Review of Attack the Block (2011) by Kevin P — 02 Jan 2019

Strengths: Talk about a movie that blends things well. There are plenty of great moments that mix horror, sci-fi, comedy, drama, and even surprising social commentary. Itâ(TM)s hard to balance all that, but this film does it well. John Boyega (Moses) does very well as the lead and itâ(TM)s cool to see him in his pre-Star Wars days. I also really liked Jodie Whittaker (Samantha Adams) and her mixed relationship with the gang. Her presence helps Moses grow over the course of the film. Franz Drameh (Dennis) was another shining spot. The movie plays well off clichà (C)s and never takes itself too seriously. Despite not having a big budget, the movie manages to pull off some solid looking alien creatures. They get a lot of screen time, but the filmmakers found creative ways to design and showcase them.

Weaknesses: Nick Frost (Ron) was one probably the biggest name attached to this movie at the time. However, he doesnâ(TM)t get to do much and when heâ(TM)s on screen, he doesnâ(TM)t leave an impression at all. It feels like a waste. Itâ(TM)s tough to say this but I found a lot of scenes that were hard to understand. These characters have thick accents, which is expected, and they speak so fast, it became difficult to follow at some points.

Overall: All sci-fi fans should check this out. It has a future Star Wars actor and the 13th Doctor. Beyond that, this is a fresh movie that balances a lot of cool things and makes most of them work.