Attack the Block

Grade: B+

Going into this movie all I had really heard about Joe Cornish’s Attack the Block was that it was “everything Super 8 wanted to be.” I can’t remember who said that but they couldn’t have been more dead on. The premises for both movies are very similar: a group of kids are playing around and then suddenly aliens! This idea was done to death in the 80’s, and it now seems to be being done to death again, but as with any phenomenon there is some quality stuff being made if you sift through the muck. Those movies remind you of why so much of that stuff is being made, because when done well it’s very enjoyable.

Super 8 was supposed to be that. It wanted so very much to be that, but ultimately it wasn’t. Super 8’s biggest problem was that it was so self aware that it forgot to be something at all. It got so caught up in its “80’s nostalgia” that it wasn’t an enjoyable movie on its own. Instead it was boring simply because everything had already been done before and done better in the 80’s. It was an 80’s monster movie the same way a wax figure is a human. Sure it looks just like it, but it’s missing a pulse.

Okay so enough Super 8 bashing (sorry I just really didn’t enjoy that movie). My point is Attack the Block had that pulse.

The movie opens with a young girl walking home to her apartment. Along the way she gets surrounded by some inner-city youths who rob her. During the robbery something falls from the sky and crashes into a nearby automobile. The lead hoodlum goes to investigate and soon learns that what they thought was fireworks were actually aliens. He ends up killing the alien, and the rest of the movie ensues. Seriously, you don’t need to know anything else about the plot. It’s inner-city kids verses aliens and it is a lot of fun.

This is where it varies from Super 8. It is clearly aware of all the alien/monster movies of the past but that doesn’t stop it from being an enjoyable movie without the viewer having that knowledge. It’s not an 80’s monster movie; It’s a 10’s alien movie. These kids aren’t driven by childlike curiosity but rather feel obligated to fight these aliens, because if they don’t, who will? The cops are more worried about them than the aliens. Their parents are too absent to have any sort of impact. No it’s just them and the aliens.

They do happen to fit a lot of the characteristics of the classic 80’s children from those movies, but those are more by coincidence than intention. Yes they talk and act well beyond their years, but that is because they are a product of their environment, not precociousness (something Hollywood has become more and more enamored with). Yet with these hardened exteriors comes an understandably soft side as you are reminded they are just kids after all. A nice thing about this stuff is that the movie doesn’t try to hit you over the head with these truths either. It’s mentioned, but only to prove why they are the way they are. Then it goes back to the action.

As far as the aliens, they are kind of cool. They don’t have eyes and are pitch black with glowing blue mouths. They kind of move like gorillas, and the cgi isn’t too distracting. The acting is good considering most of the cast is in their teens. I look forward to seeing John Boyega (the leader of the group aptly named Moses) in other things as he was easily my favorite of the bunch with his steely glare. After a quick Google search it appears that like his character he never smiles. I respect that.

This review may be a bit jumbled and I wanted to make some more profound statements about this movie but I made the mistake of waiting too long after watching it to write the review. The most important things to remember from this review is: A. you should definitely see this as it was a very fun movie with just enough heart to make it believable and B. that if someone is in the mood for a monster movie you should see this and definitely not Super 8 because Super 8 is a bad movie.