The Invasion
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Movie Reviews of The Invasion
Movie Review: To believe it is too simple
Summary: 4 Stars
One more invasion in the history of the cinema ? Banal. But this one is not that banal because it really updates the fear. Not invaded by some kind of ugly green monster, please. Nor an egg laying alien. Let's be more modern and be invaded by something that is invisible and yet kind of ugly. Or rather gross, like some expectoration from a throat invaded by a serious infection. Gooey, gluey, inducing vomiting more than attraction. At the same time, beyond the bla bla about the DNA and its reprogramming when the subject is falling asleep, there is another myth: peace. To transform the most brutal and ferocious surviving animal species on earth and probably in the whole universe if not cosmos into a peaceful, peace loving and peace seeking bunch of automata. That's a dream for sure. Why not after all, to finally be able to love everyone and to forget and forgive all the evil the others have done to us, even if we have done to them maybe things that were worse. The peace you can only find during a funeral, provided no one has drunk himself or herself into a tantrum. That kind of future is frightening because you do not control yourself any more and also because there would be no fun in life any more, since fun is adventure, cops and robbers, wars, torturing chambers, dungeons, and a few dragons for fun on top of it all to crown the ice-cream with a nice cherry, you know the cherry you have forcefully taken from your neighbor yesterday night in the garden, though you just can't remember neither the sex, nor the age, nor the name or identity of that neighbor who just was there next to you when you had a sudden desire to eat a cherry and break it in. We can't really take that kind of fun away from all of us. Some of us need that fun, and I may say that maybe most of us need it. The film plays on that very well, till there is no escape what-so-ever, and there the film becomes a quick shortcut to a palatable end, after getting a glimpse of George W. Bush on TV. The poor woman and her son will manage to kill a few regenerated human beings who are no longer human, then she or they will kill a couple of dozens more ,and finally escape in a chopper that was handily flying by, and then on the following frame everything is back to normal, a vaccine has been found and the millions of weirdo sickly mutants have been brought back to normal. It is so nice to go back to school, to have pancakes that are not burnt, etc. The suspense is OK, the story is nothing phenomenal, Nicole Kidman wears and carries or even bears her name well, oscillating between the frenzy of a kid and the determination of an adult, but with a touch of French looking erratic psychosis. It is probably not worse than the old "Body snatchers" and the more recent remake of "The War of the Worlds". Just entertaining, though not that much inspiring.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne, University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines, CEGID
Movie Review: My Two Cents
Summary: 4 Stars
Okay, as someone who considers himself somewhat of a "Body Snatchers" afficianado, here is my opinion of the 4th version of Jack Finney's 1954 sci-fi novel (actually the 5th version, if you count the musical adaptation written for the stage...yes, this really exists!!!).
Obviously, there is something about the "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" story that strikes a chord in the human psyche. It consistantly makes producers want to re-invent it and audiences want to see it again. Let's face it: the plot is full of holes and truly off-the-map logistically. But who cares? Not me. The hook is its terrifying emotional impact, targeting our fears of being trapped in an apathetic, zombie-like society. For my money, the best of the "Body Snatchers" is Phillip Kaufmann's 1978 rendition, which literally drips with atmospheric dread and paranoia. It brings Don Siegel's 1955 version (which capitalized on McCarthyism and the Red Scare) crashing into a new era of psychoanalysis and the search for happiness.
Abel Ferrara's 1993 re-make has its moments (interestingly, it's set in a military base). However, all-in-all, the script feels undeveloped and the movie never reaches the full potential of either the original book or its two cinematic predecessors.
So where does this leave "The Invasion" in the ranks? In my opinion, not only is it not nearly as bad as people say it is, I'm going to go out on a limb and call it pretty darn good. When a friend and I decided to see it in the theater despite the bad press, we turned to one another halfway through, surprised by the all the bad buzz. True, the ending sucks, and I missed the pods from another world, however implausable they may have been. But there are quite a few jolting scares, and some weird originality added: the creepy guy at the door taking a survey in the middle of the night, the viscious dog attack, deformed bodies slithering across the floor, and of course, all that unexpected projectile vomitting! Also, rather than being replaced by pod people, the victims of "The Invasion" actually remain themselves, only drastically altered by an extraterrestrial virus. This finally makes sense of the lines uttered by all the body snatchers in all the films, that the victims will still remain who they are, only greatly improved after being taken over. Previously, this had always seemed like a pathetic selling point to get the victims to calm down, since it was obvious they were not going to continue in their current state, but be completely replicated, as their original forms disintegrated.
So there's my take on "The Invasion". Hey, why not read the original book, along with "They're Here...! A Tribute The Body Snatchers"? Then you can rent all of the movie versions, and have a "Body Snatchers" weekend . . . while you wait for the next adaptation to come out.
Movie Review: Pleasantly Surprised by the End Result
Summary: 4 Stars
To say that The Invasion had a troubled production history is a mild understatement. Director Oliver Hirschbiegel set out to make an artier and edgier take on Jack Finney's classic science fiction novel, Invasion of the Body Snatchers. However, the studio did not like his version and producer Joel Silver brought in his pals, the Wachowski brothers to rewrite the ending and director James McTeigue (V for Vendetta) to reshoot it. The result was a film that flopped both commercially and critically. Now that all of the dust has settled and it is finally being released on DVD, The Invasion can be reassessed. Is it really that bad?
There are a few annoying jumps in logic, like Carol abandoning her vehicle for no good reason and dropping a gun on two occasions that she could have used later on. For a supposedly intelligent character, she doesn't make very smart decisions at times.
This is the fourth adaptation of Finney's novel and so far all of them have paled in comparison to the first one, directed by Don Siegel, which was also the most faithful to the source material. The reason that this story keeps being remade is that the allegory for the stifling oppressive nature of conformity is so powerful and still relevant after all these years.
While the aliens offer a world without pain and suffering, it is also one without joy and happiness. The Invasion updates this classic story for our times as it channels some of the anxieties of our age: avian flu, SARS, 9/11, the Patriot Act, and so on. In a nice change, this film also deviates from previous adaptations by going in a different direction with how it ends. Some may cry sell-out but it feels true to the rest of the film. The Invasion is hardly as awful as some critics would have you believe. If you go in with low expectations you may come away pleasantly surprised by the end result.
"We've Been Snatched Before: Invasion in Media History" examines how the Body Snatcher films commented on the times in which they were made and this new one is no different. This featurette also examines the fears that the film addresses, including virus-based threats and how he deal with them, in this informative extra.
"The Invasion: A New Story" takes a look at how this film updates Finney's original story for our times in this brief, pretty standard promotional featurette.
"The Invasion: On the Set" examines how they shot on location whenever possible and picked Washington, D.C. because it is the centre of power in the United States.
"The Invasion: Snatched" takes a look at how the alien menace spreads in the film.
Movie Review: superior sci-fi
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a surprisingly enjoyable and engrossing film.
To be honest I wasn't expecting much from it. Re-makes of classic movies usually disappoint. And this one follows in the wake of three previous versions - two of which are universally acknowledged as all-time greats. So what on earth could a fourth attempt bring to the table?
Add to this the film's troubled production history and much-publicised tales of failed test-screenings, shelving and re-cutting and it doesn't sound inspiring.
But I was pleasantly surprised. It's very watchable from the outset and draws the viewer into a disconcerting world of isolation and dystopia.
The film does a remarkably good job of recapturing the powerful sense of unease and creeping terror that was the hallmark of the original Invasion of the Bodysnatchers. It succeeds well at translating the themes of the original film into a modern context without merely repeating them in a different setting. It really hits the mark in terms of creating a disturbing sense of contemporary paranoia.
Does it have it's faults? Yes. Niolce Kidman's character, for instance, is at times annoyingly slow at grasping what she's up against and walks a little too predictably into trouble. And some of the plot solutions are a bit convenient to say the least.
All in all, I don't think it's quite up there with either Don Seigel's original or Philip Kaufman's re-make of Invasion of the Bodysnatchers. Then again, Seigel's original was apparently viewed as cult curiosity in the 1950s before being hailed retrospectively with the passing of decades. And I recall that Kaufman's re-make got a pretty tepid reception when it was released in the 1970s - but time and TV repeats have established it as a worthy classic in its own right. How many of the films we regard as classics today were immediately considered to be when they first came out? The Invasion has the feel of a film that critics will probably be alot kinder to when they look back in years to come.
In the meantime, The Invasion ought to be enjoyed as a very compelling sci-fi thriller that's intelligent, thought-provoking, well-paced and far superior to most offerings in the genre.
Movie Review: Mature Reviewer
Summary: 4 Stars
I can't believe all the bad negative comments on this film. Yes..I've seen all the previous "Invasions". Even both "War of the Worlds"..and even "Plan 9 from Outer Space" and how can we forget "The Shining".
Is it because it doesn't have an open ending like the other ones as this one has more closure on the storyline of the "Invasion" films in the past
I can appreciate also the slower "thought" process of this version. The creepiness of these people once transformed and how well they hide their alien-selves. This storyline allows for the audience to learn more insightful thoughts of the "aliens" and their viewpoints than in previous versions.
The intro dinner scene of the Doctors thoughts on "progressive thinking" is brilliant..it's an insightful poignant conversation eluding to a way of thinking most humans are blinded of based on "their" current living era and of cultures.
I don't think this movie could've been played by younger actors. Seasoned actors and Nicole Kidman was a good choice.
I have also noticed, in the past 20 years..a lack of appreciation for slower developing plots in films. Or is it lack of "attention span" when someone isn't always getting "whacked" on the screen or cars getting smashed.
I think what one has to ask when viewing sci-fi films..is "Is this what I would do if I was her/him?" AND How much fact is going to validate the storyline in this created world.
I think very few sci-fi films allow for full believability. This is of them that satisfies.
I'm finding so many flaws in the new Star Trek and Terminator storylines.
Such as in Star Trek..I don't find it realistic that a Starfleet Officer would eject and "chuck" a student (in a pod) to a death planet where he would be eaten by huge powerful ferocious creatures!
Terminator: I can't see "anti-rejection" drugs being available to organ donors in a post nuke setting! Which invalidated the WHOLE movie right at the end!.
I felt this this version of "Invasions" satisfies completely on this level.
I didn't feel like I was being treated as a complete retard while watching it!
I enjoyed it.