The international Space Station crew is tasked with capturing a runaway space probe containing Martian soil samples. Estatic when they find a single-celled organism in the samples, the mood quickly changes when the organism displays disturbing behavior.
Ryan Reynolds (Rory), Jake Gyllenhaal (David), Rebecca Ferguson (Miranda), Hiroyuki Sanada (Sho), Olga Dykhovichnaya (Ekaterina), Ariyon Bakare (Hugh).
Life on Mars is something that has fascinated humans for centuries and when the International Space Station crew discovers life in Martian soil samples the excitement grows even more. Just as quickly the life form begins to exhibit disturbing behavior and intelligence beyond anything expected. The main plot in motion, the film begins to develop a bit more depth topped off by a couple of nice plot twists. Yes, this is something of a cookie-cutter alien movie, but updating and the twists keep things interesting to the end.
Acting was good with Reynolds doing surprisingly well in a role that felt out of character for him. Gyllenhaal was well cast and brought his usual strange darkness. Ferguson, Sanada, and the remainder of the cast were solid and enjoyable.
Camera work, sets, and backgrounds were well done with heavy CGI integration. Action scenes were nice and again, blended heavily with CGI which was nicely done throughout. Dialogue is fairly realistic, fitting, and drove the storyline well. Sound and soundtrack are mellow but good.
Overall Life is an enjoyable alien sci-fi. While it may not revolutionize the genre, the story is solid and moves along well. Technical work is nicely done and the film has a surprisingly realistic feel despite being a sci-fi. Fans of alien films should enjoy this, while those insisting on a completely original story in every aspect may be slightly disappointed.
With some violence, gore, foul language, and disturbing images, older teens and above should be fine with this one.
Released: 2017
Reviewed: 9.2.18
Star rating: 3 out of 5
Genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller, Horror, Alien Sci-Fi, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
copyright ©2018 Dave Riedel
Ryan Reynolds (Rory), Jake Gyllenhaal (David), Rebecca Ferguson (Miranda), Hiroyuki Sanada (Sho), Olga Dykhovichnaya (Ekaterina), Ariyon Bakare (Hugh).
Life on Mars is something that has fascinated humans for centuries and when the International Space Station crew discovers life in Martian soil samples the excitement grows even more. Just as quickly the life form begins to exhibit disturbing behavior and intelligence beyond anything expected. The main plot in motion, the film begins to develop a bit more depth topped off by a couple of nice plot twists. Yes, this is something of a cookie-cutter alien movie, but updating and the twists keep things interesting to the end.
Acting was good with Reynolds doing surprisingly well in a role that felt out of character for him. Gyllenhaal was well cast and brought his usual strange darkness. Ferguson, Sanada, and the remainder of the cast were solid and enjoyable.
Camera work, sets, and backgrounds were well done with heavy CGI integration. Action scenes were nice and again, blended heavily with CGI which was nicely done throughout. Dialogue is fairly realistic, fitting, and drove the storyline well. Sound and soundtrack are mellow but good.
Overall Life is an enjoyable alien sci-fi. While it may not revolutionize the genre, the story is solid and moves along well. Technical work is nicely done and the film has a surprisingly realistic feel despite being a sci-fi. Fans of alien films should enjoy this, while those insisting on a completely original story in every aspect may be slightly disappointed.
With some violence, gore, foul language, and disturbing images, older teens and above should be fine with this one.
Released: 2017
Reviewed: 9.2.18
Star rating: 3 out of 5
Genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller, Horror, Alien Sci-Fi, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
copyright ©2018 Dave Riedel
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