'Life' is a disappointing copy of 'Alien'

As far as science fiction films go, those that play on the ‘trapped in space’ trope have much to offer, but also much to overcome. Jump-started by Ridley Scott’s 1979 classic “Alien,”this category of sci-fi films typically features characters who are forced to battle disaster, aliens or both, while attempting to escape from some sort of spaceship.

The main problem with this genre is the lack of meaningful innovation. Most trapped-in-space films rely on good acting, special effects or plot lines in order to compensate for following a somewhat unoriginal storyline. While 2017’s “Life” does a decent job of immersing the viewer in a cinematic experience, it ultimately falls flat, relying too much on a cliché story, effects and characters to truly be a hit.

The story itself is very safe and feels familiar. The movie is about a crew on the International Space Station (ISS) who are waiting to intercept a capsule returning from Mars with soil samples. When they discover a single-celled organism amongst the samples, it seems as though humanity has reached a new era of discovery and understanding. However, as the organism begins to grow, the crew slowly realizes it might not be as benevolent as it seems, and after an accident allows it to escape, horror sets in as the crew frantically searches for the missing Martian.

The acting is perhaps the film’s strongest point. The cast is robust, featuring Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan Reynolds in addition to international actors Rebecca Ferguson, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ariyon Bakare and Olga Dihovichnaya. While these six actors compromise virtually the entire cast of the movie, they each bring a unique personality to the table, and their varied interactions aboard the ISS feel real and authentic. Everything from their jokes to their fears are rewarding to watch unfold on-screen.

But aside from the stellar performances, “Life” visibly falters. The first major issue is that the movie is not original in any way. In fact, one would not be remiss for labelling it "Alien 2.0." The plot itself feels like a lazily-done, modern-day “Alien,” and everything from character deaths to the main monster are too similar to the classic. In short, this movie has been done before, and what it attempts to offer is not enough to distinguish it from other space films. The plot twist at the end is a case in point, a moment that is supposed to be shocking and novel but actually feels predictable and cheesy.

Additionally, while the special effects are good, these, too, have been done before. Anyone who has seen 2013’s “Gravity” is already familiar with destruction and explosions in space, and “Life” is simply more of the same. The only uniqueness lies in the film’s gorier effects, and while interesting, they are few and far between and nowhere near good enough to salvage the rest of the film. The biggest disappointment in the realm of special effects is the alien itself. In the beginning of the movie, it looks unlike most other aliens, making it genuinely interesting and very disturbing. However, by the end of the film, it too looks too much like an “Alien” xenomorph for its own good, and the once-interesting alien becomes boring and dull, another carbon copy of something that’s already been done.

The one other saving grace of the film is that, at times, it is genuinely scary. Audience members should expect to jump out of their seats multiple times. Even with the solid performances from its cast, “Life” fails to define itself as a truly distinct movie, relying too heavily on established sci-fi stereotypes and becoming little more than a grade-B horror movie. The potential is there, but the movie cannot seem to find it, resulting in a disappointing end product no one should rush to see.