The Invasion

By now you know the obvious, that this is a failed remake of a remarkable film.

You can read from others about the cinematic properties it lacks, the imprecision, the failed pace, lack of urgent focus... Its really bad. Films like this are their own sort of virus.

What I'd like to remark on is the lack of subtext. I'm not sure one needs such a thing in horror films of this conspiracy-invasion kind. But the original had it and it gave it great power. The context was the cold war and the suspicion that there were silent, secret sleeper cells. That what this (the cold war) was all about was some grand battle between good and evil, but that evil often had persuasion on its side. The "convinced" were effectively brainwashed and thus behaved like zombies.

We use things like this today. I saw a zombie movie (the one with the shopping mall) that clearly conflated Muslim extremists with the zombies, and the recent "Cloverfield" deliberately evoked 9-11.

I'm not sure how one would convey that today with this film and stick close to the original idea. This business of "don't go to sleep." The notion that ADD kids are the salvation of society, somehow the root of what it means to be American. The subtext that psychiatrists matter. The idea that a lowly technician in a local hospital could mobilize and lead a worldwide response. The massive amount of explanation we suffer, particularly at the end.

Kidman has had better days. It has a troubled production history with rewrites and massive reshoots. It shows.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

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 stage curtains open ...

I am probably of the minority here, but I actually really enjoyed this latest re-make in the "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" line of movies. I even liked it better than the black & white original, placing this at #2 behind the 1978 version (which was the best one IMO). Certainly hands above the rather plain and flat 1993 version. I really liked what Nicole Kidman brought to the table here - a fun film to watch.

This time around, our main protagonist is Carol Bennell (Kidman), a psychiatrist who is a single mother, who's ex-husband is a CDC agent who is heading the investigation into a space shuttle crash which has captured the attention of the world. Unknown to everyone involved, the shuttle brought with it to Earth's surface an unknown organism which starts off a chain of events that would change everyone's live. Bennell first notices it when one of her patients, Wendy (played by Veronica Cartwright who was also in the 1978 version), claims that her husband is not really her husband. Before Bennell knows it, she is running to save both herself and her son from an unspeakable end.

Of the four movies, this one was clearly the more action-packed version with foot races, car chase scenes, explosions, and helicopters. Yet, I felt it still delivered a healthy dose of tension and paranoia ... not really knowing who you can trust or who to run from. Nicole Kidman delivers a fine performance, and Jackson Bond was perfect as her son. All of our supporting actors were also very good here, with believable performances.

I highly recommend this one. It is anything but boring, and provides an adrenalin rush in addition to the fear of becoming an emotionless, empty shell of your former self. The angle is different here, but still effective. I give this one a solid 8 stars out of 10. I've watched it a few times over the years, and have enjoyed it just as much with each viewing. Stay tuned ... apparently, there is yet another re-make in the works!

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.

Hollywood destroyed everything good about this film.

There was a resounding creepiness that looms over the body snatcher remakes and the original. This film misses that on every mark. No pods... No siren screams... And the ending, well, is a slap in the face to the concept.

If your not a fan or have never seen any other versions you might think it is OK. But thats it, just OK. They screwed up one of the scariest concepts ever thought up. Permormences were OK. It had one or two bright points but overall it was crap.

Take the cgi out of war of the worlds and you have invasion... thats not a good thing.