Attack The Block Review

Alright, so I haven't done many reviews lately are even updated the site. My bad. So I am playing catch up. Here comes the foreign flick Attack The Block. This movie centers on a bunch of hoodlums in London fighting aliens. Yeah, thats what I said. This movie stars John Boyega as Moses. The leader of these little hoodlums. The movie starts with a alien dropping out of the sky and landing on top of a car. Which we find seems to be there place of choice to land. Cars come out real bad in this flick. Anyway, the aliens aren't the most special effects driven monsters ever. Think Critters meets Planet of the Apes. With glow in the dark teeth. This movie does not have the epic feel that a alien invasion flick normally would have like Independance Day or Battle: LA. This movie however, does have one thing going for it. Chemistry. These kids are a complete hoot with their bad manners and just shitty disposition. And for some odd reason I thought about Goonies and Stand By Me while watching this. I know that's going to seem like a stretch but, as these kids come together and take action it becomes a great ride. There is not a whole lot of gore. And the special effects are limited. But, there is plenty of violence and humor. And the lead played by John Boyega is a home run. This kid could have a big time future in movies. He will remind you of 50 Cent if 50 was a pure actor and about 15 years old. Nick Frost of Shaun of the Dead fame even lends about 15 minutes of total screen time to the flick. Basically, for comic relief but, he sorely misses Simon Pegg. There is fantastic on screen rapport between a young lady that is originally mugged by the kids and the kids themselves. And while low budget alien movies like District 9 gets great reviews. Frankly, this beats that crap all to hell. The direction, scripting, and general action sequences are worth the price of admission and this is a really good popcorn flick. I give it 4 out of 5 axes. The only missing axe is for the lack of money spent on effects but, I think you will mostly find you do not care. Enjoy this indy gem.