Long before John Boyega began his Star Wars adventure, he starred in an awesome flick called Attack The Block.
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| "Anyone seen Kylo Ren?" |
When the cast of Star Wars: The Force Awakens was
announced last year, it was met with overwhelming approval by not just the
usual Star Wars geeks, but film fans everywhere. Besides reuniting Luke, Han and Leia from the
original trilogy, the new film's cast included promising and acclaimed new
additions such as Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver and Lupita Nyong'o. But for some, one of the more exciting
announcements was the casting of a young British actor named John Boyega in a lead
role. Boyega is largely unknown to much
of the world, but to anyone who saw his breakout performance in 2011's Attack
the Block, he was already a superstar in the making. With less than a month until The Force
Awakens finally makes its wildly anticipated opening, it’s a great time to
revisit Attack The Block and see what all the excitement over Boyega is
about.
Attack The Block, a reasonable success in its UK
home, had only a very limited release in the US late in the summer 2011. The internet buzz was deafening though, and
its cult following began to grow with its DVD release. Written and directed by frequent Edgar Wright
collaborator Joe Cornish, Attack the Block was quickly embraced by fans
of Wright's smart, geeky style (though a cameo by Nick Frost couldn't have
hurt.) While both Attack The Block and
Wright's breakout film Shaun of the Dead put interesting, fun spins on
horror genre conventions, Attack The Block's humor comes from a
different place.
Attack The Block offers one of the more unique
settings in modern horror or sci-fi, a south London tenement apartment or
"block". Boyega is Moses, the
de facto leader of a gang of block youths who take matters into their own hands
when mysterious creatures begin appearing in their neighborhood. The chemistry of the teenaged cast is
flawless, their actions and dialog (delivered in very thick South London
accents and slang) grounded in a refreshing reality in contrast to the
increasingly insane world around them.
There is a very 1980's feel to Attack The Block, one reminiscent
of films like The Goonies or The Monster Squad, with the films of
Steven Spielberg (whom Cornish and Wright would later work with on The
Adventures of Tintin) being an obvious and ever-present influence.
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| "Yup. I'm a total bad ass." |
Despite this Attack the Block is very much its own
film. Most great horror and sci-fi also
has a great social or political message, and this film is no different. These are poor, disadvantaged street punks who
must depend on each other because they know they can't expect help from the
authorities. They are able to muster up
an amazing amount of maturity and intelligence during a time of crisis, but at
the end of the days they're still kids who'd rather play FIFA on their
Xboxes in the safety of their homes than save the world from the alien
menace. Each young cast member to a
person rises to this occasion and delivers a perfectly balanced performance,
displaying the kind of courage and solidarity that living together in such
conditions can give even a young teenager.
Boyega in particular is a standout.
Moses is the cool head among the gang, showing a patience and maturity
far beyond most other adults in the film, much less his own 15 years. Jodie Whitaker's Sam, a neighbor on the block
who goes from being mugged by the boys in the opening scene to their ally in
the final battle, may have the more defined character arc, but it is Moses who
shows the most growth, and effortlessly steps into the role of our hero.
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| "Hi. I'm here to trade this sword in for a lightsaber!" |
Attack The Block is still a wildly fun, refreshing,
exciting movie four years and many rewatches later. Much of this is thanks to Cornish's clever,
timely writing and smart directing. But
the film is very much Boyega's show. The
charismatic Boyega's talent and maturity far exceed many actors twice his age
or more. Had Attack The Block been
a huge box office success, he'd likely already be a huge superstar. Alas, now he'll get to show the world what's
he's capable of on quite possibly the largest stage imaginable in film. He indeed already looks like a natural with a
lightsaber in some of the early promo art for The Force Awakens, but
anyone who saw him in Attack The Block had no reason to believe
otherwise. Film fans binging on Star
Wars leading up to The Force Awakens, and anyone who loves a good,
witty, fast-paced sci-fi horror flick, would be wise to brush up on Attack
The Block.
Score
-Mike Stec
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