Robin Turner If you watch this film thinking it's the one based on Half-Life the game, you will naturally be disappointed. There again, you will probably be disappointed anyway. The film starts with the familiar trope of people going about their everyday lives while the radio and TV give us hints of Impending Doom. "Oh, goody," you think, "civilization is going to collapse any minute now." Here's the spoiler: civilization doesn't collapse. This film has no plagues, zombies or mutant biker gangs. Instead we have a guy who's dating a woman and fancies her daughter plus a coming-out drama. Oh yes, and there's a kid who has mutant powers or may possibly be the Messiah. Or Damien, I'm not sure. We never find out, because he hardly ever uses his powers, and it's a case of "Blink and you've missed it." As far as I can tell, there is no reason why the kid should have these powers, and it doesn't tie in to the impending doom back-story. It's like someone wrote a run-of-the-mill family drama then thought, "Oh my, this is dull, let's put in a kid with mutant powers. And maybe have the world end."

scottwallvashon This is pretentious faux deep nonsense. It was designed so that pretentious faux deep pseudo intellectuals could watch it, then sit around, smoke cigarettes, and say pretentious faux deep things. The things they say will be gibberish, but they and their pretentious faux deep friends can pretend that they have meaning so that they feel sophisticated. Many of us knew them in college. I think a Saturday Night Live skit was made about these sorts of people featuring Catherine Zeta-Jones, but I can't recall the exact episode. I heard that this was intelligent science fiction. It wasn't. It had a pinch of vague stereotypical psi phenomena so that it could jump genres, but the psi had nothing to do with the plot. I waded through the whole thing hoping that there would eventually be some point. There wasn't. It was just the same old annoying and sometimes creepy sexual tension and promiscuity mixed with a lot of emoting and confusion. I would give this movie one star, but that would be unfair since the acting was reasonably good. It's not the actors' fault they got dragged into this thing. They probably needed the work. The actors deserve some small concession.

HomelessMan Caught it at South-By-Southwest and it stood out to me as the true gem of the festival. So much of the programming I caught there didn't interest me. Although the films were solidly enjoyable, they ultimately seemed quite mundane and wholly 'uncinematic' - each one blended into the others. This stood far above the rest.I find this film highly engaging emotionally but also very interesting formally. It's a wonderfully crafted film. It has what's needed to be pleasing, but never forgets its true ambition as a cinematic work. Incredible first film that stands out in the modern indie film spectrum ... I give it eight of ten because you have to leave room for Bergman :)

holdyerbreath Was the other reviewer even watching the same film? I think Half Life is nothing short of amazing. I saw it at its second screening at Sundance and was totally blown away. So were the vast majority of the people in the filled to capacity theater. This was a touching, human, wickedly funny, painfully honest, and visually amazing movie. I recommend it to everyone. The entire cast turned in some of the best and most inspired performances of their career, including the actor who played the little kid. Sanoe Lake makes up for Blue Crush a hundred times over with her fearless acting style. The cinematographer should win an award too.