Review of Attack the Block (2011) by Halfwelshman — 29 Oct 2011

I was a little disappointed with Attack the Block. The film had so much hype in the lead up to release, perhaps my high expectations would never be met. There's plenty of action and the odd good joke, but I do have issues with the film.

I know it's only a low-budget British sci-fi, but the aliens are really rubbish. They're just big shadows with luminous teeth, and aren't scary in the least. Surely you could have had a monster that is only ever glimpsed, leaving the audience to their own imagination, which is always infinitely more scary? As it is, Attack the Block relies on cheap jumpy moments and a liberal splatter of gore to provide its moments of horror.

My main issue with the film though, is the explicitly white, middle-class view of inner city street gangs. You can almost see the checklist the filmmakers followed when writing the gang (made up largely of tabloid snippets) - hoods: check, silly little bikes: check, liberal use of "innit": check.

The gang borders on Catherine Tate levels of parody, and consequently the characters can never be particularly believable or engaging, no matter how good some of the young actors involved are. And why on earth is Nick Frost in the film? We know you've got the producer of Shaun of the Dead on board, but are you trying to fool us into thinking that the film is going to be in the same league by pretending you're part of the Wright-Pegg-Frost brand? The director Joe Cornish could very possibly be an interesting filmmaker in future, but as a debut, Attack the Block is competent, but nothing special.