The Invasion tells the story of a mysterious epidemic that alters the behavior of human beings. When a Washington D.C. psychiatrist (Nicole Kidman) discovers the epidemics origins are extraterrestrial, she must fight to protect her son, who may hold the key to stopping the escalating invasion.
The Invasion deserves a second chance on DVD. This ambitious sci-fi thriller represents a flawed yet worthy attempt to bring contemporary vitality to Jack Finney's classic science fiction novel, previously filmed as Don Siegel's 1956 classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Philip Kaufman's suspenseful 1978 remake, and Abel Ferrara's highly underrated Body Snatchers from 1994. And while those earlier films are superior in many respects, The Invasion is not without strengths of its own, particularly for those who prefer action and suspense. Unfortunately these strengths were compromised by the unpredictable misfortunes of production: Original director Oliver Hirschbiegel (hired on the strength of Downfall) was eventually replaced by James McTiegue (V for Vendetta), and the Wachowski Brothers (of Matrix trilogy fame) added high-octane action sequences to the original screenplay by David Kajganich. Perhaps the movie had a curse on it (star Nicole Kidman was almost seriously injured in a stunt-car mishap during last-minute reshoots), but it's really just a matter of disparate ingredients that don't always fit together, resulting in a slick-looking film that can't decide if it's a sci-fi mystery, action thriller, or political allegory. It tries too hard to be all things at once.
Despite this, Kidman rises to the occasion with a solid performance as Carol, a Washington, D.C. psychiatrist who's convinced (with the help of costars Daniel Craig and Jeffrey Wright) that a flu-like virus is spreading throughout the population, its alien spores turning victims into soulless "pod people"... only in this case without the pods. The idea is that you'll be fine if you don't fall asleep, and especially if you don't let anyone sneeze or vomit on you. (There's a lot of vomiting; don't say you weren't warned.) With a crashing space shuttle to deliver the alien threat, cute tyke Jackson Bond as Carol's threatened son, and a nod to Kaufman's film with a small role for Veronica Cartwright, The Invasion will surely fare better on DVD than it did in theaters. If nothing else, it proves the timeless relevance of Finney's original premise, which continues to inspire a multitude of variations. --Jeff Shannon
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.0 / 5.0
sj-az:
DVD didn't work. Seller didn't respond to emails. Amazon intervened and made things right for me.
The Pod-less People...:
No pods in this latest take on INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS called simply, THE INVASION. This time out an extraterrestrial virus has hitched a ride on a returning space-shuttle. Oh no! The shuttle crashes, releasing the viral terror from beyond space! Soon, most of the populace is walking around like mindless cultists from Saturn! Nicole Kidman is one of only a few people who realize that things just aren't right. With the help of Daniel Craig, Ms. Kidman attempts to rid the world of the spreading... more info
The Invasion-Good remake updated for the times:
The Invasion was a very enjoyable four star remake of the Invasion of the Body Snatchers. This particular Blue-Ray DVD appeared to be an exceptional video transfer on my large screen HDTV. The Invasion did not feature too many special effects but did open with some nice CGI animations of the space shuttle burning up during re-entry. Other very excellent computer animations of space-borne microbes and some exciting stunt and action shots did appear during the course of the film, but it was definitely not a... more info
Video Vomit:
The scariest moment in this film
is when our zero utters the statement
"I am a post-modern feminist". It was at that point that my finger went to
the stop button on the DVD remote.
I held out for a while,
hoping that there would be a reason for me
to continue to watch the film to its conclusion,
but finding none, I pulled the trigger. Don't tell me how it ends.
I don't care. The plot is a good one.
Space aliens, in this case,
more info
