Review #58: The Invasion (2007)

Cast/Notable Credits:
Oliver Hirschbiegel (Director)

Nicole Kidman (Carol): The Others (2001)

Daniel Craig (Ben): Casino Royale (2006), Tomb Raider (2001), Munich (2005)

Jeremy Northam (Tucker): The Net (1995), Mimic (1997)

Jeffrey Wright (Dr. Galeano): Shaft (2000), Lady in the Water (2006)

Veronica Cartwright(Wendy): Alien

Roger Rees (Yorish): Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993), The Scorpion King (2002)

Trailer:


Plot:

A newer version of the Invasion of the Body Snatchers. A NASA space shuttle explodes and falls down to Earth with an alien virus hitching a ride. The virus suddenly mutates with human D.N.A. and alters the humans behavior into a motionless zombie that displays perfect behavior. Once the person falls asleep the mutation begins. Nicole Kidman's character starts seeing people around her turn and discovers that her son is immune to the virus and may eventually be the cure. The city of Baltimore is quarantined and the pod people start taking over the world. Trapped in the city, Nicole battles the elements to escape with her son out of the city and try to reach a group of scientist who maybe able to use her son to cure the alien infestation.

Villain:

The bad guys of the film are...drum roll please...alien pod people. Every day people who are possessed...basically, no one really scary here.

Cast:

Nicole Kidman's acting wasn't as cardboard cut out as most of her roles. There were times in the movie that she had to show no emotion...wait a second...hmm...no emotion to "fool" the pod people and did a great job at that. I hated The Others. The Blonde Bond did a pretty good job in this movie. I actually respect that man more and more. He did a great job in Casino Royale.

SFX/Gore:

Just like any other modern big budget movie, the special effects were top notch when used. The alien goo looked pretty cool. Coolest part was seeing the person jump off the top of a building to their end.

TNA:

When does Nicole Kidman just start baring herself nude to make movies? Is she at that point in her career yet? Don't count on it in this movie. She didn't do it in The Others movie as well. I hated that movie. Alexis Raben is a cute little hottie who plays an assistant in the movie.

T.Gun's Take:

There's one way to sum up The Invasion...been there done that. The film makers brought some of the new twists to the table and they were half way decent. *Spoiler - Highlight to read* It's like a Steven Speilberg ending. I hate the Steven Speilberg endings! Everything must be all happy-happy joy-joy. At the end of this one...everything is fixed. B.S. WHY?!!!

For a remake of a remake, I didn't think this film was all that bad. It might have just caught me on the right night. I typically HATE Nicole Kidman movies. Especially The Others. Have I mentioned that I hated that movie? But this movie wasn't a total let down for me. Probably because I didn't have that high of expectations going into it. At least not as much as the studio exec.'s had. (See Box Office $ vs. the budget $ below in the Misc. section)

Misc. Movie Trivia:
-Film opened on August 17, 2007 and made $15 million at the box office ($5.95 million opening weekend)
-Film's budget: Approx. $80 million
-During filming, Daniel Craig found out that he won the role to be the next James Bond