It seems like aliens are the flavor of the week when it comes to what’s popular on HBO. It’s not that surprising considering the popularity of the Alien spin-off show, Alien: Earth, and the generally warm reception to Alien: Romulus. And with the new Predator movie, Predator: Badlands, on the horizon, we can probably expect the trend to continue, especially as older movies centered around extraterrestrials are hitting the top 10 streaming lists (why people are rewatching Dreamcatcher, though, is beyond us).
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One movie that’s riding the alien high is Life, which premiered in 2017, starring Ryan Reynolds, Jessica Ferguson, and Jake Gyllenhaal. With a plot suspiciously similar to the original Alien, Life follows a group of astronauts living aboard the International Space Station. They seem to be on the verge of one of the most important discoveries in history: actual evidence of life on Mars—a life-form that proves to be more intelligent (and terrifying) than they initially thought.
Life Isn’t Anything New, But It Is Fun
With a Rotten Tomatoes score of 67%, reviews of the film are generally mixed, with some finding the ending contrived, predictable, or boring, and others saying that it’s a fun space thriller, not meant to be taken too seriously. Brian Eggert of Deep Focus Review said, “Aside from a few nerve-racking moments and, generally, professional production values, the film’s derivative quality and deficient innovations create a run-of-the-mill outcome.” Others do not share the same opinion, though, with one viewer on Reddit saying, “Great film with a great ending. Don’t care what you guys say,” and another adding on, “Same, f*cking same. Say it louder! I hate having to dumb down my opinions sometimes for others. No more! If I loved it, I LOVED it. AMEN.”
While it’s not doing anything particularly new or groundbreaking, hitting genre-typical tropes and occasionally falling into predictability traps, Life is full of beautiful visuals and a talented cast. There are certainly worse ways to spend a few hours on a Saturday night than watching an alien movie that seems to lean into the B-rank origins of many that came before it. Life might be particularly original, but it is very rewatchable if that’s your thing.
Have you seen Life? Let us know what you thought about it in the comments! And then check out the ComicBook forum to see what other fans thought about it.
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Image Courtesy of HBO
