Attack the Block (2011)

10 Comments

1. 

   paulmabey from England
   05 May 2012, 3:34 pm

   Finally got to see this film after wanting to for ages because I'm a huge Nick Frost fan (although admittedly mainly through Spaced and Shaun of the dead). I would have put money on me loving this film. What wasn't to love for a bloke in his 20's – monsters/aliens, groups with weapons working together (The warriors anyone?!) and of course Nick Frost.
   
   Well, I'll tell you the reason why I hated it – because the characters we were meant to love were essentially scumbags. Being a secondary school teacher it is depressing how often I see and hear teenagers acting hard, wearing hoods and trackies (even if it's 30degrees!, using ridiculous and often rude language and generally lacking basic morals and respect. And now here is a film that not only expects us to identify and go on a journey with these characters but also glorifies them!
   
   My hesitation began in the opening scene when they pulled a knife whilst mugging a woman and seemed to have nothing but contempt for her. I thought to myself 'Hmmm, that's quite extreme as I thought we were going to like these guys?' Now that would have been OK if the story had quickly unfolded that it was just a big front and they were actually quite nice and don't really like hurting people they just do it as they don't know any better, but this wasn't the case. It clumsily seemed to try to swing it this way with some of the characters (the one with glasses seemed particularly easy to like), but most of them continued to be little scrotes if I'm honest.
   
   The way the police were viewed and portrayed I thought was pretty disgraceful and again painted an image that it was cool to hate the police.
   
   Probably the biggest let down was that I suddenly realised near the end of the film that I hadn't actually laughed once. A couple, and I mean a couple, of moments of light relief from Frost was about all I smiled at. I also thought the development of the characters was poor or almost non existent, especially the token weed smoking posh white boy who for me added nothing.
   
   To the films credit I thought it was shot well, the monsters were good (in a budget/cult like way) and most of the acting was good, although it seemed to try far too hard to make them all use the teenage 'buzz' words constantly. Probably why the one liners failed to work IMO. It was bare annoying.
   
   The sad thing is I can see some of the kids I teach watching this and wanting to be just like them. At least the worst thing I'd have been likely to say at their age would have been "I need your clothes, your boots and your motorcycle"!

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2. 

   Bat-Fastard from London, England
   05 May 2012, 3:34 pm

   a gang of teen thugs begin by mugging, at knife-point, a woman of her phone and purse. Then an alien lands, destroying a car. The gangs' first impulse? what can they steal from the car! I was praying that they all become the aliens' first victims, but no, we go on to discover that these scum, in association with the blocks drug dealing wannabe "gansta" arm up and kill the aliens. This is a terrible film. If it's trying to portray the "yout" as being brave and heroic in someway it fails miserably. All it does is cement in people's minds that teenagers are all thieving, knife wielding scum. There's no revelation by the gang in this film, they don't come to realise that their lifestyle is a problem or any such nonsense, they just act out their ignorant, pack mentality behaviour and reinforce stereotypes that need to be broken down. An awful film and not even the so called comedic touch of Nick Frost do anything to make this film watchable. Avoid it like a dose of the clap.

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3. 

   zero-bob from United Kingdom
   05 May 2012, 3:34 pm

   Where to start. Unoriginal alien invasion plot? Uninspiring tone? Bad dialogue? No, let's start at storytelling 101 – the characters.
   
   The hero characters that you are meant to empathise with are essentially teenage narrow-minded thugs; not the best choice in terms of storytelling as few people would empathise with them, but I thought they might do something interesting with them later in the story to get you as the viewer on their side, but alas they didn't.
   
   The characters are poorly established. Characters seemed to come and go for the first two thirds of the film making it very unclear which characters the film is actually focusing on, never mind establishing a protagonist.
   
   Which brings me on to my next point. Why establish your protagonist and outline their background towards the end of a film? You need to establish an emotional connection between the protagonist and the audience early on, and then reward / emotionally toy with the audience throughout the rest of the film. This is what makes films enjoyable to watch.
   
   The film generally consisted of the kids spouting lines that they deem clever with such consistency you start to wonder whether they are doing it for effect or the director actually thinks the lines are truly funny. Only towards the end stages of the film did I even start to find the dialogue mildly funny. Their London "gangsta" accents will grind on you throughout the film without fail however, so don't think a few funny lines will rescue you from this.
   
   The plot was basic and predictable. Basic I can forgive, as there's no need to over-complicate a storyline as it can diminish it's impact, but the fact that it took the path of least resistance to the end wasn't so forgivable. The only aspect of the plot I liked was that the woman who the kids mugged was forced to team up with them to defeat a common enemy, which provided some interesting tension and humour.
   
   The only thing I truly liked about the film was that the aliens were really black, really really black. So black in fact they almost aren't there. This was believable in terms of the evolution of a species which required camouflage and a cool little feature of the invaders. Aside from that I'm really struggling to find anything good to say about this film, apart from one or two funny lines as I've already mentioned.
   
   In short, it wasn't silly enough to fall into the slapstick horror category, nor was it structured well enough to even be considered an average film. I'm mystified as to how this film has gained a 7.5 IMDb rating at the time of writing this review.

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4. 

   chrismsawin from United States
   05 May 2012, 3:34 pm

   I purposely avoided promos and trailers for Attack the Block. Other than aliens being involved in some capacity and Nick Frost being in the film, I had no idea what it was about either. When it comes to movies these days, movie studios are banking on titles to be huge hits and promote them into the ground. You feel like you've already seen half the movie by the time it's released while lesser known films usually get little to no promotion and bomb because nobody knew anything about them. And as a movie critic, going into a movie and saying you don't know absolutely everything about it beforehand is kind of liberating. Remember the days when you'd go to the movies not knowing what to see and you'd pick something based on the movie poster alone? I miss the days when there weren't a ton of commercials before the trailers, but I digress. Attack the Block, much like any film should in this situation is already entertaining in its own right but is an even stronger experience if you know nothing about it going in.
   
   This is Joe Cornish's first time sitting in the director's seat, but it certainly doesn't feel that way. His sense of perspective is fantastic and the lighting in the film is utilized in the alien creatures' benefit. Something as simple as lights dimming in a hallway is suddenly way more intimidating after seeing Attack the Block. The cast works better as a cohesive unit rather than individually, but there are a few that standout above the rest. Moses (John Boyega) is probably the most obvious choice since he's the leader of the gang and the story kind of leans in his favor, but Brewis (Luke Treadaway) is right up there as well. His rather oblivious attitude towards aliens invading their neighborhood due to him being stoned all the time got more laughs than anything else in the film. He didn't even have to say anything half the time. His appearance and body language will have you rolling at times. Pest (Alex Esmail) steps it up a bit after he has a close encounter with one of the alien monsters. His incessant ramblings about the aliens along with his constant flirting with Sam (Jodie Whitaker) is rather humorous. Nick Frost has more of a supporting role than a main one, but is hilarious every time he's on screen. The young cast along with its content gives the film a bit of a Goonies or even Monster Squad kind of vibe and that is something to be proud of.
   
   The creatures themselves may be the highlight though. Their original design along with the way they tend to slink around in the shadows is both incredibly cool and really unnerving at the same time. They're big enough to be described as gorillas, are black, and hair seems to cover their entire body. They have no eyes, have glow in the dark teeth, and also crawl on all fours. There's a chase scene near the end of the film that's shown in slow motion that is really spectacular. Most of me just wanted to see more of these creatures even though they're featured significantly in the second half of the film. Attack the Block is homage to the great horror films from the 80s and is reminiscent of Gremlins while offering the atmosphere of the really fantastic John Carpenter films. Critters also comes to mind, but Night of the Creeps was the first thing I thought of when they started falling from the sky except Attack the Block is an all around better film.
   
   Attack the Block is a unique vision of terror that is laugh-out-loud funny at times, terrifying at others, and massively engaging in between. The film wears its influences on its sleeve, but combines them with a simple but flawlessly executed story and hilariously strong ensemble cast to result in one of the greatest throwbacks to fun 80s horror ever along with becoming one of the most entertaining films of the year.

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5. 

   alistairc_2000 from United Kingdom
   05 May 2012, 3:34 pm

   May Contain Plots spoilers I sat in a 1000 seat cinema with six other people to see this turgid nonsense. At the start of the movie this gal get mugged and threatened by a gang of thugs. They steal her money and humiliate her. She managed to escape but I felt that they also wanted to gang rape her as they told her to come back as they had not finished with her.
   
   If I was going to make a movie about Aliens attacking earth I would make the hero's believable and likable. Then thugs duff up and murder a defenceless alien. As first contact situations go these thugs treat our first alien visitor as just another plaything in their pathetic lives. After they murder the pregnant alien they parade its body through the streets much like a serial killer would collect trophy and then display it for their sick satisfaction.
   
   Then the Alien's pals decide to take revenge. Fair dues to them I was on their side and wanted them to win. Every time another thug died I whooped with joy. The aliens arrive without a spaceship and appear as meteors but can be killed with fireworks. Really this does not follow the logic of the story.
   
   The worst British movie of the last 50 years and yes I am saying that Love honour and obey was a Brit flick. If you live in Sarf London and say words like Blud. If you think being in a gang is cool this is the movie for you. Also if you IQ is in single figures your gonna love this but you will be too thick to read this review. If you do not live in London/are over 25/ have a brain/ you are gonna hate this movie In the end you cannot polish a turd.

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6. 

   witch_lilly2005-1 from United Kingdom
   05 May 2012, 3:34 pm

   On seeing the trailer for this movie I was a bit on the fence about this film. It starts out a little cringy and I was a bit worried that it was going to just be stupid little chavs beating up aliens for the whole film. I mean don't get me wrong, there IS plenty of chavs beating up aliens, but luckily the characters are really well thought out and developed (particularly the lead Moses who was great in this btw) and there are a lot of really clever lines and laughs along the way. You hate these youths at the beginning but by the end you're solidly rooting for them to win. This film reminded me a lot of Shaun of the Dead- purely because it's so uniquely British.
   
   Ye get me blud?

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7. 

   nimrodchad from United Kingdom
   05 May 2012, 3:34 pm

   I feel it is my public service to point out that this film is terrible and nothing like Shaun Of The Dead as the marketing suggests. The first half of the film involves obnoxious hoodies saying 'yeh blud' and generally being very annoying. Nick Frost pops up and has no funny lines. I didn't expect this movie to be as good as 'Shaun' but I literally didn't laugh once and I couldn't tell if it was even meant to be funny. I think anyone over the age of 16 who isn't from a council estate in London will hate this.
   
   This is the directorial debut from Joe Cornish and I pray he doesn't make any more films.

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8. 

   goldwriting from www.theendofthepage.com
   05 May 2012, 3:34 pm

   Attack the Block at its core is two films in one: an alien attack movie with huge ape-like creatures with no eyes and green glowing teeth, while also a redemption tale for a young gang of hoodlums who become the first and only defenders of Earth, or more importantly their housing project, known as The Block. The aliens descend from the sky without warning, but what they find in the rough and tumble part of South London is not part of their master plan.
   
   There are certain teams in the movie industry you just look for – people who all work together, maybe grew up together, and somehow they always manage to create some really wonderful films when they're all working as one. Judd Apatow has his gang (his wife chief among those), Adam Sandler has his gang (Rob Schneider seemingly holds top cameo in that gang) and, of course, King of the Cult Worship, Kevin Smith (nevermind box office revenues, this dude has an entire posse of creative types on speed dial). Yet, over the last decade or so, one group has knocked it out of the park on virtually every occasion, crossing nearly every genre and making it look nearly effortless (which I am sure it is not). That honor goes to Edgar Wright and the dynamic duo of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Jumping onto the scene stateside with Shaun of the Dead, then following up with Hot Fuzz and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (which was only Edgar Wright involved there), they piled up an amazing and impressive fan base, much deserved. So my hopes were high for this film with Edgar Wright listed as an Executive Producer and Joe Cornish at the helm (who also had incredibly small roles in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz) and my expectations were soundly met and beaten.
   
   So many things went right in the making of this movie, but as with every great movie ever made the success of it always begins with an amazingly written script. Coming in at a tight 88 minutes long, the story never felt rushed or over-motivated. The pace is perfect and the sequence of events moves along in balanced time, keeping the believability of the universe intact the entire way. The arrival of the aliens is handled brilliantly basically by not handling it at all. They show up and they're killing people; deal with it. Then the ending, which I will not at all give away here, is so beautifully simple and ingenious that for once I was completely caught off-guard. I found myself turning to my friend and saying, "Holy crap, that actually makes sense! It's an alien flick and that made sense!" So my first kudos here goes to Joe Cornish who not only directed this, but wrote it as well (which IMDb quotes the inspiration coming from his own mugging by a group of young kids).
   
   I could go on now and say all the wonderful directing choices Cornish makes throughout the film, but that would take many hours and I'm writing this late in the evening, so I'll just mention two. Making this movie for an estimated price tag of nine million pounds, this is a low budget flick, but instead of giving into that sensibility and trying to hack bigger and badder special effects, Cornish correctly crafts the story in such a way where he doesn't need elaborate CGI to tell the story. Most of it is set in one building and the creatures have one unique characteristic (the glowing teeth), but are otherwise dudes in suits. Honestly, not once did I ever feel they looked cheap or did they take me out of the moment. Secondly, some particularly well-shot slow motion moments in the latter stages of the film were spot on and made what could have been a rushed and hectic moment into something tension-filled and exciting.
   
   So now you have a great script and a visionary director manning the helm, but you still need a talented cast to bring the whole thing to life and this film shoots the moon. Nick Frost has a charming and welcome side character as the front man for the main drug dealer in The Block, but he really is there to provide a safety net to the humor of the film. The lead ensemble of gang kids and the young woman they mug in the opening scene are exceptional. I honestly was fully prepared to read an article about how these kids were literally ripped right off the streets and put in front of a camera, ala Edward Furlong for Terminator 2: Judgment Day (although he was ripped from a mall arcade, but same difference). John Boyega anchors the cast as Moses, the gang leader, and he delivers such honesty and truth to the part, it's shocking to see this listed as his debut project. While the strength and comedic moments he brings are huge in the film, it's the heart he puts out there, hidden on his sleeve underneath the puffy coat, that's what brings everything together into a meaningful and enjoyable experience for the viewer.
   
   Walking out of the theater, I felt really happy not only that I had seen the movie, but also that I had paid full price for my ticket. These are the ones you want to support. These are the movies we need more of out there and the only way that will happen is by getting butts in the seats in numbers great enough to warrant greenlighting another project from this crew of people. So if it's playing nearby you, I think you know what I'm telling you to do.

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9. 

   Rockwell_Fassbender from United States
   05 May 2012, 3:34 pm

   Old school dopeness. It's like Goonies meets Shaun of the Dead meets Independence Day. The whole alien invasion thing has been recycled as hell lately, but Joe Cornish found a way to make this thing feel so fresh and unique once again by containing it to such a unique setting and having this young group of hoodlums fighting back. None of it feels like it's been done before and as a result the film doesn't get dull for a second.
   
   The less-than-90 minute running time is perfect for something this small, never letting us stop having fun in order to make time for pointless romantic subplots or unnecessary characters. There is never a dull moment in this, a film that I have no problem saying is the most fun I've had so far this year. Whoever cast these kids deserves some sort of medal because they are all fantastic and for most of them it's their first job. John Boyega in particular, in the lead role as the head of the group, is fantastic.
   
   At first I was skeptical about the Jodie Whittaker character and her constant run-ins with the group but by the end I really embraced her dynamic with Moses and actually found myself getting surprisingly emotional at the end. The whole thing is just vibrant, exciting and so much intense entertainment. There are a solid amount of laughs throughout, but it's not even a film about trying to make you laugh or trying to scare you. It's just about having fun and it succeeds so admirably. It feels real old school and I loved every moment. Everyone should watch this.

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10. 

    markgarrett-1 from United Kingdom
    05 May 2012, 3:34 pm

    Do not watch this film if you want a typical likable hero to prance about and save the day pulling off perfect stunts and cheesy one liners. I didn't want to watch this film at first the whole chav and gang thing put me off completely and the movie trailers do not do this film any favours. But however i was pleasantly surprised Many wrongly accuse this film to glorify chavs and gang culture and people are taking this film far to seriously when actually in fact i find it does the opposite. Its a refreshing change to see relatively normal admittingly annoying at times characters play the lead roles. Eho says the heroes have to be likable, good looking, middle class. There's a clever humour throughout the whole film with its well written very British script. Moses in the film develops from being a chav on the street to a realistic hero and steals the film with his fantastic acting. The rest of the cast suit the role well and add a great balance of characters not all lovable but who says they have to be?
    
    Give this film a chance you may be pleasantly surprised

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