Invasion

I admit that I was hesitant about seeing "The Invasion" after reading some poor reviews and coming to this message board. I also was leery after learning that part of it was re-shot by different directors which is usually a very bad sign. Plus the fact that they give Kidman a kid in this film had me leery for I often grow weary of female leads in suspense/action/horror films having to protect children instead of other adults like male leads do especially if the kids are annoying.

So, I almost didn't see "The Invasion" after reading and hearing all of the complaints about no plot, no real character development, bad acting and poor directing/editing.

Yet, I finally agreed to just go with my gut and take a chance on a matinée show of "The Invasion." Boy, am I glad that I did, not only because I did not have to pay the outrageous full price of ten bucks but I actually liked this film.

Despite what some are saying this film does have a plot. People are actually doing things that lead to other plot points like the whole deal with Veronica Cartwright's character and Kidman's character leaving her son with the ex-husband. These two story lines lead to important discoveries and actions that happen later on in the film.

Also, there is character development. Kidman's character does develop because she's forced to change in order to survive and to protect herself and her son. The warm relationship between Kidman's character and her son and Ben also is established.

So beyond these relationships do we really need to dwell on the other characters for too long? After all this is a plot driven movie not a character driven movie. Besides, if they had taken time to thoroughly get into everyone else's back story people would be whining about the movie being too long. But I digress.

Also, I thought that all of the actors did a good job especially Kidman. She showed good range from being a caring psychiatrist, to a loving mother to a terrified woman to a desperate mother who would do anything to protect her child. I also like the mood and tone of this film. Granted the Pod People in the 1956 and 1978 versions were a tad bit creepier but I liked this film better than the 1978 version overall and I didn't miss that crazy scream. However, the 1956 version is definitely a classic.

Sure "The Invasion" is not perfect and it has it flaws and I feel that the studio probably should have left the original version alone. After all, the majority of the film is stronger than the last half which is obviously where the re-shoots took place. Still despite the unnecessary out of order time cuts, and a tad too many car crashes, the film still worked for me. I was definitely entertained.

Now that's saying a lot especially since I went in with low expectations.

I honestly don't think the movie is worth an 8, not in its released form. But since the cuts and additions from the suits are so painfully obvious, I'm willing to give a higher rating to the movie that could have been... and for now, only the original director Oliver something has seen.

So the original movie (which is still discernible somehow) was supposed to be a dark, slow take on isolation, pill overuse and boring modern life. With a twist: a mom so desperate to protect her child, she would silently watch other people being killed as long as she can find her kid. That's actually moving and seldom seen in a macho-dominated Hollywood. I won't say that ice cold Kidman is the right choice to depict a desperate mom, but given that her role is to often look emotionless (so she can pass as another "pod people") she doesn't do too badly.

Now, the suits didn't like that and called those soft-brained Wachowski bros to make it -supposedly- more mainstream. And what they did was to add car chases, crashes, helicopters, fires and senseless violence in general. Inserted into the original movie at close intervals to keep people amused (or so they thought). Now, there are a few good directors who can pull out a combination of slow burn and crazy action. But a patchwork movie made of two different directors' bits, guys with widely opposed instincts and goals, no wonder the result is a flop.

If anything is to be learned from this, it's how little do Hollywood executives know about what makes a good movie. Granted, a non-stop mishmash of violence and fifth-drink bar philosophy like The Matrix can earn the big bucks, but you can't expect Matrix-like bits to improve what was intended to be a slow paced, moody film. Which was probably condemned to be a box office failure, but also could have been pretty good.

'The Invasion' is by no means a perfect film but I enjoyed it. Part of the reason is due to the company I was surrounded with (my family loves these kind of movies). It is very much a typical Hollywood sci-fi horror that 'pretends' to deal with themes like overuse of antidepressants and the desire for a 'perfect' world where all humans live in harmony blah blah blah. With such films one can almost always expect plot holes and overdone stunts and 'The Invasion' is no different. But, it does manage to create an intense alien atmosphere. The use of washed out colours to portray New York is well done and the camera-work is good. Nicole Kidman is superb. I don't understand all this criticism against her and accusations of her being a wooden actress. In my humble opinion, she is one of the finest actresses who even manages to lift a film like 'The Invasion'. In addition she looks absolutely stunning and healthy. I prefer this look than the extremely skinny look. Daniel Craig and Jeremy Northam are alright, though clearly overshadowed by Kidman. Thus to conclude, Nicole Kidman alone brings the movie from below mediocre to above average.

We went to see this last night. After all of the horrific reviews, I was expecting a real P.O.S. I was pleasantly surprised. While not to say it was an AWESOME movie or anything. It was good Sci Fi fun. I get irritated when a lot of movie buffs are looking for every film to be a Gone with the Wind or something. This was just a fun, smooth, entertaining production. I've never been a real fan of Nicole kidman, but I must say, she was quite fetching in this movie. If you are looking for the 50's version of War of the Worlds..The forbidden planet..John Carpenter's the THING...etc..it doesn't qualify. If you are looking for a fun Sci Fi Thriller to watch, it does the job.

This fourth adaptation about vintage novel deals a space shuttle blows up and the fragments transfer an alien virus that recodes the human beings DNA. It creates an altering the human behaviour. Meanwhile a psychiatrist named Carol(Nicole Kidman) must to protect her son(Bond) who may hold the means to avoid the extraterrestrial invasion. The mysterious epidemic from outer space is spread her friends, ex-husband and Washington people, everybody are being take over by emotionless,cold behaving. Carol is helped by her good friend Doctor Driscoll(Daniel Craig) and scientific Doctor Stephen(Jeffrey Wright).

This scary Sci-Fi displays a tense screenplay based on Jack Finney novel titled ¨Body snatchers¨. Packs suspense,chills, thrills, spectacular car pursuits and pretty turns and twists. Good performances from Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig and Jeffrey Wright.Appears in secondary role Veronica Carwight as deranged wife, she acted in the second version by Philip Kauffman, besides cameo role by Jeff Wincott as a security agent,he's a B series star. The motion picture is professionally directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel, though with no originality. His greatest hits were ¨The experiment¨ and ¨The downfall¨.

Another version about this known story are : the classic adaptation which emerged as a cinema classic directed by Donald Siegel(1956) with Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter, concerning about mysterious seeds duplicating people ; a magnificent semi-sequel which takes place in San Francisco directed by Phil Kauffman(78) with Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, and Leonard Nimoy; and inferior rendition by Abel Ferrara(1994) that takes place in a military base with Forrest Whitaker , Meg Tilly and Gabriella Anwar.