Attack the Block 2011

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: The movie's amateurishly made. But the script is full of little surprises. Read more

Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: This fabulously inventive debut feature, written and directed by the British comedian Joe Cornish, never flags. Read more

Christy Lemire, Associated Press: A low-budget adventure with propulsive energy and plenty of laughs. Read more

Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out: An elegant, deliciously wrinkly action film loaded with humor, racial tension and gloopy violence. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: It's wall-to-wall sci-fi pop-culture bric-a-brac, yet it feels organic. There's something more at stake than the fate of a movie-ish Earth. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: In the vein of "Shaun of the Dead" but a lot less fun... Read more

Nathan Rabin, AV Club: Attack The Block has an agreeably scrappy early John Carpenter Dark Star/Assault On Precinct 13 vibe, rich in moral ambiguity and gleeful, smartass genre-mashing. Read more

Randy Cordova, Arizona Republic: It's exciting, and there is plenty of gore for fans of that sort of thing, but one wishes the mix of horror and comedy leaned a little more to the horror side of the equation. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: Joe Cornish directed his own script, which suffers from thin characterization, weak dialogue, and a confused ending. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: An energetic genre ride with social ambitions about race and class. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: Attack the Block attacks the alien invasion genre with wit, energy and a cheeky insolence that makes it out of this world. Read more

Keith Staskiewicz, Entertainment Weekly: There could be a few more scares and laughs, but it's a blast to be drawn into this urban ecosystem that is, to us Yanks, itself a bit alien. Read more

Laremy Legel, Film.com: Boldly innovative while still flashily acknowledging those that have come before - this is a movie that should (and deserves to) foster a cult audience. Read more

David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter: An infectiously larky extraterrestrial invasion movie that respects the genre conventions while spicing the brew with distinctive local flavor. Read more

Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times: Pulsing with a rowdy energy, the film works as both a sci-fi horror flick and a teen adventure film. Read more

Aaron Hillis, L.A. Weekly: Writer-director Joe Cornish's charmingly zippy debut wants to be taken seriously while evoking a childlike sense of marvel, or at least early-blockbuster nostalgia. (Is this the inner-city companion to Super 8?) Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: Here is a shaggy monster movie that pulls double-duty as a satire of class and ethnic barriers, and how those barriers quickly disappear when we are forced to fight for our simple survival. Read more

John Anderson, Newsday: Attack the Block is essentially an action thriller and as such is effective. Read more

Bruce Diones, New Yorker: It's a doozy, offering tight and imaginative camerawork, electric thrills, and a sharp, twisty script that plays like a social satire. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Unfortunately, "Attack the Block" makes two crucial mistakes: It doesn't have great monsters. And it doesn't have great heroes. Read more

Ian Buckwalter, NPR: Irreverently funny without ever being spoofy...The one-liners are hilarious, and Cornish has a deft touch at weaving social commentary on urban gentrification into the narrative. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: The cast is splendid, the script quick-witted and the action satisfying. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: A hilarious, slam-bang series of chases and battles that cross "Gremlins" with "Assault on Precinct 13"... Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: An entertaining thriller in the tradition of 1970s B-action films, with an unknown cast, energetic special effects and great energy. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: This movie wants and needs to come at you like a beast in the dark. Allow it. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: Science-fiction buffs seeking a change of pace and fans of British pop culture shouldn't miss it. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: It's surprising this thing ever got released. Read more

Jennie Punter, Globe and Mail: It's a mash up of Gremlins, E.T., a stoner comedy and a monster B-movie, delivered with a visual nod to 1970s teen gang films and reflecting the comedy smarts of, well, Joe Cornish. Read more

Leah Rozen, TheWrap: This spunky, low-budget British action-comedy proves once again that a smart script can breath new life into even the most tired of subjects. Read more

Tom Huddleston, Time Out: Employs a terse set-up and sparse characterisations to rein in any sentimentality and stress the ambiguities of its rich political and allegorical depths. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: A clever blend of sci-fi and comedy, which pits toothy furball space invaders against young South London thugs. Read more

Charles Gant, Variety: Brit comedian-TV presenter Joe Cornish emerges fully formed as an exciting new writer-helmer with his enormously appealing debut feature. Read more

Mark Holcomb, Village Voice: Attack the Block strains somewhat to deliver a climactic moral, but the way it slyly shifts our sympathies to Moses and his crew (at the expense of another species, granted) without overplaying their deprivation puts more serious-minded indies to shame. Read more

John DeFore, Washington Post: "Attack the Block" demands to be seen simply because it is a thrill - a pulse-raiser whose perfect construction and pointed wit make it one of the year's most exciting films. Read more