Life with Ryan Reynolds, Jake Gyllenhal and Rebecca Ferguson

This movie is intense and the acting is great.  It transcends multiple genres: sci-fi, horror and drama. The visuals and special effects are excellent as we see the metamorphosis of a sinister alien being and one of the most elaborate and realistic space stations ever to be seen on film.

The staff of an international space station retrieve environmental samples from Mars. They then begin analyzing and experimenting. Then something goes terribly wrong. The underlying theme is that scientists are playing God with life from another planet. The movie poses the question, what are the consequences of extreme scientific curiosity?

There is an excellent cast with Ryan Reynolds and Jake Gyllenhal giving authentic and realistic performances, some of their best work ever. They are not alone in the pool of talent: Hiroyuki Sanada, Ariyon Bakare and Rebecca Ferguson, who plays an intense and by the book commander, all add to the overall well written story.

The only criticism of the casting and coinciding writing that I can offer is that with so many people giving good performances there is a lot of competition for screen time which led to less depth in character development. Hardly, a major issue with so many other good things running on all cylinders.

This is an all-around great movie.  Please go see it in the theater where it will be most appreciated. Fans of just about any genre will be very pleased. I give it a 9/10.