Attack the Block - Movie Review

I immediately dropped Attack the Block into my streaming queue when I saw that the film was connected to Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Unfortunately, the films are tied together through Writer/Director Joe Cornish who was a minor player in those previous films. It shows.

The premise of Attack the Block is rather simple. Spoofing the alien film genre, a group of neighborhood thugs end up ensnared in an alien invasion. This invasion is not your typical world-wide assault. It is more localized. Localized meaning that the aliens are attacking a single apartment project in a shady part of London. The youngsters are led by a bold fifteen-year-old, Moses (John Boyega), who is about to get "stepped up" by the local drug boss, Hi-Hatz (Jumayn Hunter). More recently, Boyega has anchored recent Star Wars films and Detroit

We first meet the young thugs mugging a nurse (Sam, played by Jodie Whittaker). Sam goes to the police, providing a description of her assailants. The mugging is interrupted by the arrival of a meteor-like object. When Moses goes to investigate, he is attacked by an alien. A series of unfortunate events lead the thugs into a direct confrontation with Hi-Hatz, leading to a misunderstanding. In an effort to survive, our mildly likeable "heroes" end up joining forces with Sam in an effort to survive aliens, the police and a very angry drug lord.

The writing in Attack the Block is not nearly as fresh as Hot Fuzz. While it attempts to take a zany situation and add a modern tongue-in-cheek spin to it, the end result falls short. Conceptually, the film worked. However, the set up (the mugging) created character inconsistencies that nagged at me. The characters had weak back-stories and were only moderately explored in comparison to the better films in this genre. What started as an intelligent concept for a spoof never fully realized its potential. Better character development would have made this film more enjoyable. The language was also a barrier. The dialogue was sharp, but the slang was foreign to me. Even with the subtitles turned on, I had to guess at the meaning of some words. Without subtitles, you may be completely lost.

Attack the Block introduced me to a cast that I was wholly unfamiliar with. The cast featured several teenage actors, which may help this film appeal to younger audiences. The only adult actors were Whittaker, who was decent and Nick Page, who I was mildly familiar with. Page had a minor role in the film. The weight of the film was carried by Boyega, who was difficult to accept as a fifteen-year-old. His performance was believable in terms of his leadership and strength, but that has a lot to do with his perceived age in relationship to the other thugs. None of the other cast members stood out enough to prompt me to mention them by name.

This 88 minute comic spoof received an R Rating from the MPAA. The rating seems to tie most closely to the gory violence. The violence provides an element of black humor, but also has enough gore to make young viewers uncomfortable. Nothing a teenage audience cannot handle. In addition to the violence, which seemed to be the main indicator of the rating, Attack the Block also featured prominent drug use, drug sales (mostly marijuana) and prevalent strong language. All things considered, I would suggest at least a teen audience for this film.

Attack the Block caught my attention due to its connection to two exceptional spoofs, Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. This film does not reach the same comic quality. Issues with character continuity combined with a less-than-compelling plot made this film merely tolerable. It was mildly entertaining at times, but I am glad I didn't waste money seeing this at the theater. The acting was decent, even with a relatively unknown cast of young actors. The special effects were silly, but decent for this type of film. If you are expecting Shaun of the Dead, don't. If you like spoofs that are not National Lampoon (ick) quality, this one will do the trick. Mildly recommended. 6/10.