Dakrmatters Review: Life

Life (15)

Dir. Daniel Espinosa

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@Cleric20)

“Calvin's trying to find a way through the airlocks!”

The ISS

In space no-one can here you say ‘this is a bit of radical reboot of the Eddie Murphy / Martin Lawrence comedy of the same name…’ But that’s because this a new ‘Life’, a gloop-em-up sci-fi horror thriller detailing mankind’s first contact with an alien lifeform rather than a prison farce.

We get to join the crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS) as they managed to dock with a space probe returning from Mars. On board the capsule is ‘Calvin’ – a microbe which is the first proof of extra-terrestrial life – does the little alien come in peace? Hhhmmm – not so much…

Is this Venom?

The alien organism (superbly brought to life with cutting edge CGI) is like nothing humans have ever encountered before – having the capacity to be ‘muscle, brain and eye’ all at the same time. Oh, and it’s not a spoiler for anyone who has seen the trailer to let you know that it isn’t very friendly either.

This might sound a little like Ridley Scott’s Alien just not so far in the future – and it is - so you’ll know what to expect. The beastie grows and gets hostile – the crew panic and realise they are trapped aboard the ISS with a rapidly-growing threat, which they really don’t want to let get to earth.

It's a scream

Speaking of the crew, they are a likeable bunch made up of: Dr. David Jordan (Jake ‘Nocturnal Animals’ Gyllenhaal), Dr. Miranda North (Rebecca ‘Girl on the Train’ Ferguson), Hugh Derry (Ariyon Bakare), Sho Kendo (Hiroyuki ‘Sunshine’ Sanada), Katerina Golovkina (Olga Dihovichnaya) and Rory Adams (Ryan ‘Deadpool’ Reynolds).

Cue lots of running, screaming and dying with at least one really unforgettable death and a decent array of scares along for the ride. Director Daniel ‘Safe House’ Espinosa has crafted an exciting space survival flick that might not be very original but certainly delivers on the sci-fi thrills. Be warned though that my wife is still unsettled by the sheer intensity of the horrible bits!?

Deadpool in space...

If this is a parallel to the classic ‘Alien’, I’d be excited to see a follow up ‘Aliens’ equivalent where we try and take the fight to these lifeforms, although the potential Alien vs Life vs Predator might not be the way forward.

Fans of sci-fi should sign up immediately for this adventure, it’s a full-throttle nail biting thrill ride which delivers a frightfully fun night out.

Out of a potential 5, you have to go with a Darkmatters:

ööö1/2

(3.5 - Gripping space survival)

Awesomeness öööö – Strong tension and survive-em-up thrills

Laughs öö – A few funnies to begin with (Thanks Ryan)

Horror öööö – Gets grim and gloopy

Spiritual Enlightenment ööö - God's creatures aren't all nice...