Life Review: 6 Ups & 3 Downs

4. Calvin Is A Creepy, Terrifying Antagonist

Life Calvin
Columbia Pictures

A movie of this sort will live and die on the strength of its antagonist, and as far as recent screen aliens go, Calvin is definitely up there with the best.

With a uniquely otherworldly design that continually mutates (admittedly into something more familiar looking), while the exact nature of his biology remains unsettlingly unknown, Calvin's quest to stay alive by any means necessary, while proving largely invulnerable to the crew's attempts to kill him, makes him an utterly ferocious enemy.

No, he won't be joining the pantheon of legendary screen critters like the Xenomorph or the Predator, but he's got a great look, and following his initial escape, strikes fear into the characters and the audience every time he shows up.

Also, props to the marketing department for being surprisingly restrained in not spoiling too much about how he looks later on in the movie.

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Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.