6.7 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
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.
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ariyon BakareSci-Fi | 100% |
Thriller | 60% |
Horror | 34% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Portuguese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Thai: Dolby Digital 5.1
English, English SDH, Portuguese, Spanish, Cantonese, Indonesian, Korean, Malay, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Thai
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
UV digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Art imitates life, and Life imitates movies like Alien. It's not a poor man's recreation of Ridley Scott's genre masterpiece, but it is a derivative facsimile thereof. The movie offers little of creative substance, serving instead as a perfectly serviceable and largely entertaining but fairly hollow nuts-and-bolts tale of a handful of science-types trapped on board a space station with a deadly, evolving alien creature. That's really about it. The film, from Director Daniel Espinosa (Safe House), satisfies all technical requirements and delivers a decent enough time-killing watch, but audiences should be prepared for a film that yields little in the way of serious drama, characterization, gore, or genre chills. It has no staying power beyond its time on the screen. Indeed, "serviceable" describes it to a "T."
Evolved.
Life was digitally photographed (what isn't these days?) and the resultant Blu-ray is something of a minor mixed bag, though often favoring the positive side of the spectrum. There are times when the image falls terribly flat and smooth, particularly early on. It's not a visually robust movie to begin with, featuring a somewhat bleak, cold, gray-blue color scheme that drains the life out of many scenes. As a result, and with the digital photography and smooth digital effects, the image can take on a glossy, inconsequential sheen that leaves it looking flat and bland. But various close-ups do offer a much more intensive bit of visual depth, presenting facial textures in particular with incredible nuance and attention to detail. Black levels hold fairly tight and flesh tones tend to favor a flatter, more pasty appearance. Occasional, and usually light, evidence of macroblocking is present, and noise is a bit more prevalent, unsurprising given the movie's darker nature. The Blu-ray is also a bit of a drop from the UHD, which makes this one look much less crisp and well defined in comparison.
For Life's Blu-ray release, Sony has once again left the premium soundtrack for the UHD release and offers Blu-ray buyers a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack. Fortunately, this track is terrific in its own right, reference through and through, really. Things begin with a bang, which sets the tone for the rest of the movie. As the probe hits the station, there's plenty of full-stage, all-around cracking, clacking, and heavy smashes that offer a nice array of distinctive elements that make the listener believe they're on the station and both hearing and feeling the points of impact and the resultant sonic chaos. Such intense, detailed, and immersive sound elements carry through for the duration. The track never wants for greater width or depth in its action scenes, including a blasting makeshift flame thrower or an alarm that blares through the station (and the soundstage) with a piercing, intensive, and frightening shriek. Screams and chaos are nicely implemented and balanced right alongside smooth, natural center-positioned dialogue. Atmospherics in quieter scenes, such as console beeps and other little bits, add a healthy bit of substance to the movie's more relaxed moments.
Life features a hodgepodge of featurettes and a few deleted scenes. A UV digital copy code is included with purchase.
Life may not captivate, but it offers just enough entertainment value to keep the viewer interested. It's as predictable as the day is long and the performances (and the script) are a drag, but the filmmakers have injected the movie with just enough of a technical achievement and sheen to keep it moving, assuming one can get past the overwrought opening act. A classic watch-and-forget, the movie will likely only be remembered when it's seen in a collection of films that tried, but failed, to capture the same magic as Alien. Sony's Blu-ray is much more impressive than the movie. Video is excellent, audio is reference-worthy, and the extras are fair. Worth a rental.
2017
40th Anniversary Edition
1979
Ultimate Collector's Edition
1986
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2000
1997
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2018
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1992
2011
2016
2023
2004
2009
Collector's Edition
2013
3-Disc Set
2010
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2013