Attack the block Review
Attack the block (directed by Joe Cornish) is a science fiction comedy thriller. It follow's a group of rowdy youths living in a housing estate located in south London. When the aliens start to 'Attack the block' the teenagers take it upon themselves to defend their territory and kill the aliens. They gather weapons and along with strong language and drugs they begin the fight against the extraterrestrial.
There's a lot of bad press about these kind of teenagers being yobs and associated with crime. Therefore at the beginning of the film I didn't have sympathy and couldn't relate to the stereotypical teenagers who were mugging the woman in the street. However as the film progressed the audience can start to understand the characters and the British youth culture of today. We learn towards the end of the film that the main character 'Moses' is actually a fifteen year old (despite looking much older). He also lives with his uncle who doesn't seem to be around much and he still has his childhood comic book bedding. Which could be Cornish expressing how fast children are growing up, especially in this type of urban environment.
Joe Cornish transforms a low budget sci-fi film into a witty fully energised battle between inner city kids and outer space. The aliens in the film are evidently low budget and not necessrilly scary. They lack a polished GGI appearance therefore are unrealistic, however this is what makes the film so unique because the aliens are like nothing anyone has ever seen before. Throughout the whole film it is night-time, giving a dark and gloomy setting for the alien invasion.
Joe Cornish cleverly used characters that may not normally come together. Enemies and opposing groups suddenly join forces. For example Brewis who is a resident in the block. You can tell by his posh and intelligent sounding voice that he comes from a wealthier background compared to the other people living in the block He also mentions about his 'daddy' suggesting he hasn't really worked hard and that his past time is smoking weed and trying to fit in with the rest of the hoods his age in the block. When the chase is on and the drama kicks in Brewis is definitely out of his element and it's as though he has just been thrown into the madness, adding a comedy factor.
In his earlier career Cornish used to take the mickey out of Hollywood films, however he has made a good debut and Attack the block doesn't look like a pastiche it looks like the real thing.
No comments:
Post a Comment