Classic remake invades theaters
Sitting down to write this I am trying to think of a bad thing
about the film. I do not merely want to be the optimistic parent
who only highlights the good aspects of a child and quickly
dismisses obvious faults.
Classic remake invades theaters
Sitting down to write this I am trying to think of a bad thing about the film. I do not merely want to be the optimistic parent who only highlights the good aspects of a child and quickly dismisses obvious faults.
But in “Invasion” the acting was great, the suspense was excellent, and the cinematography inventive. On all accounts the movie was good but I think to myself would, I offer up the same $5.75 matinee price to see it again or what if I had to pay the full $8.75 price for it? Would I do it again?
The recent movie from Warner Brothers Films, starring Nicole Kidman (“Interpreter,” “Moulin Rouge”) and Daniel Craig (“Casino Royal,” “Road to Perdition”) is a non-stop sci-fi suspense thriller. The movie has a steady rhythm of suspense and there were moments that made viewers jump in their seats. Those who enjoy movies such as “Saw,” “Ring,” or “Hostel” might want to pass over this at the box office and wait for the installment of “Saw IV” because this wasn’t a gross-out film.
The premise of the movie is that a highly complex organism/virus is brought to earth by a U.S space shuttle, which crashed upon reentry. The alien matter spreads through the eastern United States. When the virus touches people, it gets in their system and has undesirable effect on humans. It turns them into emotionless zombies whose sole existence is to spread the virus to others. The change only occurs when the infected person goes through REM sleep.
The film follows psychiatrist Carol Bennell (Kidman) in her frantic journey to keep her child, her sanity and stay one step ahead of the Zombies. As the amount of people infected grows, it becomes difficult for Bennell to tell the difference between the infected and the uninfected. A doctor and her love interest Ben Driscoll (Craig) helps Bennell uncover the cause of the mysterious infection as they race to discover a cure all the while being chased, spit on and held down by the hundreds of thousands of zombies. Throughout the movie, Bennell has to use different techniques to stay awake, from taking prescription drugs to chugging Mountain Dew.
While watching, I felt as if the movie would never let up and quite honestly it didn’t. The suspense was consistent starting in the first five minutes and lasted minutes before the credits rolled. With that being said, I felt the movie needed to give an audience a better opportunity to connect with the characters. We are introduced to the characters and then the next thing we are expected to do is care for them. With more character interaction before the action began, this movie would have had a lot more impact.
The one area that I thought “Invasion” could have improved on is simply the length of the film. I was accustomed to lengthy blockbusters such as “Transformers” and “Pirates of the Caribbean,” which extended far past the two-hour mark. Lasting only an hour and a half, “Invasion” felt more like a short and less like a sci-fi suspense thriller. Because it was so short it made it difficult for me to feel as invested in the main characters.
Despite being a remake of a remake, “Invasion” puts a modern twist on an old classic. The original film is the 1956 cult classic and the second was a 1978 film, both entitled “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.”
The acting was good, direction solid and the dialogue, most importantly, was believable. In many blocksbusters its easy to feel the movies go off the deep end when it comes to believability but in this movie there were no cars turning into robots or 45 minute ship fights while stuck in a whirlpool. The film may not be the most groundbreaking but it does offer viewers what movies are suppose to – entertainment. It’s a good popcorn film that won’t leave you disgusted because of violence or grieved because of sex.
A slight warning – there are some scenes were zombies are spitting on people and the film does have some graphic images but mainly is driven by suspense. I recommend this movie for fans of “Signs,” “War of the Worlds,” and anyone who liked the original “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and wants to see a modern adaptation. In retrospect I would be happy to pay the matinee price again and would even go so far as to pay full price.
