Life Review (2017)

I’ll give Daniel Espinosa’s new alien thriller “Life” credit for this: it gets off to a slick and thrilling start.

After a few awe-inspiring establishing shots of space and earth, we’re gently guided into the interior of the International Space Station, where we’ll be for the rest of the picture. Through a gracefully choreographed single take shot/scene, the camera glides carefully down the dark corridors, familiarizing us with the all the various nooks and corners of the station. Then we’re taken to the main area and introduced to the crew, who are in the midst of an exciting retrieval mission. An organism has been discovered on Mars and it’s being sent to the station for examination. The crew consists of David Jordan, (Jake Gyllenhaal) Miranda North, (Rebecca Ferguson) Roy Adams,  (Ryan Reynolds) Kat, (Olga Dihovichnaya) Hugh Derry (Ariyon Bakare) and Sho Kendo (Hiroyuki Sanada).

Following that single take introduction, we learn a little more about each of the crewmembers, some brief background on the mission and the extraterrestrial organism itself, (a fast growing thing that looks like a cross between a jellyfish and the H. P. Lovecraft created Leviathan Clthulu) and the characters get to trade some light banter with one another. But before long the crew pisses off the mysterious creature who then proceeds to wreak havoc. All of that happens within the span of ten or fifteen minutes; the set up is concise, fast paced and engaging, only giving us the bare necessities in terms of exposition.

Unfortunately after that breathless introduction things begin to slowly unravel. When the creature escapes captivity, “Life” turns into a straightforward Sci fi horror/survivalist film -- a second rate pulpy genre piece that combines the fluid, panic inducing visual style of “Gravity” with the gory thrills and “and-then-there-were-fewer” structure of “Alien” without reaching the quality of either of those films.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with this simplistic approach, in fact often times with horror the simpler things are the better but “Life” gets to be so clunky and muddled in execution. Jon Ekstrand’s symphonic score is blaring and overwrought, calling more attention to itself than aiding the film’s tension and terror. “Life” constantly suffers from “characters-narrate-obvious-plot-developments-and-events” syndrome and Espinosa quickly loses track of the space station’s geography. Often times it feels like the creature can travel at light speed or literally pass through walls as he slithers from one end of the station to another to conveniently surprise an unsuspecting crewmember. And the action culminates in a big, chaotic and choppily edited climax (gone is the fluid coherence of that opening shot) involving a lot of numbing ship destruction and hastily recited technical mumbo jumbo that causes one’s mind to wander and eyes to glaze over. “Life” sacrifices claustrophobic terror for explosions, floating debris and spectacle.

The characters themselves are, for the most part, brooding and one note. Reynolds’ is the only one who has any sort of personality and that’s just because he resorts to his usual snarky comedic persona. Ferguson, who stole Tom Cruise’s thunder in the most recent “Mission: Impossible,” is wasted and I can’t remember the last time Gyllenhaal was such a nonentity, devoid of any charisma or raw intensity. He looks like he’s half asleep.

Worse than that, “Life” drowns itself in unintentional cheese. Truly awful introspective moments and ham fisted “calm-before-the-storm” back and forths (in a shabby attempt to add dimension to the characters and shove the film from point A to point B) cause the action to come to a screeching halt. Jordan remembers his experience watching The Challenger shuttle explode, with his overall point being: “It’s really hard to watch people die.” Wow…that’s true! At another scene, North randomly remembers her father and how he was the one who got her interested in space and that she misses him. And best of all, Jordan reads the children’s book “Good Night Moon” out loud during a tense, somber moment of uncertainty. You know, as you do. It’s a scene that’s played so sincerely but I couldn’t stop laughing. Ultimately these silly, unaware moments undercut the film’s terror and suspense.

Still, there are some simple, visceral pleasures to be found in “Life.” Whenever the creature scurries around on screen or latches onto someone you can’t help but perk up and giggle maniacally. Ultimately, “Life” may a silly, forgettable “Alien” rip off but it’s never a flat out terrible viewing experience. Unintentional cheese is still delicious and with a brisk pace and hour and forty three minute run time the film never overstays its welcome. Put that ringing endorsement on the DVD case, I guess.

C+ 

Self/Less Review (2015)

Tarsem Singh’s “Self/Less” is a high concept sci fi movie that doesn’t realize its full potential. What if, when close to death, one could transfer one’s consciousness into a younger body and continue living? Our greatest minds could continue to do great work, if only they weren’t hindered by their aging bodies. It’s a fascinating idea handled with shaky execution. Singh opts for a more traditional “on the run” action movie, with a confused protagonist hunting for the truth and a seemingly endless barrage of movie henchmen.

Ben Kingsley—doing what sounds like a gravelly Brooklyn accent; whatever it is it sounds incredibly phony—stars as Damian, a billionaire architect on his deathbed. He hears about an organization that performs a new medical procedure called Shedding. After coughing up blood one too many times and having a few meetings with the organization’s leader Albright (Matthew Goode) Damian decides to go for it.  He wakes up in a new body (Ryan Reynolds) and for a while it’s all fun and games. In a slickly directed and edited montage we see Damian take his new body out for a test run, making love to a plethora of girls and partying in various New Orleans clubs. However, he begins to see flashes of old memories that aren’t his, which eventually leads him to discover the ugly truth of his new body’s origin.

These opening forty five minutes or so are strong and Damian’s a-ha moment underlines the fundamental dilemma with a procedure like Shedding: the young bodies have to come from somewhere. Shedding is elitist, not just because wealthy people are the only ones who can afford it but also because it asserts that one person’s life is more important than someone else’s. At one point Albright says that all medical advancement requires some sacrifice; while there is a kernel of truth in his sentiment, nobody gets to decide that one person’s life is more important than another, especially when it results in the “inferior” person’s death.

Plus, the fact that Albright profits from the procedures makes things even murkier.  Not only does he believe certain people should keep on living at the expense of others but he’s making a lot of money in the process. Doesn’t sound fair to me. Albright is the most compelling character in the entire movie and Goode plays him with his usual relaxed charm and wit, along with menace.

At about the halfway point Damian, accompanied by Madeline (Natalie Martinez) and Anna (Jaynee-Lynne Kinchen) the wife and daughter of Mark--the body Damian now inhabits—go on the run from Albright and “Self/Less” turns into an extended chase scene. Damian has a Jason Bourne moment when he realizes his young body is capable of hand-to-hand combat and Albright’s organization is the kind of organization that only exists in movies. They’re extremely secretive, yet they have a full army of professional foot soldiers and “clean up” crews to make sure their patients don’t get out of line.  As the movie goes on, the action aspect becomes more prominent and the action set pieces themselves get increasingly ridiculous--flame throwers, car crashes, gun fights, more flame throwers!-- creating tonal confusion.  All of which somewhat undermines the high concept sci fi material introduced at the beginning. “Self/Less” has an intriguing sci fi premise but it’s wrapped in a silly, run of the mill action/thriller.

Reynolds is an odd casting choice. While he excels at the more awkward comedic moments near the beginning—Damian getting used to his new body—he simply doesn’t have an action star presence. I don't understand why he keeps getting casted in these types of movies. He’s not very smooth or intimidating and he can’t aptly convey Kingsley’s seasoned gravitas.  

There are other issues; Damian has an estranged daughter, an underdeveloped relationship that could have been jettisoned entirely. And when you throw an innocent mom and daughter into a PG-13 action movie you know nothing bad will happen to them, which eliminates some tension. While the quieter tender moments between the three feel authentic, during the action sequences, Madeline and Anna just get in the way.

On the whole, “Self/Less” is a mild disappointment. Singh has a great concept on his hands but the screenplay (by David and Alex Pastor) takes the underwhelming, popcorn action movie path. It’s not a bad movie but there’s no reason to see it right away.

C+