Film Review: ATTACK THE BLOCK (2011)

Writer/Director: Joe Cornish
Running time: 88 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Action/Comedy/Horror
UK Release date: 13^th May 2011

Watched on DVD Wednesday 4^th July 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

This film was pretty well received over here in the UK and so I thought I’d give it a go. I knew the basic premise before sticking the disc in the player and pressing play but was intrigued to see just how they were going to make it work. I must admit it was quite a bit better than I was expecting with a nice pace to the action that keeps the audience interested. Here’s a very brief summary before I give you my thoughts.

When alien beings land in south London they get a bit more than they bargained for when they come across a group of teenagers. The lads in question have been up to no good but soon find that social divisions are forgotten when the chips are down. Moses, Pest, Jerome and Dennis find they need the help of a nurse, Sam, when they are attacked by an alien creature. There are more of them out there and they seem to be drawn to Moses for some reason. Add to the mix a couple of kids, a drug dealer, some girls, a gangster (who ‘owns’ the block) and another lad trapped in a dumpster and you’ve got the making for some kind of showdown. The boys aren’t taking it lying down and decide to fight back… but will they all survive? I’ll leave it there or the Spoiler Police (Alien Invasion Division) will have me cleaning out that dumpster (again).

Well made, but on a budget; even so, some very nice effects were pulled off and I’ll give a nod to those guys for the work they did on that. I also liked the music…All very urban and not really my cup of tea, but it fitted the mood and the action pretty well. All the performances were pretty good, particularly Jodie Whittaker as Sam and John Boyega as Moses, these two stood out. The rest of the cast were all quite young but all did an excellent job; so honourable mentions go to; Alex Esmail as Pest, Leeon Jones as Jerome, Franz Drameh as Dennis, Simon Howard as Biggz, Luke Treadaway as Brewis and, not forgetting, Nick Frost as Ron (him not young).

I enjoyed this film quite a bit more than I was expecting to, partly because the characters, once you got to know them, were all quite likeable. The alien aspect of the film I felt was a little weak, but they did have a certain amount of menace about them at least. Over all I found it quite enjoyable and there were even a few laughs… Recommended.

My score: 7.1/10

IMDb Score: 6.7/10 (based on 38,581 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1478964/

MetaScore: 75/100: (Based on 27 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 90/100 (based on 147 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 74/100 ‘Liked it’ (based on 25,630 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/attack_the_block/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Sam: We should call the police.
Pest: You'd be better off calling the Ghostbusters love.

Pest: That's an alien bruv, believe it.

Sam: What's Ron's weed room?
Brewis: It's a big room! Full of weed. And it's Ron's.

Probs: No one is going to call you Mayhem if you keep acting like such a pussy!

Moses: Allow it.

Biggz: Hurry up guys, we gotta catch 'em all!
Pest: Calm down Biggz, this ain't Pokemon!

Dimples: What kind of alien would invade some council estate in south London?
Dennis: One that's lookin' for a fight!

Jerome: I'd like to see the brother who's going to fight that.

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site: http://attacktheblock.com/
Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AttackTheBlock
Trailer: