Movie Review: Attack The Block

This week, I review a gem of a science fiction movie that passed under most people’s radar: ATTACK THE BLOCK!

Review Transcript:
It feels like a pattern lately, that the most enjoyable movies I’ve seen tend to be those with relatively small budgets and often go under-appreciated due to limited theater releases and lack of marketing.

Attack The Block is a sci-fi comedy thriller written and directed by Joe Cornish and from the producers of Shaun of the Dead. Basic premise: It’s Guy Fawkes Night in South London, England, an alien crash-lands into a car by a gang of boys who kill it and take it back to “the block”. But then much bigger and meaner gorilla-wolf-motherfu- um…aliens start falling from the sky, and start to…well, attack the block.

Just in case it isn’t obvious enough, BRITISH accents are quite prevalent in this movie; so if you can’t watch Monty Python or BBC without complaining I recommend turning subtitles on or avoiding Attack The Block because it will only give you more reason to complain. (By the way, this is aimed more toward whiny Americans and not people whose 1st language isn’t English).

More than anything, this movie shows just how fun and entertaining a sci-fi movie can be with a small special effects budget. Although simple, the aliens have a unique look to them and are brought to life by effectively used CGI. Then there’s the use of explosions, blood, and everything else required for some lovely science fiction mayhem!

Beyond the effects, a well written story takes the characters on a small-scale adventure that not only addresses some cultural and racial issues, but also has several surprisingly dynamic characters that evolve as the story progresses. Characters that you may find yourself at odds with on a personal level soon become near and dear to you as they go up against the alien invasion.

This is a must see for anyone that is a fan of sci-fi movies. Well, good sci-fi movies anyway. It’s fun, quirky, and there’s enough alien killing action (that is, people killing aliens and aliens killing people) to keep you more than satisfied from first contact to the explosive sciency-fictiony end! In fact, the final 5 to 10 minutes have convinced me that John Boyega (Moses) has potential to be an action hero with the best of them.

Attack the Block is definitely worth buying if you’re in the sci-fi crowd. Otherwise, give it a rent and judge for yourself.

I give Attack the Block 8 out of 10.

I’m Papa Kenn, and I’ll see you next review.