Attack The Block
Attack The Block (2011)
Image From IMDB
Who doesn’t want to see a movie about a bunch of council estate kids battling big alien gorilla werewolf motherfuckers over a tower block and a dead female alien puppet that they jobbed in the park after it interrupted them mugging Dr Who?
Joe Cornish’s directorial debut is every bit as fun and outlandish as it sounds. It started the career of John Boyega, gave us more Nick Frost, and had me hooked from the trailer, let alone the opening scene. “It’s too much craziness for one text.”
I’ve seen a fair share of alien invasion movies in my time, but none in this setting, and definitely none with these type of characters. Gone are the big recognisable cities and landscapes, and in its place is a tower block in South London. There’s no military men, scientists, or fathers just trying to get home to their kids. Instead, we get street gangs, drug dealers, and overworked underpaid nurses… and also Probs and Mayhem.
All the kids are great, with John Boyega’s Moses being the standout as the story revolves around him protecting ‘The End’ after realising it was him who brought trouble to the estate when he killed the little dog alien thingy. He has that something about him right away, and it’s no surprise his career took off from here.
The Alien’s look fantastic, a design that looks like it’s ripped out of a graphic novel rather than a movie, but somehow superbly brought to life in film. The script is lean, not wasting a second while we continually learn about the estate and the characters. And, the action sequences are a riot as we witness the kids battling the aliens on their mopeds and bicycles while also jacking a police van.
The array of weaponry adds to the humour and fun too. Not since Shaun of the Dead have I seen creatures being smacked with so many different weapons––The ice skating boot maybe being my personal favourite. The movie constantly wants to make you laugh, but has something to say as well as we learn about the kids and their day to day lives.
It’s actually one of those movies that’s hard to pinpoint a favourite scene as everything so effortlessly fits together. It all feels like a part of a giant sequence as one scene flows seamlessly into the next. As mentioned, it really is a superb script.
Attack The Block isn’t your average alien invasion movie. It reminds me more of bygone horror invasion movies with its isolated setting and wacky characters. It’s the type of low-mid budget movie that we don’t get anymore, but should. It’s inventive, funny, and wholly its own thing. There’s touches of Producer Edgar Wright in there too which only adds to the fun.
It’s a great movie, and one I’d highly recommend. You might not understand everything the kids are saying, and they might grate a little at first, but you’ll quickly grew to love their absurdness.
