| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| BaftaBaby |
Posted - 10/18/2007 : 15:20:06
The Invasion
For pod's sake, not again! Yup, here they come - those aliens who want to turn the people of Earth [well, the ones who speak English] into mindless automatons because ...
Good question -- why do they want to do this? And, hang on a minute - can a pod or a replicating virus actually have a will of its own? And just what, exactly is in it for them? Eternal life? Uhm - no, since the host bodies can be destroyed, and the viruses themselves succumb to a vacine.
Once infected - in Oliver Hirschbiegel's latest screen adaptation of the classic sci-fi Jack Finney novel - the host bodies merely go about their same old/same old lives albeit with marginally more monotonous voices and stiff gaits. Well, hell! those pesky viruses might as well invade the earth's cockroaches. At least then they'd be assured of surviving nuclear war and being able to colonize every nook and cranny of the planet.
Given such a flawed base premise, the edifice that is this movie wobbles like a jelly. And neither Nicole Kidman - who is NOT a bad actress, so shut up you in the back - nor pre-Bond Daniel Craig nor any of the sfx can save it.
Former versions of the book have presented the invaders as metaphors for McCarthyism or other social ills. This one dabbles around the paddling pool of allusion with undeveloped associations with Iraq. It's all a lot of hot air.
No one needs to huff and puff, because the slightest breeze will send it toppling to the ground.
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| 2 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Salopian |
Posted - 12/27/2010 : 06:20:16
Here is an older thread about this film. |
| Salopian |
Posted - 10/18/2007 : 21:37:40
Yup, although I haven't seen any of the previous versions, I only saw this one by mistake and am guessing that it is quite pointless. The 'science' is laughable - it seems entirely like the pseudo-science in shampoo adverts or, worse, presented to 'justify' therapies such as homeopathy. It would be fine if it were meant to be entertainingly over the top, but it really is trying to sound plausible. Is the point about whether we are better off as now or instead as peaceful zombies raised in the book or earlier versions? That's slightly interesting, although not explored. |
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