Jake and Ryan’s Sci-Fi Surprise: ‘Life’ Streams to Success!

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2017’s lesser-known sci-fi thriller, titled “Life,” has recently gained popularity as a top-streamed movie on Amazon Prime Video, landing at the fourth spot on their top 10 chart. The film, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Ryan Reynolds, and Rebecca Ferguson (from “Dune: Part One”), follows the story of three out of six astronauts stationed on the International Space Station who stumble upon life on Mars. However, this alien organism rapidly evolves, causing the crew to realize it had previously wiped out life on Mars and could potentially do the same on Earth. Interestingly enough, some viewers mistakenly believed it was a hidden “Venom” prequel or spinoff; I’ll share more about that intriguing theory momentarily.

The storyline might seem reminiscent as it closely resembles the classic film “Alien” along with several other movies in the same genre. Films like “Leviathan” and “Deep Star Six”, which originated in the late 1980s, share a similar premise – creatures on a vessel (either a ship or submarine). As of now, it has garnered a respectable 68% rating from critics but a less impressive 55% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. In his review for MovieWeb, Ryan Scott described the film as a blend between “Alien” and “Gravity,” while acknowledging that “Life” carries many parallels to Ridley Scott’s “Alien.

The movie titled “Life” was helmed by Daniel Espinosa, who incidentally directed “Morbius” (2022), with a script penned by Rhett Reese and Paul Werkick, who are renowned for their work on “Deadpool”. Unfortunately, when it premiered in North America in March 2017, it underperformed significantly, earning only $30.2 million despite its impressive star power. However, it managed to perform better overseas, raking in a total of $70.3 million internationally, bringing the global box office earnings to $100.5 million. Regrettably, these revenues fell short of covering the film’s production budget of $58 million, accounting for marketing costs and revenue sharing with cinemas.

Why Fans Thought ‘Life’ Was a Stealth ‘Venom’ Prequel or Spinoff

Way back in early 2017, even before the release of the movie “Life”, speculations among fans started to grow that it could be a secret prequel or spin-off for the character Venom. However, this was intriguing because the first Venom film didn’t come out until a year later. Interestingly, Sony already had an active project for a Venom movie in progress, and as with gossip and conjecture, these ideas sometimes gain momentum.

Everything started with a TV advertisement for “Life” inadvertently using a snippet from “Spider-Man 3,” specifically a shot of New York City’s skyline, which sparked quite a stir a week before the movie’s premiere. The speculation gained momentum when viewers recalled that “Split,” starring James McAvoy, was essentially a secret follow-up to M. Night Shyamalan’s iconic film, “Unbreakable.

It didn’t hurt matters that the creative team behind Life appeared to subscribe to this theory, as they hinted at it by reminding fans that they penned a draft of Venom and the film received a release date just as rumors began circulating. Given that the alien symbiote transforming into Venom originates from outer space, and both Life and Venom were under Sony’s control, everything seemed to fit together neatly.

However, it appears that the movie wasn’t as successful as anticipated, leading one to ponder whether Sony and the Life crew intentionally exaggerated a fictitious connection to generate interest and increase initial ticket sales in cinemas. Yet, this strategy did not yield the desired results.

You can watch Life on Amazon Prime Video.

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2025-03-13 14:32