Summary
There is a lot to love about the massive star-exploring adventure that isStarfield. There are tons of unique quests to go on, plenty of enemies to fight, and so much to uncover. However, many fans of the game might be craving more from the darker side ofStarfield. Those who love their sci-fi with a heaping helping of horror will probably love the Jake Gyllenhaal-helmed sci-fi movie,Life.
Released back in 2017,Lifeemployed many familiar sci-fi horror beats to tell a terrifying tale of survival in outer space. Some ofStarfield’screepier andeasier-to-miss side questswill feel eerily similar, as those quests harness many of the same creepy ideas from movies likeLifeand theAlienfranchise. There’s a lot to love inLife, especially the performances from the great cast that includes none other than comedy darling, Ryan Reynolds.
Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick
Cast
Jake Gyllenhaal, Ryan Reynolds, Rebecca Ferguson, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ariyon Bakare, Olga Dihovichnaya
July 20, 2025 (SXSW); July 18, 2025 (United States)
104 minutes
$58 million
Box Office
$100.5 million
A crew of astronauts are returning from a trip to Mars in which they managed to obtain some promising samples that may be human civilizations' first-ever proof of alien life. Onboard the International Space Station, the crew manages to revitalize the alien matter they found, realizing it is some kind of living being, and they name it Calvin. While there areplenty of alien creatures to encounter inStarfield, none are anything like horrifying little Calvin. The alien creature demonstrates its ill intent by crushing the hand of the scientist who was working on it, Hugh.
Calvin manages to get bigger each time it consumes something, forcing Ryan Reynold’s character Rory to take the fight to the alien being before things can get out of control. He isn’t able to properly destroy Calvin, resulting inthe incredible alien creaturekilling Rory in a shocking twist, taking Ryan Reynolds out of the film far earlier than some people may like. From there, the remaining crew attempts to survive while finding a way to stop Calvin and warn Earth of their dangerous situation.
As one might expect, their warnings to Earth can’t get through thanks to Calvin, forcing the crew into dangerous situation after dangerous situation. The crafty alien picks off the crew one by one. The horrific fashion in which Calvin does so is something that no one will ever want to suffer. At one point, Calvin is even actively feeding on one of the crew members while they attempt to stop the creature. There is even an additional attempt by Earth torid themselves of the space station entirelyto keep the planet safe once communications have gone dark. However, this too fails as Calvin manages to feed even more. Before long, only two survivors, David and Miranda, remain to deal with Calvin before the alien can find a way back to Earth and consume everything on the planet.
What Is Life’s Rotten Tomatoes Score?
While many will find the plot ofLifeto be incredibly gripping, just as many will find it too similar to everything that has come before. This likely contributes to its middling Rottoe Tomatoes score.Lifehas been rated as 68% fresh among professional critics, and among general audiences, the film has fared worse at 54%. Much of the praise from critics comes from the genuine tension throughout the film and great performances from the actors involved. However, just as many acknowledge the many twists to be too easy to see coming in a standard movie.
Unlike some critics, Ryan Reynolds seemed to enjoyLife’stwists. In an interviewvia USAToday, he talked about his reaction to Rory’s death:
I liked that (twist). It’s healthy for movies to create scenarios that you don’t necessarily expect.
For the less appreciative audiences,Lifeis seen astoo similar toAlienwithout many of the hallmarks that make that film a classic. Some additional critiques come from a lack of focus on genuine horror, weak characters (despite good performances), and a creature that was too nebulous for some. Outside of that, there are plenty of positive reviews stating that the film was an enjoyable thriller, if a bit derivative of movies that have come before it.
How Does Life End?
With all of their attempts to destroy Calvin failed and few options available, David and Miranda get desperate. They know that Calvin is a shockingly resilient life form. It’s entirely possible for the alien to survive the reentry down to Earth, allowing the creature to run rampant across the planet. With no other options, the two come up with a plan that, despite resulting in one of their certain deaths, would ultimately save Earth and all of its inhabitants.
The plan is for David to sacrifice himself, trapping himself inside an escape pod with Calvin before piloting it out into deep space. At the same time, Miranda is totake a separate escape podand return to Earth in order to inform everyone about what had occurred on their journey. As anyone who’d seen the film up to that point would expect, things go south in a hurry.
The viewer is treated to one escape pod being struck by debris, causing confusion among the pods.One escape pod plummets back toward Earth, and the other successfully heads out into the never-ending expanse of space. The biggest twist of the film comes when a group of fishermen on Earth come across one of the escape pods: David’s escape pod. Instead of the plan succeeding, David ended up landing on Earth with Calvin, while Miranda was launched into outer space with no way of returning home. The film comes to a close with the viewer knowing Calvin’s reign of terror has only just begun.
The movie may not be as dark as all ofStarfield, but those who were craving something much creepier and dystopian from the game’s side quests will find a lot to love throughout the gripping thrills ofLife.
Starfield
WHERE TO PLAY
Starfield is the first new universe in 25 years from Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout 4. In this next generation role-playing game set amongst the stars, create any character you want and explore with unparalleled freedom as you embark on an epic journey to answer humanity’s greatest mystery.The year is 2330. Humanity has ventured beyond our solar system, settling new planets, and living as a spacefaring people. From humble beginnings as a space miner, you will join Constellation – the last group of space explorers seeking rare artifacts throughout the galaxy – and navigate the vast expanse of the Settled Systems in Bethesda Game Studios’ biggest and most ambitious game.
