MOVIE REVIEW: Invasion

08/15/07

Do not trust anyone. Do not show emotion. Do not fall asleep. Would you be able to do that to maintain your humanity? This picture demonstrates just how hard that could be. The desperation, the paranoia, the helplessness and the endless persecution gives an edge to this story but overall it falls a little short. It is an interesting combination of drama, horror, and sci-fi, but it’s not very strong in any of these. What makes the movie worthwhile is Nicole Kidman’s performance. The horror was somewhat tame and the sci-fi was a bit “matter-of-fact” leaving only Nicole’s drama to give life to the movie.

This is the fourth motion picture depiction of Jack Finney’s novel, “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”. In this version the alien form comes to Earth attached to a space shuttle that falls apart during re-entry thus spreading the “invaders”. They exist in the form of an advanced virus that is easily spread and is activated when humans sleep. When they wake up, they are still who they are but they are now possessed by this emotionless alien influence whose main mission is to possess all humans and dispose of those who resist. Carol Bennell (Nicole Kidman) is inevitably dragged into this conflict and struggles to keep her humanity intact and that of her son, Oliver (Jackson Bond). She relies on her good friend Ben Driscoll (Daniel Craig) to help put the pieces of this puzzle together to understand what’s going on before it’s too late.

Ah, the Australian phenom who can do no wrong graces us with a stirring performance in this film. There are a few moments in the movie where she must act emotionless so as not to blow her cover to the already converted people. What makes it impressive is that she is ready to burst with emotion due to the nature of her situation and the viewer can tell how hard she tries to contain herself and just barely get under the alien radar . . . riveting. You’ve got to give Daniel Craig some credit for not letting James Bond keep him in the shadows. Sure this isn’t exactly a huge role and sure his performance wasn’t exactly breathtaking, as he was in Casino Royale, but he did a decent job nonetheless. Little boy Jackson Bond was impressive though. He kept up in relatively good pace with Nicole. Where do they get these talented kids from? These three actors gave us the only characters with which there was any kind of connection even though they were not well developed.

The concept of Finney’s story is imaginative and interesting. This film’s interpretation was a good attempt at modernizing it, but it somehow took away from the intensity of its horror. The price you pay for keeping it PG-13 I guess. You can’t blame the cinematography though. There was a constant gloom while watching this film as if it were as emotionless as the alien beings themselves. This is Director Oliver Hirschbiegel’s first English language work, having done several in German. Not bad for his first crossover. You can tell he knows what he is doing it’s just that he took on a remake of a challenging story. Fortunately, there is more to this movie in that it touches on certain social issues and the human condition. Are we losing touch of our individuality? Are we becoming more and more emotionless? Is everything resolved with pills that are supposed to bring us back to “normal”? Are we becoming less human?

Review By Cine Marcos
cinemarcos@smartcine.com

People Movie Review The Invasion

Jenny	80
I was impressed with Nicole Kidman's acting that reveals the nature protection of motherhood. However, in the end, the director and staffs actually failed to deliever the main purpose and messages regarding humanity and its ideal world.

Thomas Clark

This film was terrible. Despite the fact that I managed to sit through it (just), I cringed during most of it. How Daniel Craig ever agreed to acting in it, is far beyond me. The only explanation is that he is desperated to be seen in something other than Bond. Frankly, I think he would have been better off hanging up his hat, never acting again and retiring in dignity. This film was poor at best with peaks of moderation.

Janice

I Excellent, contemporary intelligent version of the classic, Invasion of the Body Snatchers. I've seen the 2 previous movies, the 1956 and 1978 versions. They get better with a new go-round. Nicole is absolutely in her acting glory -- she gives depth and substance to the leading role. She exudes grace, strength and character with protecting herself and her son from the invasion monsters. The boy who plays her son is an fine actor as well and Daniel Craig is super in
a supporting role, as a suave, smart and sensitive significant other.

Marco	100
I think that the authorities are so similar to the people infected in the movie, we are not so far from such story. Seems that there is not humanity in political ground.

Don C

I enjoyed the performances throughout the film. The child that plays Nicole Kidman's son was terrific. I only hope that he can proportionately maintain the level of performance as an adult. However, I have a problem with remakes of older "classics". Hence the 50 rating.
I know that the Maltese Falcon film was made 3 times. (With the only winner being the Bogart/Astor version.) For Pete sake, isn't there any writing talent out there in Hollywoodland? Or is it just a bunch of nearsighted investors and producers?

D.M.

THe Movie had an interesting meaning and much thought was put towards its production, however the topic picked for this movie of entertainment value (this production did not inquire any educational benefits for the viewer) would be classified as 'cheesy'. Thus, at moments the protagonists share of luck was rather noticable, therefore seperating this production further away from reality. THough with struggle, the acters maintained their confidence during their acting, when both Nicole Kidman and Daniel Kraig both scted substancielly well in their actings. This 'Hollywood Production' included many high quality graohics, which in some cases contradicted with the scene presented. In any case, this movie
somewhat interested me, yet not to an extended degree. This movie is recomended for those who would enjoy a 2 hour lengh of time of entertainment, and who are interested in the various possibilities the world can encounter, not including its unperpeardness for unthoghtable occur! ences.

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Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel

Writer: David Kajganich (Screenplay)

Jack Finney(Novel)

Genre: Sci-fi Action Thriller Fantasy

Duration: 1hr 39mins

Staring: Nicole Kidman

Daniel Craig

Jeremy Northam

Producer: Joel Silver

Distributor: Warner Bros

Rating: PG-13 for violence, disturbing

images, and terror.

Release Date: August 17, 2007

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