Read Mixed User Reviews for Life (2017)

6

marcmyworksJun 21, 2017

Life is a film that could have been brilliant, unfortunately was light on plot and contained nothing original. This film was shot in a stunning manner, however due to the over-exposition, lack of character development and heavy reliance onLife is a film that could have been brilliant, unfortunately was light on plot and contained nothing original. This film was shot in a stunning manner, however due to the over-exposition, lack of character development and heavy reliance on CGI, it falls flat. I will give the actors credit for delivering what little script there was.… Expand

5 of 5 users found this helpful50

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5

JoeCoolApr 11, 2019

Pretty good thriller that's just a little bit too far fetched to be believable on the one hand, especially the ending, and on the other hand not scary enough to pull you all the way in. Almost good enough, nice idea, script should have hadPretty good thriller that's just a little bit too far fetched to be believable on the one hand, especially the ending, and on the other hand not scary enough to pull you all the way in. Almost good enough, nice idea, script should have had more thought go into it. Really hard to believe that under those protocols, highly trained people would be that dumb. "OMG there's somebody dying in there, let's get everybody else killed too..." Still, nice visuals and good acting but story a really too light to pass for good.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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6

cstrangJun 4, 2017

Think "Alien" with impossibly dumb astronauts instead of the resourceful Ripley. Dubious pseudo-science and braindead characters wreck an otherwise passable sci-fi creature-feature.

4 of 5 users found this helpful41

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6

dharmaJun 9, 2017

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A lot of film fans praise LIFE a lot, saying that it's a realistic interpretation of the great 'what if', encountering a hostile alien life form. For most of its part, it succeeds to do that, thanks to a truly stellar line up of casts that include Jake Gylenhall, Rebecca Ferguson and Ryan Reynolds. However, it jettisons such lofty ambitions to become another 'ALIEN' clone, and here, it's so called 'realism' made it a victim of itself. A good 'ALIEN' clone has to have one key ingredient: great, bombastic, creature design. Calvin, the so called ALIEN and monster of this flick, looks like an 'evil' Pokemon.....which is seemingly invincible and behave like an inter galactic Freddie Krueger. Sure it has the so called twist ending, which sort of again called for Calvin to become this 'super alien' that can literally learn how to control a spaceship. As such, this so called 'absurdities' clashed with the realistic tone it greatly established early on. The end result: a good time on video perhaps, but a clear missed opportunity.… Expand

3 of 4 users found this helpful31

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6

StuntzMcKenzyJun 8, 2017

The acting is good and it's visually entertaining, but the story was just too much for me. They portray the astronauts as very emotionally driven and uninformed people. And the creature just seems to perfect to not have dropped the phraseThe acting is good and it's visually entertaining, but the story was just too much for me. They portray the astronauts as very emotionally driven and uninformed people. And the creature just seems to perfect to not have dropped the phrase "biologically engineered killing machine," for me to take it serious as something that could exist.… Expand

3 of 4 users found this helpful31

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6

Rebecca31Mar 25, 2017

It wants to be Alien, it tries to be Alien but it’s not Alien. Rebecca Ferguson and crew are aboard the International Space Station, discover life on Mars and chaos ensues. Six crew members face a quickly evolving life form that threatensIt wants to be Alien, it tries to be Alien but it’s not Alien. Rebecca Ferguson and crew are aboard the International Space Station, discover life on Mars and chaos ensues. Six crew members face a quickly evolving life form that threatens their existence etc. etc. Thankfully it didn’t fall into the trap of too many underdeveloped characters that are simply there to be killed. Yeah I’m looking at you Prometheus, take note. There is no way to watch this without comparing it to Alien as every second scene can’t help but remind you of Alien. I didn’t expect much but I enjoyed it all the same. Yes it’s predictable and practically writes itself but it’s got enough in it to keep you interested but more importantly it’s got enough to entertain you. Recommended popcorn movie.… Expand

10 of 14 users found this helpful104

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4

MetacriticusJun 3, 2017

predictable, actors keep making stupid mistakes. Special effects are quite good though. Not enough character building before they get sacrificed so their death is not impactful.

5 of 7 users found this helpful52

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4

MattyiceMar 25, 2017

Despite generally solid performances, characters, and action, Life has no life in it. The movie's plot is generic and completely free of effort. It feels like a major blend of Ridley Scott's space-themed movies with no originality. It's aDespite generally solid performances, characters, and action, Life has no life in it. The movie's plot is generic and completely free of effort. It feels like a major blend of Ridley Scott's space-themed movies with no originality. It's a very safe and dull movie that can entertain for a bit but nothing more. Sony, still unable to catch a break in the past several years, is going to need to do better to prove it can keep its skin in the game when it comes to blockbusters.… Expand

7 of 11 users found this helpful74

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4

ZariaMar 25, 2017

Life was a disappointing movie. I found the plot to be predictable. The characters lacked intelligence, forethought and development. The special effects were pretty though.

7 of 12 users found this helpful75

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4

Val-835Apr 1, 2017

Terrible plot. Astronauts aboard ISS violate any imaginable protocol in dealing with an alien life form. These guys are supposed to be smart ( many of them are scientists ) but here they seem to be retarded. One of them is studying the lifeTerrible plot. Astronauts aboard ISS violate any imaginable protocol in dealing with an alien life form. These guys are supposed to be smart ( many of them are scientists ) but here they seem to be retarded. One of them is studying the life form with his rubber gloves !!!.
The rest of the movie follows the same pattern. Wow !
There is a chilling aspect to this. As lousy as it all seems, this could actually happen somewhere in the future.… Expand

5 of 9 users found this helpful54

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6

NikolayGJun 16, 2017

A standard horror film (more horror than sci-fi) elevated by the acting, and some cool effects. As people have noted, it's not unlike Alien. It's not unlike Prometheus, but it's actually better handled than Prometheus. It's funny that there'sA standard horror film (more horror than sci-fi) elevated by the acting, and some cool effects. As people have noted, it's not unlike Alien. It's not unlike Prometheus, but it's actually better handled than Prometheus. It's funny that there's so much more story in certain games, such as the new Mass Effect. Anyway, a handful of astronauts on the International Space Station (a real thing, so that aspect isn't science fiction) get a hold of a sample from Mars brought to them by some sort of unmanned capsule thingy we sent up. The cute minuscule life form they find in the sample proceeds to grow and begin killing the astronauts. I will say - while it was standard - it had a particularly good ending.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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6

KaptenVideoApr 9, 2017

A space crew discovers life on Mars! But it's never too late to copy the seminal sci-fi classic "Alien" (1979), so it decides to kill everybody on the International Space Station, and do it fast. I hope they will not let it reach Earth,A space crew discovers life on Mars! But it's never too late to copy the seminal sci-fi classic "Alien" (1979), so it decides to kill everybody on the International Space Station, and do it fast. I hope they will not let it reach Earth, because that would spell doom for all of us! Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds, Hiroyuki Sanada. They do a fine work with all the usual genre staples – pretending to be awed by new life form, then scared, brave, desperate etc. – but it's not really an actors' movie. You will only probably remember Reynolds because his character's fate is the most surprising.

If you like the kind of movies where humankind meets extraterrestrial life that turns out to be fast and efficient killer(s), then you will mostly enjoy "Life". If you find the original "Alien" blueprint shamelessly overused during the last 40-some years, then you will... also mostly enjoy this. It's fast and brutal enough to satisfy those hungry for some blood and guts, and slick-looking Good luck searching for this movie online, though. The word "life" is a popular part of many movie titles, including some which are also just called "Life". Like this Eddie Murphy's and Martin Lawrence's 1999's comedy which is way more original but way less entertaining than this new actioneer.
"Life" has been released two months earlier than initially planned, to avoid competition with "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales". A wise choice! Or maybe it would have turned out to be an excellent counterprogramming for those who would rather be killed by extraterrestrial than watch another Johnny Depp big summer movie?

Directed by Daniel Espinosa whom you probably don't remember by competent actioneer "Safe House" (2012) and mediocre thriller "Child 44" (2015).… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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6

SadiePApr 2, 2017

Crazy question - hubs & I saw Life & when talking about it on the way home, neither one of us could remember what happened to the one woman early in the movie .... grrrr, can anyone fill in our blanks?????

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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6

FlexedacornMar 29, 2017

"Art imitates life" and "Life imitates Alien". This is not a knock on the movie itself, but an observation of the many similarities between” Life” and Ridely Scotts original "Alien" movie. Though the main themes of isolation in space"Art imitates life" and "Life imitates Alien". This is not a knock on the movie itself, but an observation of the many similarities between” Life” and Ridely Scotts original "Alien" movie. Though the main themes of isolation in space against and unknown threat are similar, the movie does a good job of standing on its own. Where the Alien franchise is in the far future, "Life" takes a more contemporary approach with earth’s current technology. There is not a lot of character development as the movie gets into the action early into the film, but the acting was good enough to make the characters have a little depth.

It is a good addition to the genre, and while it doesn’t bring much new to the table it is a treat for fans of the sci fi horror genre. I would recommend this movie if you like movies like: Alien, Event Horizon, Sunshine, or the Thing.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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4

TrashhandJun 2, 2017

Incredible stupid movie. All the same errors over and over again... Totally predictable. Nothing new. Dialog super stupid. Alien not even a little bit scary.

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

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4

TheHonestJackApr 2, 2017

Despite a nice twist ending and the occasional impressive visuals, Life is a surprisingly boring sci-fi thriller with bland characters and a predictable plot.

2 of 7 users found this helpful25

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5

EpicLadySpongeMar 24, 2017

Don't give Life so many love. It doesn't need any love. This film doesn't have any life put to it either. All there is to it is just nothing interesting. Just your average science fiction film with no effort put to it. This film is indeedDon't give Life so many love. It doesn't need any love. This film doesn't have any life put to it either. All there is to it is just nothing interesting. Just your average science fiction film with no effort put to it. This film is indeed watchable, but it can't be loved unless your opinion differs.… Expand

3 of 11 users found this helpful38

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4

HTGamerApr 21, 2017

Life is a shameless rip-off of the original 1979 Alien movie.

As shown in the trailers, a crew of scientists bring on board of the ISS a returning pod from Mars containing a dormant martian life form (a micro-organism) which wakes up, growsLife is a shameless rip-off of the original 1979 Alien movie.

As shown in the trailers, a crew of scientists bring on board of the ISS a returning pod from Mars containing a dormant martian life form (a micro-organism) which wakes up, grows considerably, becomes hostile and takes them out one by one, while the crew have to stop it from reaching the Earth. So far so Alien. The only difference is the very end scene which is a nice twist. But then again there is no real sense of fear and horror in this movie as in Alien. Based on the trailers I expected a movie following in Alien's footsteps but still I expected more than just that.

If you haven't seen the Alien movie (which you should), then I 'd say you can watch the Life movie. But if you have already seen Alien, then save some money by not watching Life. You won't miss much.

My score would have been zero due to it being a rip-off of another movie, if not for the actors' performances and the overall production values.… Expand

1 of 5 users found this helpful14

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4

OpetyrMar 27, 2017

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I wished this film could have been better. The first two thirds were pretty good but they screwed up the ending so much. There were so many ways that have not been used in other films but they decided to pick the easiest ending which sucked. There were many issues with the plot and personally the CDC person was so bad she deserves what she got.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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5

bfoore90Dec 7, 2017

Life is definitely one of those films that could have and should have been brilliant. It was nicely shot with a ton of close quarter shots with a clear intention of wanting to be like Ridley Scott's Alien. Unfortunately, it has a very thinLife is definitely one of those films that could have and should have been brilliant. It was nicely shot with a ton of close quarter shots with a clear intention of wanting to be like Ridley Scott's Alien. Unfortunately, it has a very thin plot, complete one-note characters and an over reliance on some bad CGI. With that being said, the characters are portrayed really well, like I said, theres alot of close shots in what could have been another Alien. It has some nice jump scares as well… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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5

FireantusMar 26, 2017

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Just to start this. 5 ouf ot 10 is not /BAD/ movie. It's just perfectly mediocre. And it is so! First of all, it's a 'By the Book Horror Sci-Fi' to the bone. It plays like if the director, actors and everyone who worked on this movie had a handy manual and a checklist of things to do to make a horror SF film. And so, it executes the tropes and cliches quite competently in this boring, predictable manner that made me yawn all the time...

So we have a bunch of diverse and utterly lifeless, boring characters on a space station. We have no time to get to like them or know them, so we have to rely on tokens and tropes. Like Rory, for example, who is a Spunky American Guy who acts instead of thinking! Or the guy who is a Nerd and he is all Nerdy and he loves the Alien and tells people it's not bad, even if it brakes his entire hand. Or the girl. Remember about the girl!

So our band of poor-ass pseudo-scientists find alien life! And of course it turns out to be super hostile. I can understand that and even approve of it - after all they treated it with a bit of electroshocks to 'stir it up', and that would piss off anyone... But of course it turns out that the space sperm medusa slash starfish is also super strong, super intelligent and pretty much completely indestructible, because hey - THAT'S SO SCARY! It is also called Calvin, so that's super scary...

Shenanigans begins, people die, space spermozoid grow up to be a killer and we can only sigh in mild resignation to see the classics that make such horrors possible, like everyone ignoring safety precausions and protocols, like all tech and gizmos being made of flimsy, wet cardboard or braking down after someone make a louder fart. How in mother of all coinky-dinkies things brakes down exactly when you need them to in order to make things Oh So Spooky.

Simply put it's a boring space horror that takes no risks and delivers a soup of things we all know that is not bad, but it is surely bland.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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4

HomelesssJun 4, 2017

The bad acting, the bad script, the obvious outcomes, the predictability... Only good thing about this movie is Jake Gyllenhaal and his acting, the worse part is he has very few scenes in the movie...

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

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5

BerikNov 6, 2018

What can i say? The characters were dumb as **** The alien starts out boring, but then becomes interesting. The plot is something that kinda respects the impossibility of life on mars, but stretches it too far.

If these characters representWhat can i say? The characters were dumb as **** The alien starts out boring, but then becomes interesting. The plot is something that kinda respects the impossibility of life on mars, but stretches it too far.

If these characters represent the brightest minds on Earth, Humanity deserves to be annihilated like is bound to happen after the movie ends.

Underwhelming movie, it earns a 5/10.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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5

DirigiblePulpJul 8, 2017

This is a solid enough, verging on gripping and provocative, work before it loses steam about a third of the way through (yes that early). It's just a standard alien on a spaceship movie after that, with very little in the way ofThis is a solid enough, verging on gripping and provocative, work before it loses steam about a third of the way through (yes that early). It's just a standard alien on a spaceship movie after that, with very little in the way of inventiveness or scares or art.… Expand