"That's an alien bruv, believe it."
The Lowdown: Attack the Block is what I like to call a “ghetto creature-feature”. Basically, the film is about how aliens and the hood are like oil and water; they don’t mix. It’s a wickedly entertaining surprise.1. The Plot: In a South London neighborhood, Sam (Jodie Whittaker) is mugged by a group of teenage thugs led by Moses (John Boyega). However, their mugging attempt is interrupted by an alien that crash-lands near them. The teens kill the alien creature and bring it back to their apartment complex, wanting to know more about what it is. However, they soon discover that more of these creatures are falling from the sky and landing in the block, and they make it their mission to stop the invasion.
"Big alien gorilla wolf motherf******s. I swear."
2. The Characters: Attack the Block has a uniformly great cast. John Boyega is Moses, the leader of the pack of thuggish teens who are caught up in gang culture. Stealing and selling drugs are just part of normal life for all of them, and in the beginning of the film, they aren’t very likable. They’re even a bad influence on two young boys (each younger than ten) who idolize them and want to be just like them. Later in the film, the viewer gets a tiny glimpse of each of the character’s personal lives at home, which makes the characters feel more human. One becomes more sympathetic towards them as a result. Other assorted characters include Sam, played by Jodie Whittaker, a nurse who is having the worst day of her life. In the beginning of the film, she is mugged by Moses and his gang, and then keeps running into them as the film goes on. Despite all of this, she ends up having to team up with them when the aliens begin attacking the block. It’s kind of sad, but also kind of humorous.
The odd squad.
Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The World’s End) as Ron, a weed dealer living at the top floor of the apartment complex. He still has the same long hair from the sci-fi comedy Paul (2012), though his role isn’t large and his performance isn’t as humorous or impactful as it could have been. Luke Treadaway is Brewis, a frequent customer of Ron’s who exists as comic relief. The most frightening character in the film is Hi-Hatz, played by Jumayn Hunter. Hi-Hatz is a big-time gangsta who fully embraces hood culture and runs the block, but once the aliens attack, he becomes convinced that it’s a ploy by Moses to usurp his position as the top dog.3. The Ghetto Creature-Feature: What makes Attack the Block work is how the two colliding factors, an alien invasion and gang culture, complement each other so well. An alien invasion is an alien invasion; nothing too special about that except for how menacing the aliens will end up being. The gang culture, and the distorted mentality that comes with it, is what contrasts so perfectly with the alien invasion. To Moses and his gang, controlling their turf by keeping outsiders out through fear and intimidation is the whole point of their existence. Power and influence stems from fear, so when the aliens attack, they see it as an attack on their block, so they feel it is their duty to stop it, and what a perfect storm that turns out to be. It’s quite an insightful and brilliant script, to be honest. Never would I have expected that from this film.
The Bottom Line: Attack the Block definitely gets points for originality. A ghetto creature-feature isn’t something one sees every day. The hood and aliens aren’t things that one would ever see coming together, but somehow, they did and it worked. Attack the Block is great entertainment.
Attack the Block is property of StudioCanal, Film4, and UK Film Council. This review was written by me.
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Copyright © Filmaholic Reviews, 2013
