|
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
MORE MOVIE REVIEWS
>>>
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 |
10 |
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 |
90 |
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 |
50 |
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. |
70 |
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. |
Submit Your Movie Review
|
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
OFFICIAL WEBSITE
| |
Home |
DVD |
Advertising
|
Press Kits
submissions |
Publishing
All movie titles, pictures, etc... are
registered trademarks and/or copyrights of their respective
holders
Copyright ©2007
The Entertainment Report Group
|