Attack the Block
Metascore
75 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 27 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 27
  3. Negative: 1 out of 27
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  1. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    Jul 28, 2011
    0
    Attack the Block is the other alien-invasion movie opening today, the lousy one, the one from Britain. In Britain, it's probably just a regular bad movie, but here - with accents that are barely comprehensible and in-jokes about council flats, not to mention a swerving handheld camera and some of the cheapest effects since "Night of the Lepus" - it's surprising this thing ever got released.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.2 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 118 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 40
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 40
  3. Negative: 2 out of 40
  1. TVJerry
    9
    In this imaginative variation of the classic theme, a South London gang takes on a small-scale alien invasion. These are just teenage punks pitting their moxy and street skills against creatures that are vicious, but surprisingly vulnerable, kind of a dark (literally) versions of a Sendak beast. From the way the thugs talk to the racial/social themes, this film should gather a cult following for its originality. The action scenes are well-staged and the characters develop nicely. Give this a chance and it'll pay off!… Full Review »
  2. Pelletor
    8
    This is raw, funny and not the run-of-the-mill. Subverting a genre is almost a cliche these days - this subverts the genre and manages to do it without making the viewer yawn or sigh. Its good, so try it.… Full Review »
  3. LamontRaymond
    2
    Joe Cornish makes a fundamental blunder with the story that cripples the movie before it really gets going. You don't allow your lead character - your hero - to band together with his young masked male friends, to surround a terrified nurse, and then threaten her with a knife until she surrenders her bag, her ring, etc. TARP (the average reasonable person) probably ancipated a rape. Joe must not have a mother, sisters or female friends he cares a whip about. It's a little tough for the lead character to redeem himself in the eyes of the audience after an opening act like that. Even when the same youngster (Moses) forces himself into the young lady's flat to flee the aliens, he never gives the lady a choice but help his buddy. He later semi-apologizes to her, saying he did it because he didn't know she was "from the block." Yes, he would have robbed her of her dignity with a clear head if she was from the next block. It was interesting that I saw this film a couple of nights after the London riots began because the youngsters from this film looked a lot like the rascals looting and burning the stores around that great city. In this context, and thinking about my own sister and mother, I just couldn't find myself so easy to forgive Moses and his pals for their crimes againt the young nurse. Beyond this fundamental problem, the movie is just not all that funny, and the aliens are not all that scary. Sorry, Joe. Try again.… Full Review »
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