Directed by Joe Cornish. Starring: John Boyega, Jodie Whittaker, Luke Treadaway, and Nick Frost. Attack the Block (2011) Listen to us talk about this film on our podcast.


What’s It About?

IMDB says: “A teen gang in South London defend their block from an alien invasion.“


What We Thought:
Lindsay: Attack the Block is essentially this borderline ridiculous, mostly fun, genre grab bag film that is able to develop a familiar idea into something fresh and all it’s own. The Hood vs. Alien Monster movie has been aching to be made ever since Leprechaun 5: Leprechaun in the Hood graced our dvd players. Block will keep you guessing at first, wondering what type of film you will end up with. But the guessing helps to expertly craft the film’s humor and pathos. For a comedy-horror-action film, the characters manage to avoid becoming one note. The main characters are given enough back story and personality to make you give a shit and unlike most mainstream films in all these genres, characters go through meaningful change. I have to be honest about this film though, I highly doubt it would do well with a wide release. Being a genre film is hard enough without being  5 different genre films and British to boot. Attack the Block is certainly this year’s cult film, so seek it out before your friends start spouting “Trust” and “Believe” quotes before you.


Jessica: Attack the Block is one of those perfect genre-bending movies that keeps you intrigued throughout about what it considers itself. Is it meant to be a comedy? Horror? Sci-fi? Social commentary? Action? It’s actually a combination of them all that doesn’t become a watered down version of them all, but culminate in a very exciting way. I thought this movie was quite fun and exciting from start to finish. You are given a group of unlikable leads, who are true hoodlums, that are only redeemed by their humor. For me this film is less about rooting for your lead’s survival, and more so looking for just an action-packed ride, led by lead’s who face a daily struggle for survival in their project housing. One of the greatest accomplishments of this film is an amazing directorial debut by Cornish who delivers a great script that I think most Americans would have to take in on multiple viewings to catch all the jokes, if you are not attuned to this sort of thick South London accent. The action is tight and tense, and the flashes of gore are well done. 


Nick: I was home from New Orleans and it just so happened that Slashfilm.com was giving away free passes to see Attack The Block in 25 different major cities. Snagged passes without hesitation and went to the screening. I wasn’t sure what to expect because I hadn’t seen a trailer or a poster. Just one or two line blurbs from film sites and British celebrity twitter accounts about how great the film is. And with so much hype, why not see a movie? Especially when it’s free.


The film is brilliant. It’s the perfect blend of action and humor to make it a summer classic. It’s your textbook invasion story, but it never feels that way. It hands you the usual foreshadowing but you enjoy and even look forward to the pay off. What could have been a lackluster clichéd film, will, hopefully, end up being a cult classic that will be enjoyed for years to come. Slashfilm.com retweeted a snapshot of my thoughts on their website a few days ago here: http://www.slashfilm.com/early-buzz-30-film-readers-attack-block/ The overall feeling from anyone who has seen the film has been overly positive and excited. Definitely see this film when it comes out!


Rob: I went into Attack the Block not knowing too much about it. I never saw a trailer and I know only the basic plot. I knew Edgar Wright was involved as executive producer and that was enough to get me interested. This kinda caused some confusion for me when I started watching the movie.


The opening scene depicts the aliens coming to Earth and they run into some kids. These kids just finished mugging a woman. Since this was before the title sequence, I thought that these kids were just here to be used by the plot. Turns out they were the main characters. It took me a little while into the film to actually care about these characters.


Past that the movie was easy to enjoy. Nick Frost’s part was small, but it was still effective. The action sequences were spot on compared to an action movie, and the horror was, too. It blended a few genres together nicely into one package. They also did well with the creatures. They didn’t look corny, but occasionally they looked like they could be used in a Gorillaz video without anyone giving it second thought. It kind of added well to the British appeal of the film.

FTS SCORE:
82%


61-89% Really enjoyable movie. It may not be perfect in all aspects but it was worth the watch.