Attack the Block
Finally caught up enough to write about a movie I saw only a week ago...rather than a month ago.
So yes, let's get on with it shall we? I had high hopes for Attack the Block. After all, it touted Producers James Wilson and Nira Park of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz fame as well as Executive Producer Edgar Wright, director of those two classic films, and starred Nick Frost, co-star of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz (Simon Pegg, however, was nowhere to be seen). In other words, it had some good pedigree attached to it (Attack the Block Director Joe Cornish was also an actor in Hot Fuzz). Perhaps, though, my expectations were too high. The film failed to live up to what I had hoped it would live up to- that being another hit in the mold of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Attack the Block did have a few notable limitations that those films didn't. First, that Edgar Wright didn't direct it. Second, that Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg didn't write it. And third, that Simon Pegg didn't headline it. The best I should have hoped for was Shaun of the Dead lite...with aliens.
And really... that's what I got. The movie was in no way bad. Other, I should say, than in ways it wanted to be bad. It had a notably low budget look and feel and that only added to the film's cheeky tone. All of which was much to the movie's benefit. There was only really one major problem with the movie: it wasn't funny enough. Whenever it started to get genuinely funny, the filmmakers would inject a little unwarranted and all-too-serious social commentary. Maybe this was supposed to be satirical in nature, if so, they should have focused on making their points in a more humorous way. As it was, it felt more like a genuine and earnest call for attention to the plight of London's troubled youth. (In case you're unfamiliar, the story involves aliens invading a London housing project and the young gang members' struggle to defend their turf... and honor.). Social commentary is all well and good in the right place... even would have been fine here if it hadn't served as such a wet blanket to an otherwise entertaining movie. It was almost as though Cornish kept feeling guilty for straying from his important message. (A message that was brought into a much wider view by the London youth riots earlier this summer). I understand that a system that perpetuates a sense of hopelessness among a group of truly downtrodden young people is a troubling problem, but why pepper your alien-invasion comedy with such messages? What we really want to see is a bunch of kids kicking alien ass while spouting the almost indecipherable jargon of the hip hop/ popular culture. For the most part, that is what the movie delivered too... damn it. If only Cornish had left the Paul Haggis sledgehammer of subtlety alone. But, no, here he wields it like the master himself.
But again, I don't want to come off as though I hated the movie. I didn't. The social commentary bit was only a minor irritation. For the most part, the movie was good fun. I especially liked how it seemed as though the filmmakers blew all their effects budget on the plethora of grisly death scenes throughout the movie. It kind of left them limited options when it came to being able to produce the army of alien invaders. Luckily they were able to scrape enough dough together to produce one extremely fake looking rubbery alien puppet and a horde of black shag carpet-clad, day-glo plastic teeth sporting alien ape-dog beasts. They looked like some kind of demented, eye-less muppet. It was awesome. I couldn't help but chuckle every time they slithered onto the screen. I kind of reminded me of the movie the kids of Super 8 were putting together, only funnier and with worse make-up. It looked so low-budget, you kind of started to wonder whether it actually was by choice and that it actually cost a bundle of money to make such low-budget creatures. Whatever the case, it was a high point of the movie.
As were the actors. Other than Frost (reliably funny here), I believe most of the actors here were relative unknowns- particularly stateside. What they lacked in experience, however, they made up for in enthusiasm. It was a lot fun to watch these kids ham it up and have a blast making their little alien invasion flick. The real winner here was John Boyega who played the young gang's leader Moses. Boyega resembled a young Denzel Washington, burning with intensity in nearly every scene. Boyega managed to say more with his expressions than through his dialog which is a pretty nifty feat for any actor, especially one as inexperienced as he is. I have to imagine bigger and better things are on the horizon for him.
Not that Attack the Block was a horrible starting point. In the end, it was a movie with a pretty clever story acted out by young, inexperienced but engaging actors. It was a lot more fun than it wasn't, but it just didn't live up to the lofty standards of the filmmakers' previous efforts. Not a bad directorial debut for Joe Cornish in the least, just not an instant classic. But, then again, they can't all be, can they?
Grade: B+
No comments:
Post a Comment