Life [4K UHD]

Alien.There. I went ahead and got that out of the way. Now, let's get on with Life.Life is a story about vindicating the Origin of Species with--ironically--the demise of the human race. In a sense, that would be a genuine celebration of evolution because the brightest minds mankind has to offer are succumbing to a more cunning, adaptable, and more perfect lifeform. While Life's plot isn't really new (consider Alien, The Thing, Harbinger Down), the film is a unique take on the claustrophic horror genre that's impressive on several levels.First off is the CGI, and the convincing performances of the cast considering how much acting was done in front of a green screen. Mimicking zero gravity on film has always been a challenge, and on top of that, convincing your audience that you are truly terrified of something that's only in your imagination while filming should illustrate just how good the cast and director were. The CGI was done well enough to be mostly unnoticeable throughout the film, bringing a realism that makes you feel as if you were actually on the International Space Station. Contrast that with bad CGI (eg Battlefield Earth, or the hideous Ultraviolet) which becomes obtrusive and painful to watch, and you'll appreciate just how much attention to detail was paid to immersing you in its world. Although the same cannot really be said of the "alien" the crew discovers, that's really besides the point. The beauty of Life is not so much in its creature's appearance, but rather what it stands for.All good horror movies provide a dose of mystery. For example, what made the original Blair Witch Project terrifying was not so much Blair herself (whom you never really see throughout the film), but rather the uncertainty surrounding her nature. What exactly is Blair capable of doing? What's her weakness? Her goals? What are the RULES we're dealing with here? When you don't understand your enemy, then you cannot defend against it and that contributes to serious tension throughout a good horror film. Many of the greatest horror/thrillers had this element of mystery, from Freddy Krueger to Jason and even the original Alien and Predator. Throughout much of those films we had no idea what those creature's rules were, and thus were wholly vulnerable to them.Life laid out only three rules for "Calvin" the Martian from early in the film: that it's carbon based, that its cells were each capable of muscle, neuronal and photosensitivity functions, and that it has survived for likely millennia in hibernation on Mars. This makes it one giant blob of muscle, brain and eyes, and it is damn tough. If you were on the ISS while this possibly sentient being was unleashed, what the hell would YOU do? What CAN you do? How do you defend against something that could well be far more intelligent than you when you have few places to hide, and escape wasn't an option?Life tackles these questions from a very practical viewpoint that allows the audience to relate with the crew as they face off against Calvin. This isn't Doom where space jockeys spit bullets at zombies, but rather a drama of survival among a very human and flawed crew as they engage a series of moral dilemmas left in Calvin's path. This emphasis on people with whom we could relate with was crucial in the success of Alien, and the director has done a fine job here shining the light on the astronauts rather than on making Calvin look pretty.While Life does nod to Alien in some respects (the similarities between their opening titles should be a giveaway), it isn't trying to beat Alien, because it's not. Life is set in a completely different time and environment, and deals with issues that should be given some more thought than they're currently receiving. Should we be really that eager to establish contact with an alien race, no matter how primitive it first appears? Do we have the right to poke, prod, and otherwise torture it when we find it? And if it starts eating us, can we really fault it for trying to survive?I finished the film thinking about such issues and that made me give it a well-earned 5 stars, because the world Life created made me want to stay there longer. The film was compelling enough to make me care about the astronauts and even for Calvin, I do hope we get to see more in a sequel of some kind. That said, though, the ending does seem to lend some credence to the "Venom" rumors going around, but if that is remotely true, it would signal a VERY different, and I'd say difficult to film, path forward for Spiderman's nemesis. If the rumor is REMOTELY true, then this has got to be among the best prequels of all time.

Man I really hope those dudes didn’t open that capsule at the end 🤣

Good movie 👍and no problem with the disc

Very well written and acted movie

You know the trope. You've seen it in Alien(s), you've seen it in Frankenstein, and if you're a fan of Greek mythology you've seen it in Icarus and Daedalus. Human (or humans, or all of humanity) makes an amazing breakthrough, only to have it become their undoing. This movie, in its premise and execution, is nothing new. If you are even mildly genre-savvy you will find yourself calling every plot beat and jump scare up to ten minutes before they occur.Is this bad? No. The actors give solid performances, the premise is delivered in a fairly fresh way that gives the audience some modicum of intellectual credit (something rare enough in film these days,) the cinematography was passable, and the payoff, while a tad nonsensical and seemingly shoehorned, is worth the effort of the watch. Indeed, I would be giving this a solid four stars if it weren't for our antagonist.Without ruining too much, I can tell you that Calvin is an alien entity our ensemble cast raise from a single cell discovered on Mars. "He" is a bit of an anomaly, being comprised of, to paraphrase "all muscle and all brain" tissue. I suppose this was supposed to explain his extreme precociousness, yet even assuming that Calvin has the intelligence of Einstein, how would he understand what a space ship is, let alone how to navigate its maze of infrastructure? He spent the bulk of his life (several days) in a petri dish. How is it that we have the ship's engineer, a person, we assume, has specific knowledge of the station's inner workings, state that Calvin can only possibly escape quarantine/outer space through X duct/thruster/macguffin, only to have Calvin, with no trial and error, immediately do it? Did he google the schematics? Does he have Jason Vorhees powers? Has he become fluent in English and hacked their coms?Moreover, what exactly are Calvin's rules? We're told he needs a Martian atmosphere to survive, yet is immediately able to function in the ship's more oxygen-rich environment, with the exception of that one time he had a bit of trouble, but then immediately recovered. We're told he requires air (and we assume some manner of atmosphere) just as we do, yet he seems to be capable of surviving in the vacuum of space for extended periods of time. Flame throwers and rocket fuel don't seem to do much more than annoy him. I understand making a monster formidable, but making it both omniscient and essentially immortal seems a bit cheap.Still, if you haven't seen the movie, I wouldn't let this stop you from an enjoyable bit of quasi-smart popcorn-crunching fun. Just know what to expect going in.

This was a really good movie I thought..The ending really makes you think..Wish they'd make a Life2

Ok we all know that some of the best movies in the genre of 'alien gets on board spaceship in space and stalks and kills members of a crew' will always be movies like : 'Alien' and 'Aliens' for example.Thoses 2 movies are simply 2 of the best of that genre.Theyre classics and they were briliantly executed by 2 amazing directors.And they will stand the test of times.Same thing with movies in the genre of 'Die hard'.U know the terrorist takes over a location and one man saves the day type thing.Die Hard will always be the classic and one of the best ones but it doesnt mean that some of the clones that were made after it are not good.There are tones of great Die Hard clones like Under Siege,Speed,Passenger 57,Sudden Death...ect..Well the same thing with Alien clones there are some good ones that were made and i believe Life is one of them.Sure its not a movie that is the most memorable and that really stands out all that much from maybe other clones of Alien but its very competently made and it has a cast of really great actors.Plus it has tension all the way true.The alien creature even though it really doesnt look as great as the HR gieger creature from alien it surely is menacing in the way that it just wants to relentlessly get rid of all the crew members in a sadistic way.I mentioned a great cast of actors.In here we have Jake Gillenhall wich to me is kind of not playing his best in here.He's not bad but i have seen him acting a whole lot more in recent movies like 'Ambulance'.Here he seems to be just cruising through his part a bit.He doesn't give it all that much.Rebecca Furguson is good.Ryan Reynolds is playing his usual smartass and the comedian.I found he seemed a bit out of place in a movie like this.There is 2 other actors that i have seen before and theyre good actors.Anyways the movie doesnt take long before it gets going.Once the creature bust loose it never really stops.There is great tension all the way through.Now for the 4k picture i can't comment on the 4k disc cause i dont have a player for it but the bluray looks really good.I heard the 4k disc looks a bit better.There is good detailed shots but some of the movie was shot a bit in an odd way so some shots look a bit kind of less detailed.But thats intentional and not a fault of the transfer.The audio mix is pretty good too.There is good bass when things happen like spaceships crashing and stuff.Extras are a bit thin.Just a couple of short behind the scenes.No fx reels like how they made the creature on the computer.Kind of dissapointing for that.But if you like the movie or like 'Alien' type movies in space with non stop tension this movie won't dissapoint.Its a good 4k to buy also plus you get a bluray copy too for thoses not equiped for 4k.

For me, another film I enjoyed.

Das internationale Forscher- und Ingenieursteam der ISS nimmt die lange ersehnte und mindestens genauso lange durchs All gereiste Bodenprobe vom Mars auf, wertet sie aus und entdeckt DIE Sensation: den Beweis für Leben "außerhalb der Erde". Der Organismus, zunächst Einzeller; aber rasend schnell wachsend ist erst regelrecht zutraulich, interpretiert dann aber verschiedene Tests der Besatzung wohl falsch und beginnt nicht nur, die Besatzungsmitglieder als Feinde zu sehen, sondern sie auch als Feinde zu eliminieren.. Und eine "Landung" des Aliens auf der Erde droht auch noch.Klingt schon ein wenig nach dem 1979er Science Fiction-Klassiker "Alien" von Ridley Scott, nicht wahr? Und prinzipiell ähneln sich die Filme auch ziemlich stark: eine kleine Crew stößt unverhofft auf einen außerirdischen Organismus, der sich als höchst- und lebensgefährlich erweist, gegen den kaum ein Kraut gewachsen ist und der die Besatzung nach dem "10 kleine Negerlein"-Prinzip dezimiert. Außerdem muss dessen Landung auf der Erde zum Wohle des Fortbestandes der Menschheit unter allen Umständen verhindert werden. So weit, so gleich; die Unterschiede liegen in der beengten, beinahe schon klaustrophobischen Umgebung der ISS im Gegensatz zur weitläufigen Location des Frachtschiffes in "Alien", die mit ihren engen Gängen, den vielen Schleusen und der beinahe schon sterilen Sauberkeit und Ordnung einen krassen Gegensatz zum versifften, öl- und fettverschmierten "Containerschiff" "USS Nostromo" bildet. Einen Androiden, der mehr gegen als für die Besatzung arbeitet und naturgemäß keine Angst vor dem Alien haben muss, gibt es auch nicht. Besonders das Aussehen des Aliens differiert: Während das titelgebende Alien in Scotts Klassiker zu einem der bekanntesten und (meiner Meinung nach) furchterregendsten Viecher der Filmgeschichte wurde, ist Calvin optisch zunächst eine Weile liebesbedürftiges Pflänzchen, um in der nächsten Evolutionsstufe auszusehen wie ein roher Calamari aus dem griechischen Restaurant ums Eck. Nach weiterem Wachstum sieht das Alien dann immer noch eher aus wie eine Art Tintenfisch, bloß eben größer und ist für mich persönlich nicht so recht angst machend.Klar weist "Life" auch ein paar ordentliche Logiklöcher auf, die allerdings nur Inhaber des schwarzen Gürtels in Physik, Chemie und (Xeno-)Biologie wirklich stören dürften. Quizfrage ist allerdings, warum die Besatzung dem Vieh mit Sauerstoffentzug den Garaus machen oder es mit Sauerstoff anlocken will, während Calvin stundenlang außerhalb der ISS im luftleeren Raum umhertollt..Ansonsten ist "Life" tatsächlich (bis auf das Creature-Design) relativ innovationslos und kombiniert Versatzstücke verschiedener alter und neuerer Science Fictioner wie eben "Alien" oder "Gravity", besticht aber nach etwa 25 Minuten durch hohes Tempo, ordentlich Spannung, ein paar gelungene Bilder wie z. B. Blut in Schwerelosigkeit und einen doch recht fiesen Schlusstwist. Der Cast tut sein Übriges, und hier besticht vor allem Jake Gyllenhaal.Bereits das Bild der Blu-ray ist sehr gut ausgefallen. Die Schärfe und Tiefenschärfe sind stets hoch und bleiben es auch; der Kontrast und der Schwarzwert sind herausragend. Die Plastizität könnte besser sein. Meiner Ansicht nach ist der Film wohl ursprünglich für die 3D-Auswertung angedacht gewesen; schade dass es ihn nicht in 3D gibt: dadurch hätte der Streifen erheblich profitieren können.Die 4k-Version kann da in jeder Hinsicht noch eins drauf setzen: besonders der Detailreichtum in den Bildhintergründen und in dunklen Abschnitten nimmt deutlich zu; der Farbraum (natürlich) sowieso. Die Plastizität ist beeindruckend. Das Bild ist exzellent, und lediglich ein Mal fielen mir ein paar Artefakte auf, als Ryan Reynolds` Charakter sich schnell vor einem dunklen Hintergrund bewegte. Ob das nun schon für 4k-Referenz reicht kann ich nicht beurteilen, dazu habe ich bislang zu wenig 4k-Scheiben gesehen.Auch tonal ist die Scheibe sehr gut. Als einzigen marginalen Mangel auf dem DTS HD MA-Track der Blu lässt sich anführen, dass der Bass die meiste Zeit etwas schwachbrüstig wirkt; aber das lässt sich regeln. Der Track erfreut durch einige toll abgemischte direktionale Effekte, durch eine sehr gute Signalortbarkeit und eine insgesamt hervorragende Surroundkulisse: Wenn sich die Beschädigungen an der ISS langsam auswirken, quietscht und knarrt es aus allen Richtungen. Das Ganze wirkt im englischen Original mit Atmos natürlich noch deutlich besser, luftiger und umhüllender, wenngleich aus den Heights gar nicht mal soviel kommt. Allerdings sind die Dialoge im Englischen etwas leiser.Die Extras habe ich nicht angesehen; ich vergebe die Durchschnittsnote.Mein persönliches Fazit: "Life" bietet im Endeffekt nichts wirklich Neues und Frisches, zeigt aber das Althergebrachte zumindest auf eine spannende und unterhaltsame Art und Weise. Größter Pluspunkt des Films ist die straffe Inszenierung, größter Minuspunkt für mich ist die Optik des Viechs. Die Designer haben da für mich persönlich lange nicht so gute Arbeit geleistet wie seinerzeit, als Ridley Scotts "Alien" zum Leben erweckt wurde. Beim Anblick von Calvin krieg ich eher Hunger auf Carpaccio di Polpo als Angst..

Llegó en excelentes condiciones 👌🏻

Lots of special effects. Lots of CGI. Not the best Sci-fi out there, but a good pass the time show.