Attack The Block, or Attack Da Block, Yo, Innit, if we want to go for the full street effect, is a riotous blast of sci-fi with a quintessential British sense of humour. That doesn't mean its laugh-out-loud every step of the way, no, its comedy lies in the premise as much as offering visual gags and one-liners.
Despite the cast mixing up American and British slang (they our British bobbies 'Feds', for example) and dealing with outer space beasties, this is a very British affair. Forget Richard Curtis' smug Oxbridge rom-coms with their calculated international appeal and picture-postcard London.
Director Joe Cornish offers a more convincing portrayal of modern city and its inhabitants. It isn't some Broken Britain rant or a Ken Loach movie with aliens. Although that would be interesting to see. Instead it's a half-believable portrayal of kids lives on a council estate in south London. Basically they smoke weed, mug strangers and talk shit. Then some aliens turn up.
Moses, Pest, Jerome and the gang are little thugs who in the opening scene mug a young nurse walking home at night after work. The opener is highly convincing and even scary. It's depressingly accurate. The movie's origin lies in Cornish's own mugging six years ago. Instead of 'taking out the scum' and making Harry Brown, he made a fun sci-fi comedy where 'inner city meets outer space'.
Cornish plays a very neat trick as his central characters, at first, are very unlikeable. He coaxes out sympathy and understanding as the story goes on. It might not be totally convincing, but at least he tries to offer an emotional arc. Once the alien lands and the kids, naturally, kick the shit out of it and parade it around their estate like a trophy, the shit hits the fan and they learn - very quickly - that their actions have consequences.
In some ways Attack The Block is reminiscent of last year's French zombie actioner The Horde. The high rise council block is the locale for a fantasy event where different types of people come together in an uneasy alliance. When all hell breaks loose the young lads and gals stand up to the terror and slowly but surely open up as human beings. Moses has a troubled background and looks older than he actually is. Pest gets most of the film's big laughs whether he's trying to chat up the nurse they've come to rely on after mugging, or admitting the whole scenario is scary but "sick" at the same time.
Cornish's debut is an assured film and lots of fun. The street lingo is spot on and often bemusing. It also looks fantastic - and most importantly - cinematic. One scene involving aliens, a smoke-filled corridor and the gang is genuinely creepy. It stops being a comedy for a moment and enters the horror world. Amazingly, Cornish isn't above killing off the odd kid, either. This is a comedy, sure, but it's not Monster Squad or Goonie larks.
It is hard for many celebrities to find ground after a huge success (like Harry
Potter), but Emma Watson is going to be very successful. She is beautiful and she is so well-spoken. Everyone seems to just love her, and she is going to go far. Then again, how much further can she really go? This girl is on top of the world! Her Lancôme perfume ad is just more icing on her very big cake!
