Attack the Block

Overview

Everybody loves a hero. It's why we grant them such leeway when it comes to movies. Even cinema's antiheroes and vigilantes find a way into our hearts. We forgive them their tragic flaws, their moral failings and their chequered pasts because ultimately we know they'll perform that final and almighty act of heroism capable of securing their absolution and restoring our faith in humanity.

Except, that is, in the case of Attack The Block.

Here our 'heroes' are a gang of juvenile thugs menacing the dark streets of a South-London housing estate. Led by the imposing Moses (John Boyega), their introduction comes by way of the callous mugging of Sam, a quiet, unassuming young nurse on her way home from work (played by the delightful Jodie Whittaker). As they coldly relieve her of her belongings they're suddenly interrupted by the explosive crash-landing of an alien visitor. Sam runs one way, the alien the other way, and the gang quickly gives chase to despatch it, thereby unwittingly sparking an alien invasion hell-bent on revenge.

From that point on there's a lot to like about this film by first-time director Joe Cornish. The aliens themselves are a captivating and innovative creation, with their rotoscoped frames and fluorescent teeth providing an excellent example of what can be achieved when imagination trumps budget. The setting of an alien invasion within the confines of a housing estate is also as crafty from a budgeting perspective as it is a refreshing break from the traditionally global scope of these sorts of tales.

The problem, though, is that one never really feels any affection or sympathy for the hoodlum-come-defender protagonists. While their performances are strong and their banter consistently amusing, they never once apologise to Sam after their paths recross and it's that absence of remorse that robs the characters of any meaningful development. They end the film as they began: cynical, disenfranchised rebels for whom physical strength is everything and whose criminality is justified because society has seemingly abandoned the working class. Kids defending earth from alien invaders is a terrific premise, but only if you want the kids to survive in the end, and in this film that's not necessarily the case.

Attack The Block is undeniably fun and even scary on more than a few occasions, but it ultimately feels too much like a movie you want to like more than you actually do.