Attack the Block Review

Prior to viewing this film, I had very high expectations due to it being from the same producers of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz and also due to previous claims in reviews online that Attack the Block was “Shaun of the Dead with aliens”. However, upon watching the film for the first time, I was slightly disappointed as it did not match up to the standards of either of the films.  However, it was still enjoyable in a lot of the scenes.

Inititally, I thought the film got off to a slow start with the first couple of minutes being dull with not a lot going on whislt the storyline didnt seem to be going anywhere. Around ten minutes in, the storyline became apparent and the film suddenly got more interesting. Attack the Block managed to maintain my attention throughout the whole film as it became intriguing to find out how they were going to kill the “aliens” towards the end.

At first, I thought it would be difficult for a film to portray so many genres within a single film. However, I believe that this film has done this well with hints of comedy, sci-fi and action regularly occurring throughout the film aiding to the satisfaction of the audience.

As the cast were all relatively unknown (apart from Nick Frost who played a small, funny, role) I thought they all performed extremely well in the roles they were given. In particular, I think Moses played the reserved, secretive, character exceptionally with a great use of facial expression and body language.

This film is a very original English urban twist on a sci-fi movie which on its own makes the film a must watch to see how people think the council estates of England should be represented to the rest of the world. I think the producer deliberately used an excessive amount of slang in this film to enhance the fact it was set in a deprived area of England and to show audience what the director believes to be reality in South London.

On the other hand, I was disappointed with some of the attempts at comedy in some parts of the film as they were just cringe worthy and partly ruined the film for me, personally. I think if the film concentrated more on one specific genre and just added little hints of other genres that would have benefited the film greatly.  However, the fact they attempted to incorporate many genres is admirable as they achieved a decent film at the end of it.