While I am gradually getting used to it I still am dumbfounded by the random outrage of people when it comes to their opinions of movies. Especially when the same people show love and appreciation for films that often are appallingly bad. Life certainly is flawed and has some issues but so bad that it's not entertaining? Hell no! Most of the criticism towards this film is biased and unfounded. For some reason Life is being compared to Gravity or Interstellar as if these films are the representation of A grade science fiction.
Firstly both Gravity and Interstellar are just as flawed or even more so than Life. On top of that, they are super pretentious. Life is not. If the trailer wasn't an indication, then eventually you will figure out that Life is nothing more than an Alien clone. One of the better ones in my humble opinion. It never pretends to be thought-provoking or realistic. So for people to use that against the film is sheer ignorance. There are many different sub-genres within science fiction, and not all of them are meant to inspire or make you think. Some just want to entertain. I really don't see what is wrong with that. And for the most part, Life is very entertaining. That being said though, there are some issues.
Pacing. It's uneven and that is me putting it mildly. Some scenes go by quick and fast, mostly due to build up tension and thrills. But then there are sequences where a lot of time is taken to emphasize how dire the situation is for the characters. If these quieter moments had given these characters more substance or depth, then I could have forgiven these slowdowns. Unfortunately, the majority of these slowdowns are empty and artificial. They are there to lengthen the duration of the film. I wished they would stop doing that. Either give me something interesting to chew on, or simply shorten the film. The viewing experience of many contemporary films would improve considerably because of that.
Another small issue is that Life is predictable and done by the numbers. Once you realize what the film is, it offers very little to no surprises. Pretty much every event can be foreseen, although there was one scene that has a twist on that predictability, which I could appreciate. And I do want to point out that despite Life being predictable, it does give you all the monster film goodness you could wish for. The alien life form called Calvin (which is a horrible name for any living being if you ask me) is clever, ruthless and relentless beyond belief. Even when you are technically not rooting for him, you secretly do find some satisfaction when he manages to dispose of someone.
Life for the most part is entertaining and will be worth your time if you don't expect it to be more than it is. Plus, there are some redeeming elements that will make you overlook its flaws.
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