Hey, I'm absolutely allowed to enjoy a not-so-good movie if I feel like it, right? LIFE is all kinds of mundane, its monster is inconsistently threatening and the script overall is painfully mechanical to the point where somebody actually pulls out a corny copy of "Goodnight Moon". I'm guessing LIFE's largest selling point is its two high profile male leads (RYAN REYNOLDS, JAKE GYLLENHAAL) but only one of them successfully registers and he's the one with way less screen time. It's like the title/name LIFE wasn't satisfied being attached to the blandest cereal in the world and the least exciting board game (Sorry, I'm a die hard CLUE fan) so it had to go attach itself to the most routine sci-fi horror picture too! And yet I don't care because I love monsters in space so much that I'll take it (even if this one sometimes resembles THE NEW SCHMOO). You are talking to a guy who owns and enjoys the catastrophic SUPERNOVA and feels the need to watch both LEVIATHAN and DEEP STAR SIX on a seasonal basis. Yes, there is something horribly wrong with me. Why, I even watched THE RIFT the other day on COMET TV! I can't and won't be stopped (I realize I named a lot of underwater monsters rather than space monsters there but same-diff. BTW- QUEEN LATIFAH being throttled by a swarm of disgruntled jellyfish in SPHERE (1998) counts too!)!
Here's the thing, I absolutely loved LIFE's super bonkers ending. I only wish I had a copy of the movie here now so that I could keep rewinding it over and over again. It's so pessimistic and cruel and downright LOVECRAFTian and the way the music soars and repeats and twists the knife in such a mocking and unapologetic way is glorious (fantastic work JON EKSTRAND!). I mean, it's not exactly on par with the hand-grab from CARRIE but it's got a similar churning nightmare vibe and then there's this soulless God's eye aerial view that works as the final nasty nail in mankind's coffin. Does it make up for the rest of the movie? For me…yes, I think so. I dug it so much that all was forgiven. In closing, I can't recommend this movie unless you too happen to have a soft spot for somewhat clunky, embarrassingly earnest fledgling science fiction films (particularly those that swing from semi-boring to semi-incredible with exactly one nuclear blast of pitch perfect exquisite horror). Maybe just go look at your DVD collection and if you see FORBIDDEN WORLD, GALAXY OF TERROR and CREATURE starring back at you- then this flick should sufficiently stir your TANG too. Don't be fooled by its big budget and big names-LIFE works best when you don't take it too seriously.
