Life (2017)

The movie reduces its fear factor to simple suspense that's not insignificant but is pretty insubstantial.

Those who have seen Alien will have a pretty good idea what's coming, at least to a point. Once things reach that point, however, all bets are off.

Here is a story that knows how to put the nihilism in the vast nothingness of space. If you're into that sort of thing.

Life has cool effects, real suspense and a sweet twist. It ain't rocket science, but it does what it does well -- even, one might say, with a kind of genius.

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.

Life... a taut, suspenseful thriller that's more enjoyable the less you think about it.

The recycled plot is very much at odds with Seamus McGarvey's knockout floating cinematography, Nigel Phelps' multi-dimensional space station designs, and (Safe House) director Daniel Espinosa's aptitude for white-knuckle runarounds.

Remember how you felt at the end of that 2001 Tim Burton remake of Planet of the Apes starring Mark Wahlberg? Who thought this was a great way to waste these actors and an entire budget?

An unexpectedly (and impressively) grim little thriller...

A film where science fiction becomes a nightmare, a mixture of horror and suspense. [Full review in Spanish]

It's handsomely mounted but not satisfying enough to stick.

If it had less budget, it would be a very funny horror movie, but it feels more like a flat product, close to being boring. [Full review in Spanish]