Attack the Block

British film is often criticised and many will say that we just don’t make good films in this country. And to an extent, this is correct. Many are made by those that have worked wonders in television, but simply can’t make an entertaining piece when moving to the big screen. Others are overly-sentimental and serve as DVD -fodder for Mother’s Day presents.

Another man making the switch from a career in TV and radio to film is Joe Cornish, making his directorial debut with ‘Attack the Block’. Part of the film-obsessed duo Adam and Joe, it would always be interesting to see what he would produce, and what he has is an enjoyable little piece in ‘Attack the Block’.

Set in South London (oh my days, blood!), the story is about a group of teenagers – with typically poor grammar – trying to defend their tower block from an alien invasion. Typically British, it’s more of a small-scale piece, not overly doing it with special effects and unnecessary drama. The dialogue provides intentional laughs, in a Kidulthood kind-of-a-way, with largely silly characters and situations.  

Joe Cornish will probably not set the cinema world alight, and could easily face a similar path to that of Simon Pegg, starting with a nice, small-scale piece with quality beginning to decline as the budgets and fame increase. But at this stage, ‘Attack the Block’ is harmless fun, with some good comedy moments, elements of some interesting directorial talent and an addition to the recent wave of successful British television makers making the step into film.

Compared to an equally-silly American comedy, this will probably get nowhere near critically or financially acclaimed, with people likely to make the age-old comment that the British just don’t make good films. But being that the comedy is very British, it is probably more due to the lack of international appeal that the film will probably achieve than poor quality. Jokes here are more expected on BBC Three than a cinema screen, and so will miss with many expecting Hollywood shine. And because of that, the British are unlikely to be making a mass invasion in cinemas throughout the world.