4 Movies in 1 Day - Part IV: The Invasion Review

This was actually the most pleasant surprise of the day.

I mean, I wasn't even sure whether I was going to have the energy or the desire to stick around and watch a fourth movie, especially when that fourth movie seemed to be a middling thriller that's been was supposed to come out last year, but was delayed until this August (never a good sign).

So what made me stick around and give it a chance? Was it the chance to see Academy Award winner Nicole Kidman do her thing? No, though I did enjoy her early scene where she was wearing a white and slightly see-through shirt and pajama bottom combo. Was it seeing new kickass James Bond Daniel Craig in his first post-JB role (though he actually completed this role before Casino Royale)?

No! It was because I'd stood out in the heat and taken the stupid picture (looking at whatever Nicole Kidman is looking at) in front of the poster and I'll be damned if I wasn't gonna use it.

So after a quick boost from Mr. Nutra Grain (I saved the last one for sometime during the flick) I strapped myself in for a film that's a remake of a remake of an adaptation of the book The Body Snatchers.

The story finds the people around a Washington D.C. psychiatrist (Kidman) not quite themselves after a space shuttle crash brings an alien organism back to Earth (why don't space shuttles ever bring anything beneficial to mankind?!) People start acting like emotionless shells of themselves and they're looking to turn as many people around to their way of thinking.

Now, this movie was a treat because it both delivered the thrills and brought up some neat, though not original (it IS a remake of a re...you know!) ideas.

Those ideas included the very nature of being a human being, and all the conflict and imperfections that come along with it. The movie has fun with the idea that when the aliens take over, many major conflicts around the world are resolved. To be quite honest, they made a compelling argument for coming around to their way of thinking.

The movie also works as a thriller echoing horror movies like the original Dawn of the Dead which introduced the idea of a conformist culture where everyone looks and acts the same way as something to be feared nearly thirty years ago. There aren't too many flashy effects, and most of the actions sequences center around good old-fashioned running away, though there is a nice car chase toward the end.

Kidman is pretty good, though I found it kind of curious that they cast an actress with kind of an ice princess vibe to play the emotional center in the film (which contrasts with all the infected). Personally I think her best bud Naomi Watts would've been a little better.

Daniel Craig isn't given much to do, but injects his underwritten role with charm and charisma, so that you care about what happens to his character. Also, in a near unprecedented triumph, Jackson Bond (cool name), who plays Kidman's son Oliver, manages to be a young child in a horror movie and NOT be a complete moron/insufferable brat. He also doesn't fall back on using that "creepy" vibe a lot of kid actors in scary movies use. Nice job kid. Seriously! Too often the kid character kills these movies.

All in all, I'm glad I stuck around. It may be because I had pretty low expectations, but I liked this movie.

And I can now say I saw four movies in one day. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go eat a full meal. Later.

The Invasion...B+