60 Second Movie Review: Attack the Block (2011)
April 28, 2012 6 Comments
I finally saw the first film on my randomly ordered list of Top 5 Movies I Wish I Saw in 2011. That is, I finally saw Attack the Block. It was fun. It was engaging. But Attack the Block wasn’t nearly as fun or engaging as what I’d built up inside the imaginarium of my cranium.
How did I imagine it? To quote that earlier post…
Brit-kids defending their world against an alien invasion, as produced by the same people who brought us Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. I’m hoping for similar fun, with perhaps an even bigger emphasis on the action this time.
Attack the Block was fun, but not the over-the-top hilarity of Shaun or Fuzz. (I have subsequently learned how writer/director Joe Cornish was barely involved with those two films, only making cameos as a zombie and as a “scene of crime officer.”
Attack the Block has action, but no huge special effects. Okay, it’s fair enough to leave the mega-explosions to Hollywood, but in its place they put a lot of effort into making sure they stayed on the block and only had small groups of people in most scenes, because crowds are expensive.
We were given some pretty nifty glow-in-the-dark elements to the aliens.
We were given likable kids.
We were given even more likable, littler kids.
But we were given very little in terms of character development. The main character Moses never changes much from his tough silent guy approach.
Sam changes a little bit as the film progresses, becoming more active, but even there there’s not a significant depth to her character.
Really, I didn’t feel that I got to know anyone of them well enough to take delight in their story, and the plot turns and alien effects weren’t enough to compensate. There were quirky humorous moments along the way, but no build-up there, either.
Sure, Attack the Block is an enjoyable flick and a heck of a lot better than half the crap that’s in theaters now. But I’m not sure that I’ll be remembering this one later on in life. Unless, of course, my block gets attacked.
My last movie review was of Hunger Games (2012).
All of our movie reviews can be found here.
SEE ALSO
Andy Watches Movies: Attack the Block (4/19/12)
Feed Me Films: Representations of Black Crime in Attack the Block (2011)
Visual Affects: Attack The Block — The book on how to make a successful horror movie
About Matthew
It took me more than 60 seconds to read this (slow reader) I want my money back.
Hey, did I say it takes 60 seconds to read, or to write? Purposeful ambiguity.
Dang!
Thanks for the ping back!
I see our takeaways from the film were similar. Very nice write-up
Yes, I definitely liked both what you said about Attack the Block, and how you said it!
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