Attack the Block: A Review

Attack the Block is one of those rare, fresh-air kind of films you run into every so often. It took a novel concept, and a modest budget, and squeezed the absolute maximum out of it possible. Attack the Block is set in south London, in an area known as the "ends" by our unlikely heroes, a gang of teenage thugs and muggers. We see our protagonists at work being unsavory right off the bat, mugging a terrified woman on her way home from work. It's not until aliens start crash landing all over the "block" and these kids are forced to defend themselves and others from harm do we see the true measure of their character. Many trials and tribulations occur, along with some genuinely clever scenes and plot twists, and we are allowed to see these kids for what they really are, kids. Kids with no purpose or role model, forced to deal with a harsh world on their own terms, suddenly thrust into a situation where they realize what pride, community, and sacrifice are all about.

Attack the Block does what few (recent) science fiction films have been able to do successfully, tie a story about space into a current social issue. In this case, we see the plight of the ghetto and it's inhabitants projected against monsters and interstellar fighting. We are shown that violence begets more violence, and that it is up to all of us to decide who we are and what we want to do with our lives. That living in the projects doesn't make you who you are, that heroes do in fact come from the least likely places. Attack the Block also does a surprisingly good job of building an arc for Moses, the leader of the teenage gang, that resonates with the viewer and gives you a feeling of closure when the film ends. Add that in with the effectiveness of the monsters, with their signature glowing fangs, and the excellent direction, and you have a sci-fi film that can rest comfortably in my top 5 of 2011.