Attack the Block (2011)

Title: Attack the Block (2011)

Director: Joe Cornish

Cast: Nick Frost, Jodie Whittaker, John Boyega

Review:

Attack the Block is kind of like an updated version of The Goonies (1985); if the kids from The Goonies were thugs and used a lot of profanity. Can you imagine ‘Fat Kid’ saying something like “I aint doing no fucking truffle shuffle for the likes of you!”;  and then kicked the door open, walked into the kitchen, opened the fridge and started to munch away on ‘Mikey’s’ leftovers? That’s the attitude with the kids from Attack the Block. They are a bunch of street hoodlums, actually, they kind of reminded me of the ‘Droogs’ from Stanly Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange (1971), going around taking advantage of whoever they can in the middle of the night. They all look out for each other; they all got each others backs.

But what happens when all these droogs are confronted with an alien invasion? They kick some serious ass that’s what happens! The plot for this film is extremely simple in nature, but also extremely entertaining. One night during Great Britain’s ‘Guy Fawkes Night’ celebrations an alien being falls from the sky in the form of a meteor. When a gang of kids sees the meteor fall they decide to go and investigate the meteor. Unfortunately, the creature ends up scratching their fearless leader called ‘Moses’. Now Moses isn’t going to stay hit, not in front of his crew, so he goes after the creature for some payback. He successfully kills it, dragging the lifeless alien body out for all to see. But they are not yet sure what the hell it is, to them it’s just some wild animal or something. Soon after, more of these creatures start falling from the sky and start following the kids around! How do they stop these creatures? And why are the creatures following these kids around? Will the nightmare ever end?

So as you can see, the premise is fairly simple. Monsters arrive; good guys run from the monsters and find a way to kill them. But I will say this: simple or not, this was one fun movie to watch. A couple of elements make this one extremely watchable, one of them was the group of kids who come off as completely likable in spite of the fact that they are a bunch of street thugs. These are kids going through a transition period, where they have to learn to respect other humans, which is why I compared it to A Clockwork Orange, in that story good old Alex De Large must learn the hard way that we all have a choice to be decent human beings, respecting all others on this planet, and that if we don’t learn that simple yet important lesson, society is going to forcibly teach it to us. So that’s the lesson that Moses and crew are learning on this picture.

Another thing that makes this one a fun romp is the creatures. Gotta give kudos to whoever designed these things. The design is extremely simple, yet extremely effective and cool looking. These creatures look like very hairy gorillas, and have teeth that emit a blue glow. So most of the time what you see is this big black blotch, but with glowing blue teeth! And the black on these creatures is blacker than any black you’ve ever seen! Pretty cool looking aliens. This is a very fast paced adventure, the characters are always running and hiding from these creatures who keep coming after them relentlessly.

This was director Joe Cornish’s first film and I have to say that this guy has made a film that makes him look like a seasoned veteran. It’s so hard to believe that this is his first feature film, but it is. Cornish is also a successful writer. Recently, he was part of the team who wrote The Adventures of Tin Tin: The Secret of the Unicorn (2011) for Steven Spielberg. A writer turning director isn’t always a good thing, a lot of times when a writer decides to direct, we get films like: Blade: Trinity (2004), Ghost Rider (2007) and The Unborn (2009). But Cornish is a multi-talented guy, he’s not only a writer, he’s also been an actor, a radio show host, a comedian, a producer, this guy does it all! All that experience and talent were siphoned into Attack the Block, which is probably why the film has such an enjoyable vibe to it. Cornish seems to know what makes a film work, he knows how to please the audience, he knows how to entertain. I’m really curious to see what he will come up with next, looking forward to it! This one is fun times every step of the way, dont miss it!

Rating: 4 out of 5   

Nick Frost has an extended cameo in Attack the Block