Review #1,217: 'Life' (2017)

When promotion started for Daniel Espinosa's space-set horror, a popular fan theory emerged that the movie was in fact an origin film for Sony's upcoming Venom movie, in which an alien symbiote arrives on Earth and attaches itself to Spider-Man, or so the comics and Sam Raimi's terrible Spider-Man 3 go. It speaks volumes about fans' eagerness to attach an original story to some ongoing franchise as part of a bigger, expanding world, as is the fad nowadays brought on by the success of Marvel's nine-year strong 'cinematic universe'. Life is not a Venom origin movie, but is in fact a throwback to popular, adult genre movies that flourished in the 1970s and 80s, although the potential for sequels is purposely there. That said, you have no doubt seen this movie before, as it rests comfortably into a well-worn formula and has no qualms about its own lack of originality.

The crew of the International Space Station manage to pull of the dangerous feat of capturing a fast-moving probe returning from Mars carrying soil samples. The six-strong team, captained by Russian Ekaterina (Olga Dihovichnaya), quickly discover that the package contains evidence of alien life in the form of dormant cells. Biologist Dr. Hugh Derry (Ariyon Bakare) manages to revive one cell by turning up the temperature, witnessing the alien's rapid growth and quick-learning. Back on Earth, school children name the discovery 'Calvin', but on the space station the creature becomes aggressive, attacking Derry and causing the rest of the crew, consisting of medical officer David Jordan (Jake Gyllenhaal), quarantine officer Miranda North (Rebecca Ferguson), pilot Sho Murakami (Hiroyuki Sanada) and wise-cracking engineer Rory Adams (Ryan Reynolds), to flee for their lives. Soon enough, preventing Calvin from reaching Earth becomes the top priority.

Drawing inspiration from the swirling camerawork of Gravity, the horror bursts of Event Horizon, the culturally diverse line-up of Sunshine, and, most of all, the claustrophobic man-versus-beast panic of genre classic Alien, Life offers nothing new to the genre, and will likely be all but forgotten in a few years. If you're expecting atmosphere, characterisation, gore or surprises, this is not that movie. However, your enjoyment of the film will depend on how quickly you come to accept the formulaic way it goes about its business, and the sooner the better. While it's nothing like the dizzying innovation of Gravity, Espinosa's film offers some spectacular visuals, blurring the line between reality and CGI. It also feels short, which is always a good thing. Life is a time-waster; something to switch your brain off to and kill 100 minutes. You may wait for a twist or the story to change direction, but it doesn't, and when the film attempts to deliver a surprise, chances are you'll have already guessed it.


Directed by: Daniel Espinosa
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ariyon Bakare, Olga Dihovichnaya
Country: USA

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,102: 'Sunshine' (2007)

Danny Boyle's under-performing attempt to rekindle audience interest in the philosophical sci-fi genre so successful in the 1970s plays out very much like an object hurtling towards the Sun - thrilling, dazzling and often overwhelming at first, before quickly burning out and being swallowed up by the enormity of the themes it attempts to explore. 2007's Sunshine ponders a future in which humanity is facing extinction as the Sun powering the planet is burning itself out. A last-gasp mission sees the crew of Icarus II travel for five years through space with a bomb the size of Manhattan in the hope of reigniting the Sun's flames.

Of course, there was also an Icarus I, captained by a man named Pinbacker (Mark Strong), which disappeared seven years earlier carrying out the same mission. When a distress signal is picked up from the lost ship, the crew of Icarus II, captained by the enigmatic Kaneda (Hiroyuki Sanada), are faced with the dilemma of either carrying on with their mission, or answering the call and picking up a second bomb in the process, and therefore doubling their chances of saving humanity. Physicist Capa (Cillian Murphy) makes the decision to set a new course, much to the frustration of level-headed engineer Mace (Chris Evans). However, navigator Trey (Benedict Wong) forgets to realign the ship's shield as it changes course, throwing the entire mission into jeopardy.

The film captures the claustrophobia and restlessness of the cramped surroundings and characters incredibly well. The crew often feel as if they are hunched over, as if being slowly swallowed up by the deadly beast that is their destination. Even the on-board garden, a self-sustaining eco-system which supplies the ship's oxygen, tended to by botanist Corazon (Michelle Yeoh), feels oddly suffocating. Boyle's trademark eye for visuals also helps give the film a sweaty, scolding vibe. An entire room on the Icarus II seems to be dedicated solely to appreciating the Sun's sheer power, as the crew, in particular psychiatrist Searle (Cliff Curtis), sit and stair in utter awe. Sunshine begins rather slow, but Boyle takes this time to sculpt an incredible sense of atmosphere.

Boyle's desire to contemplate the larger questions is ultimately the film's downfall. In the early scenes, the mere presence of the Sun looming just behind that massive shield and the way Boyle captures it is enough to start audience's comparing the star's influence to that of God, and the crew's mission to save humanity by conquering something of such unfathomable power has enough religious connotations on its own. The climax sees the arrival of a mysterious being on the ship that may or may not be supernatural, and it just doesn't work. A lot was written at the time about the Sunshine's descent into slasher territory, and although I can applaud the attempt to muddle genres and take the story in a completely different direction, I have to agree with the criticism. Instead of inviting discussion as the credits roll, it simply left me disappointed at the squandered potential.


Directed by: Danny Boyle
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Rose Byrne, Chris Evans, Michelle Yeoh, Troy Garity, Hiroyuki Sanada, Cliff Curtis, Benedict Wong, Mark Strong
Country: UK/USA

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie

Review #676: 'The Wolverine' (2013)

After one failed origin story with the dismal X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), Hugh Jackman's short-tempered Logan AKA Wolverine is given another chance at a stand alone movie. With the X-Men movies generally hit-and-miss, mainly due to an over-abundance of mutants, director James Mangold has taken the story into unfamiliar territory. There's no army of mutants baddies for the mutton-chopped hero to slice apart, nor is he held back and forced into the background by his fellow X-Men. The Wolverine takes us and Wolverine to a different continent entirely, only to find he even has enemies in Japan.

Tortured by the death of Jean Grey (Famke Janssen), Logan (Hugh Jackman) is long-haired and bearded and hiding out in Yukon, Canada. After an incident in a local bar, he is befriended by the samurai sword-wielding Yukio (Rila Fukushima) who has been sent by an old friend to recruit Wolverine. The old friend is Yashida (Hal Yamanouchi), a Japanese soldier rescued by Logan during the bombing of Nagasaki in 1945. Yashida is on the verge of death, and in his search for elongating his life, wants to transfer Logan's healing abilities into his own body. When Logan refuses, Yashida passes the following day, only for the funeral to be attacked by yakuza gangsters looking to kidnap Yashida's granddaughter Mariko (Tao Okamoto) and heir to his billion-dollar company.

It's a flimsy plot to say the least, and not one that successful, multi-million dollar blockbusters are founded on. And here lies the biggest problem for The Wolverine, as although a change of pace and setting is always welcome, there's not much happening on screen for Logan to sink his claws into. The decision to move the action to the neon-lit Japan is an interesting one, but doesn't seem to serve any other purpose than to allow for some admittedly gorgeous-looking set-pieces, and to introduce a giant samurai robot for Logan to bash around. Lightly comic scenes of cultural differences are amusing, but seem out of place considering that Logan is repeatedly told he is a ronin, a samurai without a master.

With Logan seemingly invinsible, The Wolverine does the thing that most superhero movies do nowadays which is to strip him of his powers. With Batman battered and imprisoned in The Dark Knight Rises (2012) and Tony Stark without his army of metallic suits in Iron Man 3 (2013), here Wolverine's healing abilities are drained by villain The Viper (Svetlana Khodchenkova), who infects his body with a parasite. This is successful in making a more reluctant, damaged hero, and therefore adding dimensions to his character, but (as sexy as she is), Viper is a pretty thin and non-threatening baddie, and resembles Uma Thurman's Posion Ivy from Joel Schumacher's Batman & Robin (1997) too much to be taken seriously.

However, Jackman is as compelling as ever in the role, which is the sole reason that there is still life in Wolverine's stand-alone franchise. This is now his sixth film, in a role he has played for 13 years, and this is probably his most dynamic performance. The Wolverine is heavily flawed, but manages to be a minor success thanks to Jackman's ferocity and more concentration on the hero everyone came to see. There's also a nice little tie-in at the end to the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past, adding yet another weave into Marvel's ever-expanding universe. But, with a weak climax and a strangely thin storyline, I would be surprised if The Wolverine lingers for very long in many people's minds.


Directed by: James Mangold
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Tao Okamoto, Rila Fukushima, Hiroyuki Sanada, Svetlana Khodchenkova, Famke Janssen
Country: Australia/USA

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie