Life (2017) Dir: Daniel Espinosa
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Daniel Espinosa's 2017 science fiction horror was one I wanted to watch, in truth, because of a funny interview clip. I was more than aware of the rather mediocre reviews, but I figured I'd give it a watch regardless.
I had read a number of reviews saying that the film was essentially a modern remake of Ridley Scott's 'Alien', and having watched both, I would tend to agree. It's by no means a carbon copy, but it is very similar in its premise.
The story is actually quite decent, in fairness. Although, it was one of those narratives where the characters seem to make avoidable mistake after avoidable mistake, and while I'm not saying people in real life would do any better necessarily, I still found it hard to believe some of the decisions made.
The ending was good, but, if I'm being honest, it was also very predictable. That said, I don't mind a predictable ending, if it's executed effectively. In the case of this film, I think Espinosa achieved that. On the whole, the story was very intense, and built heavily on the foundations of both the science fiction and horror genres.
Jake Ghyllenhaal is a very reliable actor. He almost never gives a bad performance, and the same applies here. It's by no means his best, but he once again proves why he is such a dependable face. I think he was able to outperform the screenplay, to deliver a good accout of himself.
I think Rebecca Ferguson had some very good moments in the second half of the film, but I wasn't so keen on what she displayed in the first half. However, I will concede that she wasn't helped by some mediocre writing at times. She definitely won me over by the time the film ended though.
Hiroyuki Sanada stole the film with his performance, if I'm being honest. He outclassed a high calibre cast and delivered a really good performance in a role that deserved even more screentime.
Ryan Reynolds plays the same character he always plays, which is admittedly rather disappointing, although, I can't say it's surprising. Sure, his jokes are kind of funny, but it also feels stale. I want to see range from Reynolds once in a while.
Olga Dihovichnaya and Ariyon Bakare didn't have a whole lot to do, but what they did do, they both did relatively well. Bakare in particular had a pretty interesting role, which he carried out with consistency.
Overall, this was actually a lot better than I anticipated. Sure, it was trope-ridden and semi-predictable, but it was also pretty exciting, especially in the final few minutes. All-in-all, this is a solid sci-fi horror, even if it definitely has some issues.
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