So … what’s this movie? Alien attacks and British gangsters? Almost, but not quite. The story of Attack the Block begins near Council Estate in Southern London (a housing project) where a young lady named Sam, played by Jodie Whittaker is returning home from work when she is accosted by a gang of teenage hoodlums. But their crime gets interrupted by something crashing dramatically into a nearby car with the force of a small bomb. Naturally, Sam runs away while the gang investigates, discovering a vicious little alien that fights back. The crew, led by Moses (John Boyega) heads back to their neighborhood boss Hi-Hatz’s (Jumayn Hunter in an inspiring, nutty performance) headquarters to show the creature to the resident nerd Ron, played by Nick Frost (Sean of the Dead, Hot Fuzz — same production company as this one). But as you might imagine, much larger, scarier aliens begin to show up and seem to be targeting them.
It turns out that Sam coincidentally lives in the same building and needs their help to survive the aliens, although she is none too pleased about it. As the group tries to figure out why the aliens have arrived and how to defeat them, they are joined by privileged stoner Brewis, played by Luke Treadaway (The Whistleblower). But will this group of teenage lowlifes get out alive?
The movie takes place only on one neighborhood block, thus the title of the film. We only deal with the small response of this group to the alien invasion — and the reason why is a clever twist that I won’t give away. As can be expected from something like this movie, the film is primarily concerned with two things: 1) Practical gory effects (which are excellent) and 2) The Redemption Arc for the young gangsters. This is not a heavy CGI fest, but an enjoyable high-definition set of real world special effects. And the monsters are suitably creepy and terrifying.
As for the redemption, John Boyega does an excellent job of portraying the gang leader Moses with a subtle touch of nuance and believability, and his crew is identifiable and likable, although some are mostly non-existent in the film. The supporting cast is quite good as well, with Jodie Whittaker playing her reluctant ally quite well and Luke Treadaway and Nick Frost adding some well-needed humor to the proceedings. Some like this film more than I personally think is warranted — it’s a good movie, but hardly the best thing ever. These kids are mostly unknowns, which is a good thing, but some are a little too raw for this to become a truly epic movie. Try not to be dissuaded by the heavy accents and slang — you’ll be able to follow along quickly enough.
This is the first film by director and writer Joe Cornish, and he shows promise of becoming quite a good filmmaker in the future. Packed with horror and humor, ripped throats and character building — Attack of the Block is still the best alien invasion movie in quite a while indeed.
Clacked by Jeremy Fogelman 
on Aug 19, 2011 @ 00:05 EST5EDT
