Ana Martínez Vega

Film Criticism

Attack The Block (2011)

Attack The Block is the debut film of Joe Cornish, director and writer of this nerdy
proposal. It was released in 2011 and was critically acclaimed, earning lead actor John
Boyega his first Bafta nomination. It features a cast of inexperienced young actors,
which allowed Boyega after his debut to become a well-known star. This comedy,
action, science-fiction, and even coming of age film tells the story of a group of teenage
delinquents who have to fight aliens to save their London suburban neighbourhood.
This feature full of humour, action and social criticism with an aesthetic and style
worthy of the 80’s, has pleasantly surprised me.

This picture takes place at night in a London

neighbourhood where crime seems to dominate, with
a perfect length to make this film entertaining thanks
to its dynamic rhythm. The opening scene will
introduce in an intelligent and powerful way both the
plot and the main characters: a group of young
delinquents who have assaulted a nurse, and the
dangerous creatures. This opening scene forms the
film structure and attracts the viewer’s attention,
making it entertainment since the start. From the
beginning what surprised me the most was the
appearance of these aliens, moving away from the typical commercial creature. There is
no big use of FX to create a certain realism and terror. What could have been monstrous
and terrifying creatures, ends up as people dressed in black that stand out for their eyes
and mouths illuminated. They are effective but not ostentatious effects that fulfil their
task to perfection. Even with a low budget, this films manages to do original things.

There is a fusion between a story of aliens and a group of criminals in a marginalized

neighbourhood. Instead of presenting this delinquents as a group that should be
eliminated, Cornish makes them an important puzzle piece to save London. Perhaps
there isn’t a big evolution and development in these characters, but they allow the
viewer to get closer with several points that make them seem “realistic”, either with

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 Ana Martínez Vega
Film Criticism
their teenage dialogues or with the weapons they use. At the beginning this group is
depicted in a bad way by showing how they assaulted the nurse, but at the end they ally
and break the rules of the typical narrative by discovering they live in the same block. In
that block we find a world where the usual laws and rules don’t apply and where the
police don’t even consider entering. However, this block is composed of residents who
take care of each other. For this exact reason, there is a visible social criticism that is
hidden through the use of humour.

What deserves to be highlighted is the night photography (which plays a decisive role)
with a clear influence of iconic 80’s films such as E.T., the originality of the shots and
camera movements, and, personally, the editing that accompanies the dynamism of the
narrative. However, a point against is that it doesn’t bring anything new to its genre nor
makes it special. It continues to fall into the same clichés to such an extent that it is
predictable. The adventure that this group lives is nothing different from what we are
used to see on the big screen, it is typical and canonical. In the end, of course, this
marginal group saves London becoming the heroes and here we find the peak of the
cliché. It may not bring anything new to the genre, but its good direction, script and
performances makes it worth watching, as well as entertainment and not boring at all.