Movie Review: "Attack the Block"

Summary : While attempting a robbery, a group of South London teens are attacked by an alien. They manage to kill the extraterrestrial, but the attack has only begun. Their entire block is flooded with wild dog-like aliens, and neither the police nor the thugs have any control. It is up to the kids of South London to save the day and their neighborhood.

Review : Attack the Block deserves the praise it's received. In Joe Cornish ’s directorial debut, he delivered a fresh, fun, well-written action flick that is packed with a cast of new faces who could all have big careers. The indie film is what moviegoers have been asking for: Not a remake, nor padded with the same expected Hollywood faces. Yes, the flick is formulaic, but it does the formula right thanks to the vibrant energy from unknowns like John Boyega and Jodie Whittaker .

The main complaint about Attack the Block is the low-budget special effects. Well, you can't have it all — meaning, one can't complain to be exhausted with the overdone, pricey CGI of today, and then rant that the low-budget special effects in independent films aren't good enough. Unlike ever-popular Hollywood CGI, which usually looks lazy and uncreative, Cornish made the special effects work with the resources that he had. For that, I would rather see Attack the Block 's action versus Thor .

Overall, the film has a heart. Some of the characters are criminals, but with witty banter and unexpected plot twists, the audience roots for the bad guys gone good. Hopefully, viewers get a sequel, which seems inevitable.  But a star is born in London native John Boyega, who glowed in the lead role as Moses.  Boyega just might be the next Idris Elba .