ATTACK THE BLOCK

I've been subscribed to LoveFilm for a while now and in all honesty, used the service quite frequently all the way up until I was made redundant. I'm well aware that this sounds backwards but that's just the way it goes. As a result, ATTACK THE BLOCK sat in my room, cold and alone, gathering dust.

I'd wanted to see this for a while, what with the ludicrous sounding plot: smooshing London hoodlums with aliens? Yes please. And I wasn't disappointed! In fact, I'm having difficulty trying to think of a single bad thing to say about this film. I love the fact that it's British, I love that even I found it difficult in places to understand what the hell the kids were saying (God knows how Americans will manage) and I love how a stupid alien-invasion story turned into something that I can't wait to go and purchase for my own DVD collection!

The story is simple: a gang of mid-teen London hoodlums are out one night mugging innocent passers-by when a meteorite hits. It ain't any old meteorite but in fact an alien which attacks the ring-leader, Moses, who then, in true as-seen-on-the-news style, kills the alien and parades it through the streets of London. But there's a slight problem, more meteorites begin to hit and these new aliens are slightly bigger and scarier than the one that's just been killed.

When watching this film, it's important to not take it too seriously. In fact, don't take it seriously at all. It's not a hard-hitting drama about "youth today" (despite nudging you slyly in the ribs every now and again as these kids are left to their own devices). Nor is it a fully fledged comedy. The balance teeters quite precariously between comedy and sci-fi and the result is an incredibly enjoyable, humourous and yet scary flick that I am looking forward to watching again.

Rating: *****