I've just rewatched Attack the Block (2011; dir: Cornish) for some Uni analysis and I remembered why I first liked it. It is funny, fresh and a very modern take on the alien-invasion theme - as demonstrated in this scene in which Jerome only has a small amount of credit left and, needing to warn everybody about the impending alien attack, exclaims: "This is too much madness to explain in one text!".
The alien-invasion theme is a well known one and this film has done well to update it, asking how different retaliations would be if the heros were (mostly) black, working-class and held in suspicion by the police. Having no credit, having to improvise with weapons (fireworks and super-soakers, anyone?) and forgetting your contact lenses are all real-life touches that add a sense of comedic realism to the movie. As a disclaimer, I will note that weapons are not a part of my everyday in any sense, but I do think that if aliens suddenly crashed into my conservatory, I wouldn't have a gun to hand like they do in the movies - I'd have to work out a defense strategy with only a pair of tweezers and a box-set of The Smiths CDs to hand.
It is also worth mentioning that the title of this post comes from the amusing slogan emblazoned on Pest's t-shirt toward the end of the film.
No comments:
Post a Comment