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A team of scientists aboard the International Space Station discover a rapidly evolving life form that caused extinction on Mars and now threatens all life on Earth. A team of scientists aboard the International Space Station discover a rapidly evolving life form that caused extinction on Mars and now threatens all life on Earth. A team of scientists aboard the International Space Station discover a rapidly evolving life form that caused extinction on Mars and now threatens all life on Earth.

• Daniel Espinosa
• Rhett Reese
• Paul Wernick
• Jake Gyllenhaal
• Rebecca Ferguson
• Ryan Reynolds
• 1.3K User reviews
• 394 Critic reviews
• 54 Metascore
• 7 nominations

Top cast 17

• David Jordan

• Miranda North

• Sho Murakami
• Ekaterina Golovkina
• (as Olga Dihovichnaya)

• (as Leila Grace Bostwick-Riddell)

• David Muir - 20 …

• Elizabeth Vargas - 20 …

• Fisherman 1
• Fisherman 2
• (as Woong-Sin Hiu)
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

• Trivia It was intended to have Ryan Reynolds play the main character. However, scheduling conflicts with The Hitman's Bodyguard (2017) forced him to take a supporting role instead.
• Goofs In the opening scene, the view of outer space from the International Space Station shows twinkling stars. Stars do not actually twinkle in the way we see them, but the twinkling is an optical illusion of the light from stars being refracted by the earth's atmosphere.

David Jordan : Goodnight, nobody.

• Crazy credits The music for the end titles begins with the song Spirit in the Sky. This was used during the live broadcast from the ill-fated Apollo XIII moon mission. A recreation of this broadcast, along with this song, was included in the film of the same name. The irony is intentional, as the song is about dying.
• Connections Featured in Film '72: Episode #46.7 (2017)
• Soundtracks Let's Get It On Written by Marvin Gaye and Ed Townsend

User reviews 1.3K

• joao-vendetta
• Apr 11, 2022
• Why do they keep the poor little rat tied up?The answers given make sense except that animal testing in space has not been occurring since the 1940s! That might have been a typo error. The 1950s is likely what was meant because the first man-made object ever sent into space was the Russian satellite, Sputnik, back in 1958.
• March 24, 2017 (United States)
• United States
• Official Site
• Official Site (France)
• Life. Vida inteligente
• Ha Long Bay, Quang Bình Province, Vietnam (pod lands in the ocean)
• Columbia Pictures
• Skydance Media
• LStar Capital
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $58,000,000 (estimated)
• $30,234,022
• $12,501,936
• Mar 26, 2017
• $100,541,806

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 44 minutes
• Dolby Surround 7.1
• Dolby Digital
• Dolby Atmos
• IMAX 6-Track

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• What Is Cinema?

Life Is a Familiar Alien Horror Story That Pays Off

Life is grueling. Life is hard. Life is surprisingly beautiful in moments, and not just because Jake Gyllenhaal is in it. Life is bleak, Life is sad. Life is full of body-horror that is really tough to bear. Life , like life, is a lot of painful things. But it’s still a good trip.

Apologies for leaning too heavily on the grand vagueness of Life ’s title. It’s just so overwrought and encompassing. But otherwise, Daniel Espinosa’s film—an Alien homage, written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, that justifies its redundancy—is unexpectedly sharp and arresting, a murmur of pathos and intellect rippling underneath all its grinding space-horror. The film’s got something on its mind, not just something wriggling around inside its body.

In a time that seems not too distant from ours—the Challenger explosion is referenced, for example—an international team of astronauts eagerly awaits the return of a soil sample from Mars, delivered by an unmanned probe that will soon arrive at their space station with its bounty. The scientists on board hope that they can extract some organic matter from the sample and, perhaps, synthesize or restore a living organism, in order to prove that we are not alone in this terrible and tumbling universe.

Reader, will it shock you to find out that they do? And that said entity turns out to be quite a bit more sinister than initially thought? Probably not. This is familiar narrative DNA. But, rather refreshingly, the film finds new angles of approach, or at least ones that aren’t too well worn, reshaping huge chunks of Alien and sizable portions of Gravity to form something bracing and scary and interesting, a B-movie with brains. Especially in its ominous and oddly lovely opening minutes, Espinosa and the brilliant cinematographer Seamus McGarvey give the film a stately, haunting mien, Jon Ekstrand’s lush and bombastic score setting the stage for something big. If the subsequent film doesn’t quite live up to that beginning, Reese and Wernick’s script still stays tight and convincing throughout, even when—maybe especially when, actually—it pauses for reflective, emotional beats.

The cast deftly sells it. Gyllenhaal does yet another appealing, recessive turn as a sad-sack doctor who’s been up in space longer than anybody else. (Please go see him as sad-sack painter in Sunday in the Park with George on Broadway if you can—he’s terrific.) He’s well matched by a steely Rebecca Ferguson as a C.D.C. emissary tasked with keeping whatever foreign entity the scientists are able to revive in strict quarantine. (She, uh, fails.) The rest of the crew is played by the great Hiroyuki Sanada, British standout Ariyon Bakare (he plays the curious biologist who’s kinda to blame for the whole thing), Olga Dihovichnaya (who looks so much like Gina McKee it’s a little unnerving), and Ryan Reynolds as a cocky mechanic, because what else would Ryan Reynolds play in this movie. They form a credible team, possessed of an easy camaraderie and actually seeming like smart, capable professionals—despite the deadly screw-ups, that is.

The last member of the cast is my least favorite. He plays Calvin, the shape-shifting alien creature that comes alive and starts killing everybody. (If that’s a spoiler, welcome to Earth!) Deftly animated and given voice by some hideously, squishingly believable foley work, this skittering thing is deeply unpleasant to behold if you’re any sort of bug-phobe. (It doesn’t really look like a bug, but its movements keenly evoke one—until it sorta morphs into an octopus, anyway.) And its method of murder is particularly gruesome, though it begins to lose its potency the more the film bends the rules of the alien’s physics. Ah well. For the most part, it’s a grimly effective performance, hard to watch as it may be.

A lot of Life is difficult going if you’re averse to bugs, body stuff, claustrophobia, the punishing inhospitality of space, etc. But Espinosa’s artful touch tempers that discomfort. Life is tense and unnerving and a total bummer. But it’s still worth it. And no, I don’t know if I’m talking about Life or life anymore either.

Richard Lawson

Chief critic.

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As Sci-Fi, Life Is Just So-So. But As Horror, It Works.

It’s a bit early still, but I’d like to make a prediction: In the tradition of New York and Los Angeles getting engulfed by flame and flood and nuclear winter, the International Space Station is the next outpost of human civilization we’ll see habitually demolished onscreen, over and over again. It got a clobbering from debris in 2014 in Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity , and it similarly takes a beating in the opening moments of Life. Is the ISS, a multinational research vessel that inspires schoolchildren and promotes cooperation among the scientific community, begging for a cinematic hubris check? If it is, you can bet there will be more to worry about than a little space trash.

Life follows a group of six astronauts aboard the ISS, tasked with examining a rock sample from Mars. Biologist Hugh Derry (Ariyon Bakare) has discovered a dormant single-cell organism in the sample. He manages to wake it up with a little heat and glucose (who among us can resist this combo?) and the world rejoices at the first discovery of extraterrestrial life. We see this primarily via an overhead shot of a packed Times Square — even in the near future, everyone will still descend on midtown to watch television. A group of children are given the opportunity to name the creature, and they name it after their elementary school: “Calvin.” Then Calvin starts growing, first into something resembling a couture pasty designed by H.R. Giger, then into a little floppy, translucent starfish. An analysis of his cellular structure reveals that he is “all muscle, all brain, and all eye.” He’s no bigger than a tennis ball when he crumples Hugh’s hand like a soda can and escapes his box in the lab. From there, he keeps finding food, and growing, and picking off the crew one by one.

Those inclined toward this kind of material will likely hold Life up unfavorably against the first Alien movie, which had a similar structure but better characters and more tactile horrors. But while Alien remains untouchable, and the xenomorphs themselves something out of a nightmare, Calvin — especially in his early, ephemeral, blob stage — is much more like something out of my nightmare. The CGI work is both obviously synthetic and vibrantly gross. In the zero-gravity environment, Calvin’s handiwork resembles the victims suspended in the black void from Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin. I already used the word “crumple,” but yes, they’re crumpled.

There’s also the proximity to Earth — as the situation gets more dire, help is so close, yet so far. Even this close to home, no one can hear you scream. It would have been nice to have more character time with Jake Gyllenhaal’s David Jordan, who is nearing the record for consecutive days in space and looks like it. When his colleague Miranda North (Rebecca Ferguson) urges him to return to Earth for a bit, he mumbles, with puppy-dog melancholy, “I like it up here.” Space madness is clearly closing in on him even before the E.T. hijinks commence. Gyllenhaal is in haunted Nightcrawler mode throughout, but is never quite given room in the script to explore the implications of that, other than to set up the dramatic irony of the film’s wicked, if predictable finale.

Life comes to us from a veritable Ryan Reynolds support group: Safe House director Daniel Espinosa and Deadpool writing duo Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, which makes a certain plot point involving Reynolds’s character pretty amusing. But otherwise, there’s little naughty snark here. There’s also not much insight or art to the direction; it’s Alien for short attention spans, Arrival for non-pacifists, with some remnant of ambition toward something headier. On that count, it falls short, but as a final-girl structured horror film, it has plenty of imaginative moments.

Whats most effective, and telling, is how levelheadedly our egghead protagonists handle the alien threat. “Calvin doesn’t hate us,” Hugh says. “He has to kill us in order to survive.” Later, the crew changes its tune: Before the final showdown, one survivor remarks, “I know it’s not scientific, but I feel pure fucking hatred for that thing.” Well, all right. None of this was ever going to be scientific, but it was nice of Life to pretend for a bit.

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Film Review: ‘Life’

Slipping into theaters two months before 'Alien: Covenant,' this slick, suspenseful sci-fi thriller features smart characters making dumb decisions in space.

By Peter Debruge

Peter Debruge

Chief Film Critic

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Why is it that practically every time sci-fi characters discover evidence of extraterrestrial life, they are just as swiftly confronted with creative new ways to die? As “we are not alone” scenarios go, “Life” is no exception, although it’s unusually intelligent for so much of its running time — picture white-knuckle “Alien” hijinks grounded by “Gravity”-strong human drama — that the lame-brained last act comes as a real disappointment (unless you’re determined to read this Sony-released Mars-attacks thriller as an origin story for Spider-Man’s Venom nemesis, which it is not).

Still, overlook its inevitable wah-wah ending (cue sad trombone sound effect), and “Life” is far better than the trailers made this me-too outer-space opus look. Assuming that “Passengers” hasn’t quashed audiences’ appetite for space-station movies, and that sci-fi enthusiasts wouldn’t rather simply wait for Ridley Scott’s fast-approaching “Alien: Covenant,” then director Daniel Espinosa ’s mostly-smart, plenty-stylish entry could eke out a nice box-office life.

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Working in its favor is an international cast — even more inclusive than “The Martian’s” multi-culti support crew — with the added bonus that everyone, not just white-boy A-listers Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan Reynolds , has an important role to play. The six-person ensemble make up the Mars Pilgrim 7 Mission, sardined aboard a claustrophobic space station whose Nigel Phelps-designed floorplan proves positively mind-boggling — this despite a stunning establishing tour, during which, via an “unbroken” (but vfx-assisted) nearly-seven-minute single take, the camera makes the rounds of what will soon be a $200 billion coffin. Clearly determined to rival Emmanuel Lubezki’s Oscar-winning work on “Gravity,” DP Seamus McGarvey hovers just over the shoulders of the crew during this opening scene, as they diligently collaborate to recover a Martian-specimen-collecting capsule carrying God knows what.

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At first, the alien being — which is soon christened “Calvin” — appears to be an innocuous, inert single-celled life form, visible only beneath a high-powered microscope. But when lead scientist Hugh Derry (British actor Arlyon Bakare, buff-upper-bodied but CG-withered from the waist down as a disabled doc who doesn’t need his wheelchair in zero gravity) feeds the organism glycerin, it swiftly multiplies, exhibiting characteristics that are a credit to screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick’s creativity: every cell has muscular, neural, and photoreceptive properties, suggesting the potential for an incredibly strong, fast-adapting entity.

To celebrate the discovery, horns blare on Jon Ekstrand’s constantly shape-shifting score (one moment, he’s waxing optimistic with low-key strings, the next, he’s amplifying the tension via “Inception”-style foghorns). Hugh can hardly contain his enthusiasm, though there are other crew members on board to take precautions, most notably Miranda North (Rebecca Ferguson, the most disciplined character in the motley ensemble), representing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — because nobody knows what Calvin is capable of, even after he’s attacked Hugh and face-hugged one of the other crew members.

It’s Miranda’s job to design firewalls the alien can’t breach, while it appears to be everyone else’s (unofficial) task to create opportunities for Calvin to get out. This is where a movie that has taken great pains in its stunning first act (a bit pokey for genre fans, but impressive in its willingness to give characters like Gyllenhaal’s Syria-surviving space medic a backstory before snuffing them one by one) makes a gradual turn for the worse. You see, the aptly named “Life” isn’t just about making a landmark discovery that could provide clues to life’s “nature, its origin, and maybe even its meaning”; it’s also about the biological imperative for survival, and the way in which even the cleverest humans will ignore their training in order to prevent their own deaths, and those of the people they care about.

But “Life” isn’t an especially philosophical movie, and it’s weakest when the screenplay pretends to be making protocol-questioning decisions in the heat of the moment. As Miranda could attest, if Calvin turns hostile — and it doesn’t take long for that to happen — the entire crew should be prepared to sacrifice their lives in order to prevent the “symbiote” (to borrow the term used to describe Venom, even though Calvin never lingers long on a human host) from finding its way back to earth. Instead, the characters — and Gyllenhaal’s David Jordan in particular — are so empathetic, they’re constantly opening hatches that should remain locked shut in order to save goner crewmates, or themselves.

On the plus side, such ill-advised and undisciplined behavior serves to boost the suspense considerably, and even though we can never quite get a handle on what Calvin can do — the invertebrate creature can insta-digest an entire rat, withstand prolonged exposure to fire, go long stretches without oxygen, survive in sub-zero space, and propel itself through narrow apertures — one thing is clear: it ain’t friendly. (It also isn’t true to the screenwriters’ concept for long, eventually taking on a multi-tentacled, menacing-squid form that looks like something out of Patrick Tatopoulos’ playbook.)

Fans of “Deadpool” duo Reese and Wernick may be disappointed to find precious few genre-savvy wisecracks in the finished film (though a nerdy “Re-Animator” reference survives). Frankly, “Life” could have used a few more cathartic laughs, although it’s a relief that the entire movie isn’t as self-aware or sarcastic as the writers’ reputation-making “Zombieland.” While that high-attitude approach may have been the right fit for an undead spoof, “Life” benefits from a certain seriousness of tone — one that Swedish-born director Espinosa (“Easy Money”) sustains even when the characters’ choices start to get silly.

We can understand why senior crewmember Sho Murakami (Japanese actor Hiroyuki Sanada, resuscitated from Danny Boyle’s semi-similar “Sunshine”) might risk his life to be reunited with his newborn son on earth, but Espinosa’s heretofore elegant direction suddenly gets sloppy during the climactic moment, when this Toshiro Mifune-like tough guy might have had an “Aliens”-iconic faceoff with Calvin. Weirdly, the only person who behaves in a responsible way is Russian cosmonaut Ekaterina Golovkina (ethereal “Twilight Portrait” star Olga Dihovichnaya, whom more Hollywood directors should cast pronto), but the movie is better served by bad decisions. “Life’s” a thrill when it’s smart, but it’s even more exciting when the characters are dumb — which is ultimately a paradox the film wears proudly, to the possible extinction of the human race.

Reviewed at SXSW Film Festival (closer), March 18, 2017. MPAA Rating: RRunning time: 103 MIN.

• Production: A Sony Pictures release of a Columbia Pictures, Skydance presentation of a Skydance production. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ariyon Bakare, Olga Dihovichnaya. Producers: David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Bonnie Curtis, and Julie Lynn. Executive producers: Don Granger, Vicki Dee Rock.
• Crew: Director: Daniel Espinosa. Screenplay: Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick. Camera (color, widescreen): Seamus McGarvey. Editor: Frances Parker, Mary Jo Markey. Music: Jon Ekstrand.
• With: Jake Gyllenhaal, Ryan Reynolds, Rebecca Ferguson, Olga Dihovichnaya, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ariyon Bakare.

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Life review: this space-horror movie is a creepy but familiar cover of Alien

With a dash of gravity thrown in for dizzying effect.

By Tasha Robinson

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One of the great gifts Ridley Scott’s 1979 horror classic Alien brought to the world was a space monster that felt like it had a little science behind it. It’s standard for the creatures in creature-features to get scarier as the movie goes along, but Alien writers Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett came up with a particularly plausible reason for their xenomorph antagonist to keep evolving into more threatening forms: its species has a life cycle, with stages inspired by insects. The new space-thriller Life borrows a lot of its broad ideas and narrow story beats from Alien , to the point where it feels like a cover version of Scott’s film, and one of the elements it most prominently borrows is the idea of an alien that grows physically larger and more deadly as the action builds. But Life lacks that satisfying next step, where it adds the background that makes the unlikely seem reasonable. Life is a sleek, effective thriller, sometimes scary and often visually impressive. But too often, its reasons for doing absolutely anything amount to “because this is the way Alien did it.” 

The film starts aboard the International Space Station, which is retrieving a lander that scooped up Martian soil samples, then was thrown off its planned trajectory by space debris. Most of the ISS crew are serious people who even make their jokes in hushed near-whispers: Russian mission commander Ekaterina (Olga Dihovichnaya), medical officer David (Jake Gyllenhaal), British xenobiologist Hugh (Ariyon Bakare), Japanese systems engineer Sho (Hiroyuki Sanada), and Miranda (Rebecca Ferguson), from the CDC. Only flight engineer Rory (Ryan Reynolds) talks like he isn’t being polite in a library. He actually talks exactly like Reynolds’ character in Deadpool , though with the obscenity knob turned way down — he’s brash, babbly, and funny, with a smartass energy that’s welcome in such a reserved space. (Screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick also wrote Deadpool , but they reserve their humor here for a small window of the film before things get grim.)

Eventually, the Martian soil samples make it onto the station, and Hugh is ecstatic to find they contain perfectly preserved single-celled organisms, which he immediately rushes to reanimate. And events fall out from there, as poorly as in any of the endless horror films where scientists foolishly play God and get dramatically punished — or at least where scientists bypass sensible, rigorous experimental protocols in order to move things along at a cinema-friendly rate. Before long, the crew is at odds with a rapacious alien, incongruously named “Calvin” by an Earthside elementary-school vote. There’s something particularly undignified about getting messily murdered by something named Calvin, but that doesn’t keep the ISS crew from consistently using the name in their hushed, serious voices as the creature picks them off one by one.

For someone who’s never seen Alien — or Alfonso Cuarón’s terrifying 2013 space-survival thriller Gravity , which Life also mimics a fair bit —  Life could largely be a dramatic, satisfying experience. Director Daniel Espinosa ( Safe House ) can’t top Gravity ’s terrifying spacewalk scenes, with the sense of Earth looming over astronauts like an immense, inimical shadow. But he does set up plenty of extremely convincing zero-gravity action, with his cast casually buzzing around the ISS like bees in a hive, steering themselves with hand-and-footholds, or working upside-down relative to the audience. That sense of “there’s no up in space” is particularly strong in Life , and with Espinosa’s camera swirling around the cast in long, dizzying takes, the disorientation makes for a solid thrill-ride experience. It also makes things scarier when Calvin starts posing a significant threat. The station is a sterile, claustrophobic place to begin with, and with so little warmth in Espinosa’s chilly visual aesthetic, and no clear up-or-down orientation, the ISS lacks any sense of comfort or familiarity. There’s no sense of a safe haven where the characters can retreat.

The zero-G setting ramps up the stakes in another way: Calvin was designed for zero gravity, and navigates it like a native. Watching it cruise through the ISS at breakneck speeds is like watching the first fast-zombie movie after a lifetime of slow-zombie movies. Calvin’s one advantage over H.R. Giger’s much more id-activating xenomorph design is its speed and grace in a setting humans can only become comfortable with up to a point. The filmmakers draw significantly on terrestrial octopuses for Calvin’s problem-solving abilities and boneless escape routines, but when it starts chasing down crew members, it’s more like a cheetah running down hapless antelopes.

But there’s still a sense of redundancy to nearly everything that happens in Life . Whether the crew is sitting down to a cheerful meal together, fighting over whether to let a compromised crew member out of quarantine in a panic-inducing situation, or figuring out how to deal with an escape pod compromised by an alien, they’re walking through Alien ’s plot beat for beat, sometimes nearly scene for scene. They can only come across as worse by comparison. Life spends a little more time establishing its characters’ distinct personalities than Alien , and to the filmmakers’ credit, they find some creative, awful, unexpected new ways to die in space. They also evoke plenty of the inevitability and isolation that ramps up the stakes in any horror movie.

But too much of Life is nakedly cribbed from a better movie, and too much of it is inherently self-important and silly. David’s character is the worst offender, with the most awkward scenes and lines, some of them bordering on bad comedy. When he tells Miranda that as a traumatized military vet, he doesn’t want to go back to Earth because “I like the hum up here, and the air,” he sounds like a dopey space-age Forrest Gump, trying to turn a monotonal, hyper-simplistic statement into a manifesto. When he busts out Goodnight Moon for a dramatic, emotional reading at a critical moment, the entire film threatens to fall down the gravity well of its own idiocy. It’s a moment designed for endless parody; surely Saturday Night Live is already queuing up a guest spot where Gyllenhaal laboriously reads other children’s books in the middle of deadly catastrophes.

And the closer Life gets to the climax, the more balls its story drops. One of the most crucial action scenes is rushed, visually muddled, and hard to follow. The story loses any sense of its characters as individual people, and turns them into generic horror-movie stooges lining up to die. A development allowing them to track Calvin through the ship is abruptly forgotten. And as the novelty of Calvin’s appearance and behavior wears off, it starts to look more and more ridiculous, especially as it stops developing into something increasingly frightening, and just becomes a free-floating CGI effect. Life front-loads its best scenes into the film’s early going, and everything from there is a slow free-fall downward into a fairly silly place. It’s okay to cover the classics; practically every musician wants to play around with their idols’ work. But Life feels like a strictly subtractive cover of Alien that loses too much of what made it memorable, and doesn’t bring enough new to the table. 

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Life : EW review

As much as it wants to be, the new deep-space thriller Life is no Alien . Then again, what is? What could be? When Ridley Scott directed his 1979 no one-can-hear-you-scream masterpiece, there were still rules to break and boundaries to push. He giddily broke and pushed all of them, combining what were dismissed as two distinct and disreputable gutter genres (science fiction and horror) and fusing them into one glorious chest-bursting hybrid. You could be intelligent and graphically gooey at the same time. Who knew? In fact, it was possible that by doing so you could even approach something like art . Life doesn’t aspire to be art. Which is fine. Not everything has to. I only bring up Alien because that’s how the movie is being sold. Still, if you lower your sights a few pegs and go in looking for a solid, tight B-movie that builds right until the final shot, there’s a lot to like.

Life tracks the fates of six astronauts aboard the International Space Station. They’re making a pitstop on their way home from Mars, where they found microscopic evidence of single-cell life forms, and they’ve got the history-making specimens with them. Director Daniel Espinosa ( Safe House , Child 44 ) gets off to a somewhat muddled start, fumbling what could have been a concise table-setting tour of the spacecraft, but instead he turns it into a murky maze. We never really know where we are. All we know is that it’s dark and as cramped and claustrophobic as a casket, which is essentially what we know it will become over the next hour and a half. The introduction of the crew and their gumbo of accents is only slight more coherent: There’s Rebecca Ferguson ( Mission: Impossible—Rogue Nation ) as the no-nonsense rep from the Centers for Disease Control; Jake Gyllenhaal as the slightly depressive chief medical officer; Ryan Reynolds as (what else?) the wisecracking scientist tossing off Re-Animator references; Ariyon Bakare ( Jupiter Ascending ) as the ship’s exobiologist with withered CG legs (which seems like a very pricey method of character building); Russian actress Olga Dihovichnaya as a Boris-and-Natasha-sounding cosmonaut; and Hiroyuki Sanada ( The Wolverine ) as a Japanese engineer and proud father of a newborn back on Earth.

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Espinosa and his screenwriters, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (the team behind Deadpool ), don’t make us care about the crewmembers as much as they probably think they do. But they more than make up for it as soon as Bakare zaps the Martian amoeba to dancing life. That’s when the movie zaps to life too. Suddenly, there’s a seventh member onboard. They name it “Calvin.” And it’s growing fast. It’s also adaptive and intelligent and aggressive. But Bakare’s scientist is too smitten with his new discovery to absorb any of this until it crushes his hand like a walnut in a vise and breaks loose, squishily scampering through the ducts and vents. What was once minuscule and harmless is now as big as an octopus, as transparent as jellyfish, and as fast as a cockroach when the lights come on. No one onboard knows what they’re dealing with and how deadly it might be. They just know that they’re trapped in a tight space with something very, very angry.

It’s not giving anything away to say that from this point on, Life is basically a zero-gravity bodycount flick — And Then There Were None in space. The crew tries every way it can to kill the thing, but Calvin won’t die. I kept waiting for Jeff Goldblum to show up on their communication screen to say, “Life…uh…finds a way.” Espinosa stages some clever scares and creative kills while the crew make one bone-headed decision after another in their bid to survive (they have a particular knack for opening hatches when they should stay closed). Then again, watching smart people make dumb choices is one of cinema’s deepest pleasures. Life isn’t a great movie (in fact, it’s kind of a mess). But it is a really fun one. Somehow it manages to keep pushing enough joy-buzzer buttons to keep the audience on edge until the last scene. If it feels like Life succeeds in spite of itself, the important thing is that it succeeds. B+

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Movie Review: Life (2017)

• Greg Eichelberger
• Movie Reviews
• No responses
• --> March 28, 2017

From the premise that all extra-terrestrial life is harmful comes Life , a combination of “Alien,” “The Thing,” “ Gravity ,” “The Mummy” and a few other trapped-in-space or alien-assimilation movies that we all know and love (or tolerate in some cases). Life is the story of the six-member crew of the International Space Station who, while orbiting Mars, discover a new form of life. And, of course, we all know what happens next. That’s all well and good, though, since we are not expecting anything other than fast action and quick deaths, and the audience will certainly not be disappointed in the film’s rather short running time (just a tad over 100 minutes; no doubt folks in earlier years had more patience with story and character development than we currently have).

In space for almost a year, the crew (with a heavy international vibe going on), consists of two American studs (Jake Gyllenhaal, “ Nocturnal Animals ” and Ryan Reynolds, “ Deadpool ”), a Brit researcher (Ariyon Bakare, “ Jupiter Ascending ”), the Frenchwoman commander (Rebecca Ferguson, “ The Girl on the Train ”), a Russian technician (Olga Dihovichnaya, “House of Others”) and a Japanese scientist and new father to boot (Hiroyuki Sanada, “ The Wolverine ”).

Things are pretty mundane, but when a life form is brought aboard from the surface of Mars, the world celebrates while a bunch of goofy kids name it “Calvin” (after their elementary school). Meanwhile, Hugh Derry (Bakare), begins treating the species like his own offspring, coddling it and even bringing it back from suspended animation. There is not much suspense to realize that this action causes the semi-protoplasm to grab the guy’s hand and render him mostly useless for the rest of the film (plus the trailer gave that away).

It’s here that the astronauts, who are no more than cookie-cutter placeholders, violate not only NASA protocol, but every rule of motion pictures within this genre by opening the lab door and ultimately allowing the growing organism (now looking like a translucent octopus) to attack each of the Space Station members one by one (like we’ve seen before, right?). For example, an astronaut has the thing enter their mouth and come out even larger and stronger; another incident has the crazed being bouncing around in space (where it is not supposed to live, but it maintains enough oxygen to survive until it can re-enter through a thruster port; and finally, the creature is able to make its way into space suits and other sealed equipment, rendering it practically invincible.

The last resort calls for survivors to utilize a pair of escape pods, sending the creature into deep space while the other returns to Earth; it’s during this segment that a more than obvious twist may or may not take place (I even found myself saying to the person next to me, “Uh, there’s two pods and . . .”).

Nonetheless, director Daniel Espinosa (“ Child 44 ,” and doing his best Ridley Scott impression) makes fairly decent use of the limited time and produces some thrilling moments, while the camera work of Seamus McGarvey (“ Godzilla ”) is both claustrophobic and vast with some truly amazing scenes inside the space station; and the special effects (mostly the ever-changing alien life form) overseen by David Watkins (“ Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them ”) is quite realistic and very frightening in some sequences.

It’s too bad all of this wonderful technology could not have supported a more original idea. Still, Life is not a bad ride, it’s just that most of us have lived it before.

Tagged: alien , astronaut , Earth , scientist , space , survival

I have been a movie fan for most of my life and a film critic since 1986 (my first published review was for "Platoon"). Since that time I have written for several news and entertainment publications in California, Utah and Idaho. Big fan of the Academy Awards - but wish it would go back to the five-minute dinner it was in May, 1929. A former member of the San Diego Film Critics Society and current co-host of "The Movie Guys," each Sunday afternoon on KOGO AM 600 in San Diego with Kevin Finnerty.

Movie Review: Despicable Me 3 (2017) Movie Review: Transformers: The Last Knight (2017) Movie Review: All Eyez On Me (2017) Movie Review: The Mummy (2017) Movie Review: Baywatch (2017) Movie Review: King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017) Movie Review: The Promise (2016)

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Directed by Daniel Espinosa

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The six-member crew of the International Space Station is tasked with studying a sample from Mars that may be the first proof of extra-terrestrial life, which proves more intelligent than ever expected.

Jake Gyllenhaal Ryan Reynolds Rebecca Ferguson Hiroyuki Sanada Olga Dihovichnaya Ariyon Bakare Naoko Mori Haruka Kuroda Camiel Warren-Taylor Alexandre Nguyen Hiu Woong-Sin David Muir Allen McLean Jesus Del Orden Leila Grace Mari Gvelesiani Elizabeth Vargas

Director Director

Daniel Espinosa

Producers Producers

Bonnie Curtis Dana Goldberg David Ellison Julie Lynn Josh Robertson Lisa Dennis

Writers Writers

Rhett Reese Paul Wernick

Casting Casting

Mindy Marin Kara Lipson

Editors Editors

Mary Jo Markey Frances Parker

Cinematography Cinematography

Seamus McGarvey

Assistant Directors Asst. Directors

Josh Robertson Tom Brewster Toby Ford Adam Byles

Executive Producers Exec. Producers

Vicki Dee Rock Don Granger

Lighting Lighting

Lee Walters

Camera Operators Camera Operators

Iain Struthers Peter Robertson

Additional Photography Add. Photography

Carlos De Carvalho

Production Design Production Design

Nigel Phelps

Art Direction Art Direction

Steven Lawrence Marc Homes Nick Gottschalk Oliver Hodge Will Newton Ketan Waikar

Set Decoration Set Decoration

Celia Bobak Dan Riches

Visual Effects Visual Effects

Adam Rowland Victoria Keeling Max Wright Huw J. Evans Asha Joseph John Moffatt Geraint Hixson Scott Fritts Melinka Thompson-Godoy

Stunts Stunts

Leo Woodruff Kierron Quest Arran Topham Nellie Burroughes Lukaz Leong Andy Pilgrim Mark Henson Will Mackay James Embree Laurent Plancel Mens-Sana Tamakloe

Composer Composer

Jon Ekstrand

Sound Sound

Simon Hayes D. Chris Smith Matthew Wilson Peter Michael Sullivan Per Hallberg Jon Title Ann Scibelli Dan O'Connell Bob Beemer John T. Cucci Adam Kopald Roberto Dominguez Alegria James Ashwill Ron Bartlett Jessie Pariseau Doug Hemphill Oleg Kulchytskyi Peter Staubli

Costume Design Costume Design

Jenny Beavan

Makeup Makeup

Kristyan Mallett Donald Mowat Marina Altomare Christine Blundell Chloe Meddings Lesa Warrener Demi Amat Steven Harris Ruth Parry Scarlett McPherson

Hairstyling Hairstyling

Christine Blundell

Columbia Pictures Skydance Media

Primary Language

Spoken languages.

English Japanese Vietnamese

Releases by Date

18 mar 2017, 22 mar 2017, 23 mar 2017, 24 mar 2017, 05 apr 2017, 07 apr 2017, 19 apr 2017, 20 apr 2017, 19 may 2017, 09 jun 2017, 21 jun 2017, 08 jul 2017, 17 jul 2017, 18 aug 2017, 15 jun 2021, 06 jun 2022, 20 jun 2017, 31 jul 2017, 07 aug 2017, 16 aug 2017, 30 aug 2017, 23 feb 2018, releases by country.

• Theatrical MA15+
• Theatrical 12
• Digital 12 Streaming
• Theatrical 14A
• Digital 18+
• Theatrical t.o.15
• Theatrical K-16
• Digital VOD
• Physical 12 DVD, Blu-Ray & 4K UHD
• Digital Prime Video
• Digital 12 MyCanal
• Theatrical 16
• Theatrical 15A
• Theatrical הותר לבני 16 ומעלה נימוק: סצנות אימה- בדיוני
• TV הותר לבני 16 ומעלה נימוק: סצנות אימה- בדיוני
• Theatrical T
• Digital R18+
• Theatrical N-13

Netherlands

• Physical 16 DVD, Blu ray

New Zealand

• Theatrical R13

North Macedonia

Philippines.

• Theatrical M/14
• Theatrical 18
• Theatrical 16+
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South Africa

South korea.

• Physical 15

Switzerland

• Theatrical 輔12
• Physical 15 DVD
• Premiere R South by Southwest Film Festival
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United Arab Emirates

104 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by Marian ★★★ 16

jake gyllenhaal and ryan reynolds being in the same movie is weird to me. i don't know why but i feel that their paths shouldn't cross. that's how i feel.

Review by 🇵🇱 Steve G 🐝 ★★★ 27

The plot is fine.

The special effects are fine.

The music is fine.

The direction is fine.

The cinematography is fine.

The pacing is fine.

The acting is fine.

The alien is fine.

The deaths are fine.

The beginning is fine.

The middle is fine.

The ending is fine.

It's just, very, fine.

Review by Christian Alec ★★★ 24

Life : Hey can I copy your answers I forgot to do the homework!

Alien (1979): Sure man, just make sure it looks different!

*smudges out Alien and writes Life *

Review by lauren ★★★★ 11

i relate to calvin because i was likable when i was younger, im a fast runner and i want to throw myself on top of jake gyllenhaal

Review by cinéfila... 🕯️ ★★½ 5

just my humble opinion but maybe we should leave space alone. im fine without an alien up my ass thank you very much. i dont want to believe

Review by sree ★★★

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

i can't believe something named calvin will be the end of the world

Review by stevie ★★ 5

Damn. Patrick Star really fucked up that space crew.

Review by issy 🥝 ★★★★ 3

I am  NEVER listening to Calvin Harris again. disgusting.

Review by rach ★★★★★

Is jacob benjamin gyllenhaal capable of bad acting? The answer is and will always be no.

Review by sophie ★★★ 6

umm... this is NOT the gay romcom I was promised by that press tour ?! where was ryan and jake being a cute domestic couple in space? im not having it

Review by russman ★★★ 6

Just wait until they meet Hobbes

Review by a ★★★½ 4

who the fuck at sony went "i know what this movie needs :-) a nihilistic ending showing doom and existentialism :-) yay"

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Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence age more than 50 years in “Life,” the story of two New Yorkers who spend their adult lives on a Mississippi prison farm because of some very bad luck. It’s an odd, strange film–a sentimental comedy with a backdrop of racism–and I kept thinking of “Life Is Beautiful,” another film that skirts the edge of despair. “Life Is Beautiful” avoids it through comic inspiration, and “Life” by never quite admitting how painful its characters’ lives must have been.

The movie is ribald, funny and sometimes sweet, and well acted by Murphy, Lawrence and a strong supporting cast. And yet the more you think about it, the more peculiar the movie seems. Murphy created the original story line, and Ted Demme (“The Ref”) follows his lead; the result is a film that almost seems nostalgic about what must have been a brutal existence. When was the last time that a movie made prison seem almost pleasant? “Life” opens in 1932 in a Harlem nightclub, with a chance encounter between a bank teller named Claude (Lawrence) and a pickpocket named Ray (Murphy). They both find themselves in big trouble with Spanky, the club owner (Rick James), who is in the process of drowning Claude when Ray saves both their lives by talking them into a job: They’ll drive a truck to Mississippi and pick up a load of moonshine.

The trip takes them into Jim Crow land, where Claude is outspoken and Ray more cautious in a segregated diner that serves “white-only pie.” Then they find the moonshiner, load the truck and allow themselves to get distracted by a local sin city, where Ray loses all his money to a cheat ( Clarence Williams III ) and Claude goes upstairs with a good-time girl. The cheat is found dead; Claude and Ray are framed by the sheriff who actually killed him and given life in prison.

The early scenes move well (although why was it necessary to send all the way to Mississippi for moonshine, when New York was awash in bootleg booze during Prohibition?). The heart of the movie, however, takes place in prison, where after an early scene of hard physical labor, life settles down into baseball games, talent shows and even, at one point, a barbecue. Bokeem Woodbine plays Can’t Get Right, a retarded prisoner who hits a homer every time at the plate, and Ray and Claude become his managers, hoping to get a free ride out of prison when he’s recruited by the Negro Leagues. But it doesn’t work that way, and life goes on, decade after decade, while the real world is only hearsay.

Demme has two nice touches for showing the passage of time: Prison inmates are shown simply fading from the screen, and in the early 1970s Claude gets to drive the warden ( Ned Beatty ) into nearby Greenville, where he sees hippie fashions and his first afro haircut. Meanwhile, Rick Baker’s makeup gradually and convincingly ages the two men, who do a skillful job of aging their voices and manners.

All of this time, of course, they dream of escaping. And they maintain the fiction that they don’t get along, although in fact they’ve grown close over the years (comparisons with “The Shawshank Redemption” are inevitable). Ray remains the realist and compromiser, and Claude remains more hotheaded; the warden likes them both and eventually assigns them to his house staff. But what are we to make of their long decades together? That without the unjust prison term, they would never have had the opportunity to enjoy such a friendship? That prison life has its consolations? That apart from that unfortunate lifetime sentence, the white South was actually pretty decent to the two friends? “Life” simply declines to deal with questions like that, and the story makes it impossible for them to be answered. It’s about friendship, I guess, and not social issues. Murphy and Lawrence are so persuasive in the movie that maybe audiences will be carried along. Their characters are likable, their performances are touching, they age well, they survive. And their lives consist of episodes and anecdotes that make good stories–as when the white superintendent’s daughter has a black baby, and the super holds the kid up next to every convict’s face, looking for the father. That’s a comic scene in the movie; real life might have been different.

But life flows along and we get in the mood, and by the end we’re happy to see the two old timers enjoying their retirement.

After all, they’ve earned it.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

• Ned Beatty as Dexter Wilkins
• Clarence Williams III as Hancock
• Rick James Winston as Spanky
• Martin Lawrence as Claude Banks
• Bernie Mac as Jangle Leg
• Obba Babatunde as Willie Long
• Eddie Murphy as Ray Gibson
• Matthew Stone
• Robert Ramsey

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Parents' guide to.

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• Parents Say 0 Reviews
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Common Sense Media Review

Raw humor, violence in thoughtful buddy comedy.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Life is a 1999 comedy in which Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence play two Harlem men wrongly convicted of murder serving time in a Mississippi work camp for over 60 years. Expect strong language throughout, including the "N" word (used by White and Black characters), "motherf--ker,"…

Why Age 16+?

Strong language throughout, including the "N" word, "f--k," and "motherf--ker."

Black man murdered by corrupt police officer in Mississippi, who then frames the

Cigarette smoking throughout. Cigar smoking. Moonshine drinking. Champagne drink

A mentally-challenged Black man serving time in the work camp in the 1940s has a

Any Positive Content?

Shows the lives of two Black men wrongly convicted of murder in Mississippi and

Explores issues of civil rights, 20th century history, wrongful imprisonment, ra

The two lead characters serve nearly 60 years of hard labor in a Mississippi pen

Strong language throughout, including the "N" word, "f--k," and "motherf--ker." Also: "s--t," "bulls--t," "s--tter," goddamn," "ass," "piss," "damn," "hell." Racist slurs used by White characters. "Retard" used by one of the main characters.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Violence & Scariness

Black man murdered by corrupt police officer in Mississippi, who then frames the two lead characters when they're the first to discover the bloodied body. Lead character tied up by mob henchmen and dunked upside down in the ocean repeatedly. A gay man in the Mississippi work camp, on the verge of parole and unwilling to face his family, chooses suicide by trying to escape and gets shot to death by guards. Man shot and killed at close range. Violent fistfight between two inmates. Pistol whipping, rifle whipping. Jokes involving implied prison rape. In one scene, prisoners graphically discuss the violent acts that led to their imprisonment.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Cigarette smoking throughout. Cigar smoking. Moonshine drinking. Champagne drinking. Prisoner shown sneaking a snort of cocaine while other inmates play poker and use their prescription pills as poker chips.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

A mentally-challenged Black man serving time in the work camp in the 1940s has an affair with the daughter of the warden, at her behest, with furtive flirtations and eventual pregnancy and birth of a child and a situation in which the man cannot admit to being the father.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Diverse Representations

Shows the lives of two Black men wrongly convicted of murder in Mississippi and their life sentence in a labor camp over the course of six decades. All of the convicts are Black men, and the movie doesn't shy away from the racism in all forms that has devastated their lives. Side stories include a mentally-challenged man who turns out to be a gifted baseball player drafted by a White scout in the Negro League; this character also has an affair with the White daughter of the warden, resulting in pregnancy and a situation in which he cannot admit to being the father. Two of the men in the work camp are gay, and while there are some weak and cliched prison rape jokes and insinuations early on, the movie later takes a more sympathetic tone when one of the inmates, on the verge of being paroled, chooses suicide rather than facing his mother's shame over his sexual orientation.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Positive Messages

Explores issues of civil rights, 20th century history, wrongful imprisonment, racism.

Positive Role Models

The two lead characters serve nearly 60 years of hard labor in a Mississippi penitentiary for a crime they didn't commit, but find ways not to let their spirit become broken.

Parents need to know that Life is a 1999 comedy in which Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence play two Harlem men wrongly convicted of murder serving time in a Mississippi work camp for over 60 years. Expect strong language throughout, including the "N" word (used by White and Black characters), "motherf--ker," and "f--k." Gun violence, including characters getting shot and killed at close range, and a Black man killed, his body left on the street bloodied by a corrupt Mississippi sheriff. In the previous scene, this sheriff's face gets sliced with a switchblade by the Black man as he tries to stand up to the sheriff's racist bullying. Pistol whipping. Violent and bloody fistfight between two prisoners. One of the lead characters is shown hanging upside down, tied with rope, and dunked into the ocean by mob henchmen at a New York City dock. A gay prisoner on the verge of parole opts for the suicide of getting shot and killed by a guard while trying to escape rather than facing the shame and disapproval of his family because of his sexual orientation. Cigarette and cigar smoking. Moonshine drinking. Champagne drinking. Brief scene of cocaine use. A character has an affair with the White daughter of the warden, resulting in pregnancy and a situation in which he cannot admit to being the father. While there's raw comedy throughout and some graphic violence, the movie also has some surprisingly serious and thoughtful moments, addressing issues such as wrongful imprisonment, institutional racism, segregation, and homophobia. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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What's the Story?

In LIFE, it's the 1930s, and Claude ( Martin Lawrence ) is at a Harlem nightclub with his girlfriend, celebrating his recent hire as a bank teller. While in the rest room, Claude encounters two henchmen representing the mob boss to whom Claude owes money, and then has a run-in with Ray ( Eddie Murphy) , a fast-talking conman who pickpockets Claude's wallet. Ray is also in trouble with the mob boss, and the two men are forcibly removed from the club and taken to the docks where the mob boss awaits. While Claude is getting dunked in the water and Ray is on the verge of getting killed, Ray offers to pick up dozens of cases of the finest Mississippi moonshine and deliver it back to Harlem in the hopes of making things right. He nominates Claude as the driver, and it's a chance for him to make things right. They hit the road, but their troubles begin as soon as they enter the South. They encounter segregation at a diner, and then after getting the delivery, the two men go to a local juke joint so Ray can drink, play cards, and have fun. But when Ray is cheated at cards by a man named Winston, they realize that they're being played for suckers and try to leave, but while heading for their truck, they find Winston's body, and shortly after, the corrupt sheriff immediately frames Ray and Claude for the murder. Ray and Claude are to serve a life sentence of hard labor in the infamous Parchman Farm, where they will stay for the next 65 years. As the world passes them by, the two men dream and plot their escapes, surviving with a group of fellow eccentric prisoners, and as their friendship goes through ups and downs over the years and decades, Ray and Claude must find a way to keep their spirits up as they keep trying to find ways to get back to New York City.

Is It Any Good?

This is a surprisingly thoughtful comedy, one that manages to address serious topics while still having moments of laugh-out-loud hilarity. Yes, Life is a buddy movie, and a buddy movie in prison movie at that, with Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence as the perpetually-bickering friends who are forced to spend over six decades of their lives in a Mississippi work camp (from the 1930s-90s), and still manage to maintain a friendship through countless ups and downs over the decades as the outside world and all its cataclysmic changes pass them by. It would've been a decent movie had this story been little more than a vehicle for Murphy and Lawrence to crack endless one-liners from one escapade to the next. But there's a serious side to this movie, addressing sadly still-relevant topics like wrongful imprisonment, racism, and homophobia. There's an unexpected empathy to these scenes that doesn't come across as forced or mawkish, and in no way slows down the comedy.

And it's a very funny movie. There's a scene near the end in which Eddie Murphy's character goes on a tirade about how cocaine is smuggled into the infirmary where he and Lawrence are supposed to be spending their last days that is flat-out hilarious. There's also a "meta" moment in the blooper reel that's amazing in and of itself. For a '90s comedy, much of the humor has held up, even as much of what is addressed is still, sadly, relevant. Maybe this will disappoint those looking for little more than an endless barrage of one-liners paired with slapstick, but for everyone else, the depth to Life is a pleasant surprise.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about "buddy" movies like Life . How is this similar to and different from other buddy movies?

While it's a comedy, the movie addresses more serious topics. What are these topics? Were you surprised by this?

How is this similar to and different from other movies starring Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence in terms of humor, story, subject matter?

Movie Details

• In theaters : April 16, 1999
• On DVD or streaming : May 9, 2010
• Cast : Eddie Murphy , Martin Lawrence , Bernie Mac
• Director : Ted Demme
• Inclusion Information : Black actors
• Studio : 108
• Genre : Comedy
• Topics : Friendship , History
• Run time : 108 minutes
• MPAA rating : R
• MPAA explanation : Strong language and a shooting.
• Last updated : June 2, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Life movie ending explained: what happened to the capsules.

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Life: How The Sci-Fi Horror Movie Faked Zero-Gravity Effects

Life character breakdown: meet the astronauts, peter pan's neverland nightmare release window confirmed by director & producer of twisted childhood universe.

• David's sacrifice in the Life movie ending fails, leading to a shocking twist for Miranda and a bleak, eerie conclusion.
• Director Daniel Espinosa drew inspiration from noir films for the dark Life ending, creating a memorable and impactful finale.
• While Life 's ending may not have saved the film from middling reviews, it remains a highlight for fans of the sci-fi horror movie.

The Life movie ending took audiences by surprise in 2017, offering a bleak and haunting conclusion to director Daniel Espinosa's sci-fi horror. While Life was not a box office or critical hit, it managed to impress many fans with its take on the contained killer alien story that draws a lot of inspiration from Ridley Scott's Alien . However, the aspect of the movie that seems to get the most attention is the unforgettable ending that is worth examining further.

Life stars Rebecca Ferguson, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Ryan Reynolds as a team of scientists working on a space station that discovers a living organism they dub "Calvin," who was found in a soil sample from Mars. As can be expected with horror movies in outer space , the organism soon turns hostile and starts absorbing crew members to nurture itself and grow larger. As Calvin continues to grow, it threatens not only the crew of the space station, but also the population of Earth if it manages to reach the nearby planet. It makes for an intense sci-fi ride leading up to Life 's memorable ending.

The cast of the sci-fi horror film, Life, went through challenges to simulate being astronauts aboard the zero-gravity International Space Station.

What Happens In The Life Ending

David sacrifices himself to save humanity.

The Life movie ending comes with only two remaining scientists alive and battling Calvin to prevent an alien invasion of Earth . Despite numerous attempts to kill Calvin, including burning him with a flamethrower and a failed attempt to eject him from the station, David (Gyllenhaal) and Miranda (Ferguson) hatch a plan. They know that under no circumstances can Calvin reach Earth since he'd quickly evolve and annihilate the human race as it continues to grow, so David proposes to sacrifice himself by luring Calvin into an escape pod and heading for deep space.

Meanwhile, Miranda will take another pod and head back to Earth to warn of other lifeforms from Mars. The final few minutes of Life find David succeeding in luring Calvin into his pod, while Miranda also escapes. The pods are hit by some debris as they detach, however, sending one into space. While David attempts to manually steer the pod Calvin soon overwhelms him, and the movie cuts to the Earthbound pod as it breaks the atmosphere.

The Twist In The Life Ending Explained

It wasn't david's pod that jettisoned into space.

The Life movie ending provides a unique horror movie twist ending that shocks the audience by revealing that the heroes' plan has failed. When some Vietnamese fishermen see the Earthbound pod land and quickly rush to help, it is revealed that it is David inside, and he is covered in some kind of cocoon. Despite Miranda and David's plans, Calvin had other ideas. Just as the pods left the ISS, Calvin messed with the control's of David's pod, causing it to crash into Miranda's.

The cruel ending of Life reveals it was Miranda's pod that was sent flying into space, with the last viewers see of her being the character screaming as she spirals into the void. Meanwhile, David desperately begs the fishermen not to open his pod, but the final scene is the door being pried open as more boats arrive.

Meet the astronauts of Life, played by Ryan Reynolds, Rebecca Ferguson, Jake Gyllenhaal, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ariyon Bakare and Olga Dihovichnaya.

The Meaning Of The Life Ending

The 2017 movie has similar thematic undertones to the thing.

The Life movie ending is a devastating blow to the audience as the desperate and selfless acts of Miranda and David to save the Earth from this alien menace proves to be futile. Miranda is faced with dying alone in the cold depths of space, while David can only watch helplessly as the dangerous new form of life is free upon the world. Indeed, the ending also gives new meaning to the movie's title. While it initially seemed to refer to the new lifeform of Calvin, it also could refer to Calvin feeding off of other life and how, ultimately, life on Earth is now threatened.

Given that Life was not a huge success, there is little hope of the movie getting a sequel, but that is fine given the ending. While there are plenty of questions about what will happen next, the Life movie ending was not meant to set up a sequel. Instead, it is more similar to the ending of The Thing which also hints at an alien species making its way into populated areas and taking over. However, the fact that the audience is left to imagine what happens next is more effective than actually seeing it.

What The Director Said About The Life Ending

The director was channeling cynical noir movies.

The Life movie ending is quite a dark and bleak conclusion for a big blockbuster with A-list stars. However, it was something that was very important for director Daniel Espinosa to include in the movie. Espinosa explained in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that he took inspiration for the ending from the noir genre which was known for its cynical finales. He also insisted the ending was a big part of the reason he wanted to make Life , so he was vocal about that fact with the producers before filming even began:

"When I met the producers, I told them, “I completely understand that this ending might not be the preferable choice, but for me it was a fundamental part of the reason I want to do the movie.” If we couldn’t see eye to eye with the ending, we should part ways before we get something started. My producers were completely supportive, which I thought was surprising and bold."

Indeed, the bleak movie ending does feel like something special outside of Life 's more mainstream feel. While that could be part of the reason the movie didn't become more popular, those who do enjoy the movie, point to the ending of Life as its best aspect.

How The Life Ending Was Received

While the Life movie has managed to garner itself a fanbase, the sci-fi horror film received middling reviews on its release. Life currently sits on a 68% rating on Rotten Tomatoes with a 54% audience score, which proves just how hit-and-miss it's been when it comes to reviews. However, most of the negative reviews seem to focus on aspects other than the ending. For all its star power, the characters in Life come up as a common criticism, as does the fact that Daniel Espinosa's story doesn't seem to tread new ground and has many similarities to other films in the sci-fi horror subgenre.

That being said, the ending twist doesn't crop up too often in positive reviews of LIfe, either. The main praise has seemed to be for the visual effects, especially the zero gravity aspects and the CGI used to create Calvin. It seems to be that the ending of Life served its purpose as far as fans of the film are concerned. It's not a twist that became the key hook for a film like, for example, The Sixth Sense or The Usual Suspects. It was a satisfying ending to Life , but it's also not the reason that those who enjoy the film responded to the overall movie positively.

Set in the near future on a spaceship returning from a mission to Mars, Life follows the crew of the ship as they inadvertently awaken an alien lifeform in one of their Martian soil samples. Not only intelligent but extremely hostile, the alien begins to attack the crew, who end up in a fight for their lives as they attempt to eliminate the threat their ship now poses to Earth. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Jake Gyllenhaal, Ryan Reynolds, Rebecca Ferguson, Olga Dihovichnaya, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Ariyon Bakare. 

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Movie review: 'Saturday Night' a compelling 'SNL' behind-the-scenes romp

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- Saturday Night , in theaters now, makes the behind-the-scenes production of Saturday Night Live as entertaining as the show itself, arguably more so than some of their seasons.

A combination of authentic production issues and artistic license creates calculated dramatic stakes.

At 10 p.m. on Oct. 11, 1975, Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle) struggles to produce the pilot episode of SNL . For 90 minutes, the film follows Michaels putting out fires with the cast, executives and various departments including writers, wardrobe and lighting.

Director Jason Reitman immediately stages crises with a sense of frantic anxiety as a cacophony of sounds demands Michaels' attention, often drowning out the dialogue itself.

The camera follows Michaels in uninterrupted takes as familiar props like Land Shark and costumes like the bee suits are wheeled by behind him.

Other scenes cut rapidly between locations as the crew practices to accomplish scene transitions during commercial breaks, producers figure out what to cut to trim the show to 90 minutes and Lorne watches helplessly as executives trigger cast egos.

Chevy Chase (Cory Michael Smith) already sees himself as the breakout star and clashes with John Belushi (Matt Wood), who himself doesn't want to just be an ornament in a bee costume. Garrett Morris (Lamorne Morris) wants more lines.

Gilda Radner (Ella Hunt) defuses emergencies with humor and supports cast members like Laraine Newman (Emily Fairn), who feels left out. The conflicts showcase both the variety of issues involved with any production and the nuances required to solve them.

The frenetic night pauses occasionally for big moments of dialogue, such as an argument between head writer Michael O'Donaghue (Tommy Dewey) and standards and practices censor Joan Carbunkle (Catherine Curtin), or tender moments between cast members.

Making everything happen in one night, let alone 90 minutes, surely requires some fudging of events. Some outrageous incidents, like laying the bricks in the stage half an hour before showtime, are in fact true.

The last-minute hiring of writer Alan Zweibel (Josh Brener) is embellished and Milton Berle (J.K. Simmons) was not there on Oct. 11 by all accounts, but they contribute to an energetic dramatization.

Whether or not Michaels really had to convince Belushi to shave his beard the night of the show, it highlights the sensitivity with which he had to handle performers. Shaving becomes as important as getting Belushi to sign his contract before airtime, which was true.

The question of "What is the show?" keeps coming up, often asked of Michaels by producer Richard Ebersol (Cooper Hoffman). That becomes a bit blatant because we get it, they're still finding the show.

By the time the film reaches 11:30, you want to see this cast perform the first episode of Saturday Night Live . Alas, that's not the film and we got snippets of famous sketches in rehearsals.

Saturday Night Live fans are sure to recognize many of the legends of the show's history. Saturday Night does a good job of satisfying aficionados while also explaining to anyone why it's so hard to produce anything that requires multiple artists cooperating.

Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.

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‘Lee’ Review: A Remarkable Life at War

Kate Winslet embodies the tenacity of the photographer Lee Miller, who documented World War II for British Vogue.

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By Lisa Kennedy

“Lee,” starring Kate Winslet as the photographer Lee Miller, is smartly trained on a span of 10 years: from 1938 until shortly after World War II.

Miller’s biography sounds nearly apocryphal. Born in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., she was a model for Vogue, a student of the artist Man Ray (and his muse), and a fashion photographer whose work often reflected her own Surrealist sensibilities. Miller documented the war for British Vogue — then under the editorship of the English journalist Audrey Withers (Andrea Riseborough) — often in the company of the Life photographer David Scherman (Andy Samberg).

It would be hard for any narrative feature film to capture the many facets of the photographer responsible for some of the most indelible images of World War II. Winslet embodies those dimensions — as well as Miller’s propulsive drive — often with an askance look, a whetted remark, a resolve both stubborn and practical.

Alexander Skarsgard portrays Miller’s British husband, Roland Penrose. The two meet prickly, if teasingly so, at a gathering in the South of France that also includes French Vogue’s Solange d’Ayen (Marion Cotillard) and her husband, Jean (Patrick Mille), and the Surrealists Nusch and Paul Éluard (Noémie Merlant and Vincent Colombe). Some of these friends appear again at the war’s end; Cotillard is especially devastating as d’Ayen.

The movie begins with a framing device: Miller being interviewed by a journalist in her farmhouse in 1977, which allows her to tell her story. The director Ellen Kuras uses Miller’s actual photos and recreates a number of her more piercing images throughout the film — as a tribute, but also as a call to head to the archive. “Lee” feeds the desire to seek out more of her images. Winslet’s performance demands that we consider the force behind the camera.

Lee Rated R for disturbing images, language and nudity. Running time: 1 hour 56 minutes. In theaters.

The Life of Chuck Review: Mike Flanagan's Beautiful Stephen King Adaptation [TIFF 2024]

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It’s no secret that Hollywood’s batting average in adapting Stephen King stories for the big and small screen has been very hit or miss. It's been half a century of King films, and the see-saw has dipped down and lifted again like a frenetic yoyo — from Brian De Palma's bar-setting Carrie in 1976 to the diminishing returns of the now 11 Children of the Corn movies. Based on the story of the same name from Stephen King’s 2020 novella If It Bleeds, Mike Flanagan's The Life of Chuck doesn’t run into any cursed adaptation headwinds whatsoever.

Flanagan's already familiar with King’s style; his last two features were 2017’s Gerald’s Game and 2019’s Doctor Sleep – stories where Flanagan honors the source material's spirit while still putting his signature on them. In between his many Netflix series ( Midnight Mass, The Fall of the House of Usher ), Flanagan has created a triptych of very emotional Stephen King adaptations, with The Life of Chuck being the best yet.

Flanagan uses an unorthodox method of telling a three-act story. It's in reverse, with some funny and on-the-nose narration from Nick Offerman that deals with the harsh reality that life is precious because it's finite and random. There’s a safer version of this film that would want to shield you from the fate we will all meet and make for a soft landing for the audience. Flanagan instead uses dark humor, dance, and hearty monologues to deliver his melancholic message with maturity, wisdom, and love, like a tough talk from a parent followed by a warm hug.

A World in Chaos With a Strange Twist

The Life of Chuck

A life-affirming, genre-bending story based on Stephen King's novella about three chapters in the life of an ordinary man named Charles Krantz.

• Mike Flanagan delivers a simple message in delightfully unorthodox and emotionally powerful ways.
• Tom Hiddleston is life-affirming, leading a great cast (including Mark Hamill in a near career-best performance).
• The mysteries and revelations are teased out in clever, stunning ways.
• It's pretty saccharine, though still beautiful. And if you aren't interested in dancing, some of this will be a slog.

At the beginning of The Life of Chuck , the entire world itself is in disarray. We’re talking earthquakes, floods, computer systems going down, California dissolving into the sea, and food sources slowly being dismantled by climate change – real last-day biblical stuff. At the heart of it is a school teacher named Marty (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who is trying to discuss grades with parents occupied by “motions at everything going on around them.” Marty used to be married to a nurse named Felicia (Karen Gillan), but they have since divorced. If there’s anything the possible end of the world will make you want to do, it’s to make amends.

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The writing of Stephen King has been adapted for nearly 50 years now. Here's where Rotten Tomatoes ranks the best films adapted from his work.

But as Marty and Felicia walk down memory lane, a weird phenomenon occurs throughout the unnamed town. Billboards, television commercials, and other projections of a smiling man named Charles Krantz (Tom Hiddleston) start popping up everywhere with congratulations for “39 Great Years.” Who is Charles Krantz, and why is he the most famous person we have never heard of? Well, that’s part of the mystery Flanagan allows us to see bit by bit, which is best left unspoiled.

Dance Like Everyone's Watching

Act two is more of an essential interlude to the story, a snapshot of Charles’ life. On any given day, we might walk through a town square and ignore an instrumentalist playing for tips. Well, beating the drums proves to be hypnotic for Chuck, and he gives himself over to the music — where Hiddelston impressively engages in a dance number for almost 10 minutes.

Related: Tom Hiddleston's Best Performances, Ranked

The good vibes are so strong they sweep up a young lady named Lauren (Annalise Basso), fresh from being unceremoniously dumped by her boyfriend. Given the sci-fi tone of the first act, it almost feels uncharacteristic for Flanagan to allow this vibrancy to go on for as long as it does. However, it’s exciting and refreshing . The realizations which follow hit you that much harder because of the free-flowing nature The Life of Chuck takes on.

Mia Sara & Mark Hamill Raise The Life of Chuck

Flanagan looks to tie this evolving world together in the last act by looking back on Chuck’s childhood. Unfortunately, it’s scarred by tragedy, as a middle school-aged Chuck (Benjamin Pajak) lost his parents. Luckily for him, he has excellent influences in his life who are rooting for him along the way: Chuck's music-loving grandmother Sarah (Mia Sara) and grandfather Albie (Mark Hamill), who finds his art through numbers as a long-time accountant.

10 Underrated Mark Hamill Movies You’ve Probably Never Seen

While Mark Hamill is notably known for his roles as Luke Skywalker and The Joker in Batman: The Animated Series, here are some lesser-known gems.

We see Chuck’s love for dance blossom from watching musicals with Sarah and working up the nerve to join a dance club at school. Even as this de facto coming-of-age story is happening, Flanagan works some of his magic to make it unconventional . When Alble is not speaking of practicality and pitching his notion of addition and subtraction as the best way to achieve the art Chuck loves, he lays down one ground rule – nobody goes in the upstairs cupola.

Carpe Diem and the Coexistence of Life's Beauty and Sadness

The actual reason will become clear once we reach the final iteration of Chuck’s character (played by Jacob Tremblay). A key to that notion is echoed often throughout the latter half of The Life of Chuck through the reference to Walt Whitman’s 1855 “Song of Myself” and the famous line, "I contain multitudes." Ultimately, our memories, personalities, and experiences are particles colliding and reacting with one another to make us whole. For all that to matter, you must take the good with the bad – meaning to appreciate love, you must have heartbreak (and so on) . You'll appreciate Flanagan for providing the full spectrum and maybe dance your heart out in the process.

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It may feel like every Stephen King story has been turned into a movie, but nearly half of his work has not yet seen the silver screen.

The ways in which Flanagan delivers this admittedly simple concept are thrilling and emotionally poignant. It's a deviation from the usual horror and thrills of both Flanagan and King, but maintains a kind of Twilight Zone -like sense of the fantastical and metaphysical, i.e. the 1962 episode, “Kick The Can.” The Life of Chuck has fantastical elements, but they are clever devices pointing to mortality (and sometimes its cruel realizations ).

Only two things are certain in this lifetime: we will live and we will die. Sure, "carpe diem" stories are commonplace (and even within the Toronto Film Festival itself with We Live in Time ), but they have an emotional impact because of their universal truths. The Life of Chuck wears that story well.

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