The Invasion
|
List Price: Our Price: $0.94 You Save: $19.04 (95%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of The Invasion
Movie Review: A perfectly watchable science-fiction thriller
Summary: 3 Stars
Maybe I'm easy to please or give a partial pass to genre movies (probably a little of both), but I thought "The Invasion" was a perfectly good evening's entertainment. I liked the characters, the story was creepy, and things moved along at a nice clip. Whatever production difficulties there were, the end result has a coherent, smooth feel, and gets the job done. We should all remember that there are hundreds of examples of revered movies that had troubled production histories. Also, I'm guessing that original director Oliver Hirschbiegel couldn't have completely objected to some of the re-shoots and modifications made to his original cut, as he's right there in the special features section sitting next to producer Joel Silver, helping him promote the film.
Is "The Invasion" a perfect movie? Nah. It's strange that they hired an Australian actress (Nicole Kidman) and a British actor (Daniel Craig) and then had them both supress their accents to play Americans. But they're otherwise good in the film, projecting tense involvement in the plot (as a quick aside, it was also kind of funny and a bit disorienting to see Mr. Craig acting alongside Jeffrey Wright, knowing they both were filming the James Bond film "Casino Royale" about that time). The message was a little naive, too, if the producers were seriously suggesting that it might be okay if we all lost our emotions and passion if it meant an end to world conflicts. But the idea wasn't pushed too hard, only suggested, so I won't make too much of an issue over that.
Plusses include some good action, creepy transformation make-up, and a genuinely scary, repulsive way the infected try to spread the virus (which some reviewers here have counted as a negative aspect of the movie, which I think is a strange thing to say about a film that's supposed to frighten us). On the DVD, sharp picture and sound, and a handful of interesting extra features, further put this one over the top.
I wouldn't rush to make "The Invasion" part of your DVD library, but as a rental or something you run across in the TV listings, it's worth your time. It might even be worth buying if you get a really good deal.
As a final thought, I'm not sure that I needed to watch the "The Invasion", with its heavy metaphor for the aggressive spread of deadly new diseases and viral strains and our fear of same, just as the current swine flu pandemic is reaching crisis proportions. That was one bit of filmic realism I could have done without.
Movie Review: Not as bad as they said, not as good as it could have been
Summary: 3 Stars
The basic premise of this contemporary remake of the classic "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" is not bad. Spores from outer space cause a Space Shuttle crash. Haphazardly at first, and then deliberately, these spores infect human beings and take away their individuality. The film presents their arrival as a mixed blessing that poses a philosophical dilemma: on the one hand, it is human individuality that leads to violence and war; on the other hand, without human individuality we would be missing something essential. What that essential thing is the film doesn't say -- apart from the only partly glib answer that Nicole Kidman's character gives when asked what makes us more than animals: that the fact we now have postmodern feminism should give us some hope for the possibility of a better world. What this "human" thing that the infected peoples lose really is we can only infer from the fear that the characters in the film exhibit in the face of its loss. The film poses a question, that in the case of this version of "Invasion" is more a theological than a political question: is free will and its attendant evils really worth preserving at all costs?
I like that the filmmakers are willing to push for the bold response to this question -- that peace is incompatible with individuality, and that the latter would be a fair sacrifice for the former. On the other hand, I wish they hadn't pushed it so hard as to hammer in the contemporary implications of this message. The attempt to ratchet up tension by means of flash forwards and flashbacks that suggest the gravity of a situation also felt to me a bit overdone. The film is lacking almost completely in subtlety, and doesn't quite make up for this in scariness. On the whole this is not a bad film and strikes me as better than at least one of the sequels to the original "Invasion" -- and better than I had been led to expect from some of the critical feedback when it was out in theaters -- but not as good as I think it could have been with the talent and budget that went into it. This may be the result of the studio's decision to pull the film from German director Oliver Hirschbiegel and make it into a more conventional thriller than he must have had in mind.
Movie Review: Could Have Been So Much Better
Summary: 3 Stars
You got to give this movie some credit for not being a direct scene by scene remake of the previous adaptations. For those who have seen recent remakes the majority of them rely on creating a pretty much scene by scene remake. Such movies include The Omen, Psycho, and The Amityville Horror.
Anyway the invasion is not a bad movie it's just that it had so much to offer that the creators couldn't decide what to do with it. Also this movie had a troubled production; originally set to be released in 2006 the movie would go through a lot of rewrites and re shoots. From what I heard the movie was going to originally have a twist ending, but it seems that it did not qualify with the studios demands. The Wachowski brothers were also hired to rewrite the initial script; aswell the director of V For Vendetta James McTeigue was brought in to re shoot a more action ere film. The result of course is a mish mash of ideas put into one movie.
The movie begins with what seems to be the end of the film (don't worry i won't ruin anything important) the film later jumps into a scene where a NASA space craft crash lands with a alien life inside; if exposed to it the individual gets infected, the symptoms begin in REM sleep, the infected become a type of cocoon. As soon as they wake up they recollect the past memories of the host. Basically they seem human, look human, but they are not. The infected show no emotions. The ones who are not infected use this as an advantage to hide from them.
Anyway the movies central plot is pretty good it even has some edge of your seat moments. But unfortunately the creators just didn't know how to correctly develop the plot, and it shows. Such as the ending which is a complete letdown, the writers just didn't know what to do so they just ran the credits and called it an ending. Don't get me wrong the movie is good to watch once, it's just that there aren't any real surprises. it all feels very similar and formulaic. honestly it's worth to rent and to watch once.
MY PERSONAL RATING: 2 ½ OUT OF 5
Movie Review: Is that the REAL you?
Summary: 3 Stars
The Invasion, a remake of the 1978 Invasion of the Body Snatchers, is actually a very well made and executed remake. Greatly aiding this remake is Nicole Kidman's performance which helps the film along immensely as well as the intelligent script and stylish camera work.
After a space shuttle explodes on its' re-entry back to earth pieces of it litter the neighborhoods and fields below. The particles of debris bring a deadly virus that spreads quickly from person to person before scientists are able to retrieve it. Meanwhile Nicole Kidman plays Carol Bennell a psychiatrist whose starts realizing something is wrong. Daniel Craig plays Ben Driscoll a doctor and friend of Carol's who is coming to the same realization. When Carol finds a mysterious moving piece of visible organism on one of her son's friends, she takes it to Ben to have it checked out. The story quickly picks-up from here and then speeds up even more, stopping only very briefly for the conclusion.
I am normally not a fan of sci-fi/alien/virus movies but, this was done so well through the performance of the actors, and the filmmakers that it draws you in at the opening scene! I really liked how you do not see the virus spreading. Almost everything is seen through Carol's eyes so you do not realize the how bad the situation is until almost everyone is in infected. And as Carol flees from them, running into more wherever she turns, it slowly draws you into this horrifyingly claustrophobic world, and holds you, building the tension, not letting go until the end.
As I said Nicole Kidman does a wonderful performance as always, Daniel Craig is charming as ever, and Jeremy Northam plays his role chillingly well as the ex-husband of Carol.
Overall a extremely well made, well acted remake, that at the very end turns almost insightful.
Movie Review: NEVER TAMPER WITH A CLASSIC
Summary: 3 Stars
jack Arnold's 50s B Sci gem is and always be the definitive version of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, The dismal Donald Southerland remake was long and tedious. Now we have Nichole Kidman in a faster paced (and that is the only strong point of this movie) and this time around it is more high tech. A space shuttle crashes to earth bringing a deadly virus that instead of replicating humans, invades their DNA and turns them into the previous "pod people" incarnations. The sudden flash and pan of reactions truly hurts this movie and leaves it without an emotional center as she searches for her son whom may be immune to this virus transmitted this go around through body fluids.
Veronica Cartwright who played a strong supporting role in the remake is very good in the cameo and is able to convey more emotion in her short screen time than Kidman who dominates this tale.
Again, if it wasn't for the faster pace (which made the original so enjoyable--along with the unique premise at that time), this movie would just be another inadequate remake.
I am not endorsing it. Again, never fix something that isn't broken. Hollywood is running low on ideas, they are crafting big budget comic book movies, remakes of TV sitcoms (Kidman was seen in the movie version of "Betwitched") or tamping with classic movies.
The movie does boast some special features--which isn't say a great deal, they are pretty standard for the newer films.
Worth a watch through a rental, but definitely not worth buying.