Life
A Mars sample brought aboard an orbital laboratory evolves into an intelligent predator that turns a scientific breakthrough into a fight for survival.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Graphic
- tense
- claustrophobic
- brooding
- late night horror
- sci fi movie night
What critics said
Critics generally found the film thrilling, well acted, and technically capable, but overly familiar within the trapped-in-space genre.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The crew is trapped aboard an International Space Station research facility while an alien organism moves through its limited spaces.
The astronauts' attempt to study the first confirmed extraterrestrial life produces unintended consequences and puts the entire crew at risk.
Airlocks, escape pods, damaged equipment, and weightless station environments shape the film's major suspense sequences.
The single-celled Martian organism grows more intelligent and dangerous as the crew's research controls break down.
Films like Life, and why
Alien
shared trapped in space setting, intelligent extraterrestrial threat, escalating survival horror, and claustrophobic suspense
Pandorum
shared space-station confinement, ensemble survival thriller structure, hostile nonhuman force, and grim atmosphere
Event Horizon
shared cosmic horror, isolated spacecraft environment, psychological pressure, and body-threatening alien presence
Movie Details
- Director
- Daniel Espinosa
- Release Date
- 2017-03-22
- Runtime
- 104 min
- Rating
- 6.5 / 10 (8140)
Cast
- Jake Gyllenhaal
- Ryan Reynolds
- Rebecca Ferguson
- Hiroyuki Sanada
- Olga Dihovichnaya
- Ariyon Bakare
- Naoko Mori
- Haruka Kuroda
- Camiel Warren-Taylor
- Alexandre Nguyen
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Hulu
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Life about?
- A Mars sample brought aboard an orbital laboratory evolves into an intelligent predator that turns a scientific breakthrough into a fight for survival.
- What is Life like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Life as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Life violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Life as graphic.
- What did critics think of Life?
- Critics generally found the film thrilling, well acted, and technically capable, but overly familiar within the trapped-in-space genre.
- Which films are like Life?
- Films with a similar feel include Alien, Pandorum, and Event Horizon.
- How long is Life?
- Life runs 104 minutes.
- Where can I watch Life?
- In United States, Life streams on Hulu.
