They never should have killed the queen. Heck, they never should have touched the queen. Goes without saying, I suppose. Does it also go without saying that if you see an alien fall to Earth and it starts moving, you leave it the Hell alone? Look, people, when an outer space dude falls to Earth, give it space, be coy, play hard to get. Aliens like that. Sure, they all say, “Take me to your leader,” but what they’re really saying is: “Acknowledge my right to be taken to a leader.” They don’t want to be taken anywhere. They want to know what your planet is all about before they get all up in your crack, dig? Play it smarter, Hoodfolk.
Extra Terrestrial combat was probably the last thing on the mind of Moses (John Boyega) and his crew … especially while they’re robbing Sam (Jodie Whitaker). But then a dog-sized alien falls out of the sky. And after a brief and unsuccessful meet-n-greet, Moses and the project Canaanites decide to hunt and kill the thing.
Bad move.
You see, this is an interstellar game of tag and that thing was it. And when the predatory drones follow in numbers greater than one and aren’t exactly dog-sized so much as great ape-sized, well, uh oh. And these scent-tracking out-of-towners don’t seem to enjoy the game of tag. In fact, they seem pretty angry. Which ain’t good, cuz they move like angry orangutans and look like furry Venom.
And then we get to the subtle-yet-unstated commentary: the Hoodfolks are on their own cuz what gun-wielding government-sponsored authority wants to go to the projects? Sorry, fellas. London PoPo says alien
invasion is a hard “NoNo.” Tell them when they can make a drug bust. Needless to say, I was a fan of this revelation; monster movies are all about two things: geographical isolation and overwhelming opponent. You don’t follow the basics, you haven’t got a monster movie. Good luck with the alien attack, L’il Finn. Bring a weapon; be home by curfew.
This film was for many –including myself- our first experience of John Boyega … and he did so well, he’s now an afterthought in the Star Wars world. I almost feel sorry for the guy. Seems he now needs a Cuba Gooding, Jr. moment to find his career under what remains of the Death Star.
Attack the Block is a pretty good monster movie; it’s tense and taut and doesn’t go for a bunch of plot shenanigans or dues ex machinery. It’s simple: here’s a big alien rodent problem. What are these guys gonna do? I don’t think it was a perfect film by any stretch, but I could easily see this melding into a TV show. And why not? Every week, you could explore the problems of lower class Londonites who, among other things, have an infestation of outer space gorilla-wolves. I’d watch that.
An inner-city lawless free-for-all
Encounters, close, a pest universal
For all alien issues
To up and dismiss, youse
Need to get Mexico to pay for a wall
Rated R, 88 Minutes
Director: Joe Cornish
Writer: Joe Cornish
Genre: Aliens v. Cowboys, er, Homeboys
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Fans of innovative sci-fi
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: The kind of people in favor of red-lining
