Along comes Daniel Espinosa’s “Life” so off I went to try my luck. While I doubt that anything will ever match my “Alien” experience, “Life” is a solid effort with a strong cast and more than a few terrifying moments.
The space experience is beautifully filmed and each character deftly portrays the members of this international crew. Jake Gyllenhaal is excellent as David who would be happy just staying in space for good to be away from the crazy life on Earth. Ryan Reynolds of “Deadpool” fame is terrific as the light hearted funny man aboard the space station. The balance of the cast is solid.
The plot revolves around the return of a ship from Mars containing samples for study aboard the space station, with the hope that some form of life may be found. Find it they do!
Once the seemingly inert life form is discovered the action slowly begins accelerating at a dizzying pace throughout the last half of the film. Time actually did fly for me since by then I felt like I was a member of the crew.
Suffice to say, I was not disappointed in the least with “Life”. It is a strong film with more than a few surprises in store. While I doubt that it will compete for any major awards, I recommend it to anyone who wants to be a kid again for at least a few hours.
