Review of Attack the Block (2011) by Allen G — 06 May 2016

Almost certainly the role that would later land John Boyega all 'dat Star Wars fame, 'Attack the Block' serves as a great demonstration of his acting prowess. Further, it also shows that British filmmaking is alive and well and that alien films still have a lot to offer if there's enough creativity involved.

'Attack the Block' is pretty unconventional tone-wise as it jumps between real thrills and tension and mainstream British comedy. Its premise and its cast of characters makes this feel like a match made in heaven as the aliens come after a group of young boys and so we feel their fear but also get to laugh at their mock-bravado.

There's definitely some social commentary going on too, but it's an aside rather than the film's main focus and certainly never takes away from the action. Speaking of the action- there's a fair bit of it (mostly running, mind you) and it looks great. The aliens are never over-shown which prevents the film from collapsing under the weight of ever-dating CGI.

I'm generally a fan of British humour of even comedy films in general, but I definitely had a few giggles here so I was pretty impressed in that regard too. I do have a few qualms with the film, however, primarily with regards to its plot. I won't go into specifics but I just felt that certain parts of the film were underdeveloped, possibly even a tad lazy (particularly nearer the end). That's a little unfortunate because, otherwise, I think 'Attack of the Block' would have been a real modern-day classic.

As it stands, it didn't quite make the cut but it's still a joyously original romp into the sci-fi genre and I think it deserves a sequel, eh?