Writer: Joe Cornish
Cast: John Boyega, Jodie Whitaker, Nick Frost
Overall: A good gory, funny, coming of age alien invasion story. Not suitable for children under 10, due to adult language extreme violence and the aliens in this film can definitely induce nightmares in little ones.Cornish’s Attack the Block is an action packed adventure chronicling one crazy night on the mean streets of South London. During a night of wrecks and debauchery, a gang of teenagers finds themselves in the midst of a intergalactic crisis as they are attacked aliens. In order to survive they must team up with a stoner, a nurse they mugged only hours prior and a comical duo of 7 year olds who call themselves “Props” and “Mayhem”. The aliens are but one of several distractions of what could have been a pleasant evening of mischief as the youths find themselves being hunted by the police and a deranged drug dealer while trying not to break curfew.
The film is a heady combination of genres, think “E.T.” on acid, meets the millennium version of the Goonies with a hip hop soundtrack. This story is told with humor and heart in a way the only a true believer in the human spirit can tell it. At its core this is a fantastical view of Gang mentality and subculture. It is a retelling of a story we’ve heard time and time again, youths giving up their lives protecting what they call their own at all costs without hesitation. Though their motives may not have been pure to start and often misunderstood no one can deny their loyalty and willingness to fight to the death for the family they created. Pay close attention to lead actor John Boyega, I think we will be seeing a lot more of this talented young man. His screen presence and timing really kept the story moving, and his often stern expression made the jokes of his comedic counterparts that much funnier.
I’ll admit I tend to over analyze at times, perhaps in this case I needed a more adult reason to enjoy this film as much as I did. It was simply a fun movie that kept the excitement and energy flowing from start to finish. This movie is exactly what big box office movies are missing, a solid story fresh new faces and the guts to be different. This film is funny, suspenseful and full of heart, definitely a must see!