motives here. The actors do their jobs nicely, the special effects are sweeping—or alternately close-up-and-personal—so that the shock value resonates, but Life, like its title, seems generalized and bland. Espinosa stitches up the visuals with reflections of characters peering through windows and Calvin grabbing a face or two in typically gruesome fashion, but most science fiction veterans are used to these camera techniques.
An ominous twist at the end doesn’t save Life, which is a shame. The creature could be much more fascinating if the scientists could figure out a way to communicate with it. Calvin is intelligent enough to destroy the communications systems, but only seems interested in feeding on other life forms. How dull. How about some more insight into its motivations, other than its drive to survive (and grow huge like 1958’s The Blob)? If this guy is threatening to take over earth, one would hope a big appetite would not sustain anyone’s interest after being over-exposed to so many similar movies.
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