A teen gang in a grim South London housing estate must team up with the other residents to protect their neighbourhood from a terrifying alien invasion.
Attack The Block is probably the most exciting film featuring a London council block. Although that's not saying much, let's be honest. Aliens tend to strike landmarks or major capital cities. We've seen the White House explode, The Great Wall of China infiltrated and the Golden Gate Bridge destroyed. So it's quite refreshing to focus all the science fiction energy into a block of flats on the outskirts of London, but that is where the originality ends. The plot is as simple as you think, aliens fall from the sky and hunt down a group of youths in a council estate where they must defend themselves and save the planet. British B-Movie goodness is the best way to describe this unusual flick. Illustrating the intimidation of youths ("chavs" between you and I) that lurk in the darkness which is then turned around to view them as fearful. It subtly conveys the adaption these delinquents need to make in order to fit into the environment they reside in, where they are simply forgotten about. However, any meaningful themes are tossed aside to make way for simple entertainment. "Black gorilla wolves" galloping through dimly lit corridors, screeching with their neon blue jaws. Extremely basic designs yet these extraterrestrials are certainly memorable. Acting was functional, Boyega and Whittaker shining above the rest. My judgement for this film simply comes down to my own personal taste, which is why I think it is mediocre at best. I physically cannot stand the accent. "Oi fam I'll merk u boi init, don't touch me fam yeah? I'll cuss u.". It's like a complete different language, I honestly need the subtitles on. The rapid execution of dialogue means I can't keep up with what is being said, therefore negating any humour that is injected into the screenplay. Speaking of the script, it's hit and miss. The British wit works well but, again, some of the lines really don't have any effect on me. The film pretty much starts immediately, leaving no time for character development or backstory. As a consequence, the characters are expendable. Perfectly watchable sci-fi, just not to my taste.
