Review: Attack the Block

       Perhaps my expectations were to high going into watching Attack the Block. I had heard nothing by high praise of this movie for the past few months. It was certainly impressive for a B-movie, but never really wowed me. Attack the Block follows the tradition set by the B-movies of the 1970s, it has an unknown cast, fast-paced special effects, and lots of energy. This movie is the first major film from writer/director Joe Cornish who previously had small acting roles in the Edgar Wright films Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, and he definitely gave the movie a similar tone as those other successful films from across the pond, only with less humor. 

The film takes place in a block of flats (an apartment building to Americans) in inner-city London on Guy Fawkes day. The sky is so filled with fireworks that no one notices aliens crashing to the earth. Meanwhile, a gang of teenage thugs are mugging a nurse on her way home from work. These two seemingly opposed parties team-up when they realize there is a greater danger afoot. Led by the gangs de facto leader Moses, the gang has to fight off the aliens and defend the block (what the movie should really have been called). from the invasion.

It's a simple premise, and there isn't much complication beside that. The nurse learns to overcome her prejudice against the teens who had previously stolen her purse, and there is some social commentary in regards to the police response to Moses's heroic actions, but in the end this is a monster movie. And oh, what monsters they are. The aliens are eye candy. They look like over-sized wolves with shaggy fur that's so dark that even in the brightest lights you can only make out their outline. Oh, and did I mention they have razor-sharp fangs that glow in the dark? Yeah, they're pretty badass. Most of the special effects are achieved through the low-budget techniques of quick cuts and darkness, but it works well to both build suspense and action.

This movie was immensely popular in Britain, but there was some concern that American audiences wouldn't be able to understand the cockney slang used by most of the cast. However, I didn't have to hard of a time figuring out what was going on. I liken the experience to the slang used in A Clockwork Orange: sometimes what is being said sounds like nonsense, but in the given context it makes sense. The biggest issue I had with this movie is that the majority of the characters are unlikeable. Other than Nick Frost, who I could never be mad at, the cast is filled with these wannabe gangsters who rob women at knifepoint, and a nurse who comes across as weak and a little racist. Why should I be cheering for these low-lives? The alien attack doesn't seem like to make them realize the error of their ways. Sure it mends the gangs relation with the nurse, but there is no indication that they are going to stop being criminals once the attacks are over. This was a good film, but my expectations were to high. I expected a lot more in terms of character development rather than just a simple monster flick, this is certainly no District 9. However, it is an unexpected, fun cockney version of an alien invasion.