In yet another remake of the 1956 sci-fi classic "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers", we follow the story of a mysterious epidemic which dangerously alters the behaviour in human beings. When a Washington D.C. psychiatrist (Nicole Kidman) discovers through her research that its origins are actually extraterrestrial, she must protect her son, who may strangely hold the key to stopping the marauding invaders.
What I really hated: story is sqeezed up in the 99 mins, and Taking pills with MOUNTAIN DEW????
OK. OK. OK, Here's the pacage: Take the story of The Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the proffesional acting of Nicole Kidman, Danial Craig, Jeffrey Wright and many others, the NASA Space ship crashing, the Computer Graphics of the parasites and the disgusting scene of Nicole kidman removing the parasite from her Braline: There you have it! The Invasion. OK. OK. here's the deal: The movie is OK but could have been better as 99 minutes was too short for such a movie. But it's not that all bad though, if you think about it. maybe because the proffesionality of the actors and the wise role the Jeffrey Wright Plays, the movie should get some credit after all. Story: When the NASA spaceship Patriot Crashes to earth, it takes along a parasite with it, spreading debris from Texas to Washington DC. Cusroius People Steal and even sell the parts on eBay. Little did they know that they have been infected by the parasite, which leaves them emotionally altered when they go into REM sleep (Deep Sleep) (does not mean light sleepers are not affected), but leaves them physically unaltered, meaning they can't fell pain and such. One of the first people to have been infected is Tucker Kaufman (Jeremy Northam), one of the people who have been investigating the crash. He later spreads the dieases to other people, in which the diesease is disguised as a flu-bug, later making the people become "pod people". While te trouble is brewing, Tucker's ex-wife Caroll Benell (Nicole Kidman) teams up with love partner and fellow doctor Ben Driscoll (Danial Craig) to investigate what is really going on. Caroll discovers that some people call their family members imposters, she then find a sample of the parasite in which She and Ben take it to Biologist Dr. Stphen Galeano (Jeffrey Wright) for study. Theyfind out that people who have suffered diseases that affect the makeup of the brain, such as syphilis or scarlet fever, are immune to the spore, because their previous diseases prevent the spore from "latching on" to the brain matter. Oliver, Carol's son, is immune to the spore because of scarlet fever-type symptoms he had as a young child. After an unsucsessful confrontation by Caroll to Tucker, Tucker spreads the disease to Caroll, who tries to stay awake throughout the movie, Caroll manages to to get Oliver away from the infected to Galeano, who manages to make a vaccine using Oliver's blood. because the parasite latches onto the brain, no one infected remembers a thing later after being vaccinated. At 1 point, Caroll finds Ben infected, but eventually all are cured and the movie ends with Business as useal (Wars, tragedy, voilence etc etc). Comments: the movie needs to be more outstanding but, believe me it already is. As you know, if you read the newspapers, Ong Sor Fen gave a 21/2/5 stars rating but to me, maybe it does have good in it after all, for those who really want good science fiction besides I Am Legend, maybe you would wanna watch this show. Verdict: 4/5 stars. Conclusion: To be watched by most science fiction fans, and strong-hearted people. Not suitable for children under 7 or faint-hearted, due to disgusting scenes of parasites travelling in blood and Caroll removeing parasites from her braline. So think, maybe this would change your mind??
Some background is due as this is the fourth film adaptation of Jack Finney's 1955 novel, "The Body Snatchers". All versions - "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers" of 1956 and 1978, and "Body Snatchers" of 1993 - tell of an alien life form, more plant-like than animal, which takes over humans when they sleep. The affected human then wakes up totally devoid of emotion and seeks to 'convert' others, soon creating a mass of 'alien' people.
I confess of high personal expectations for this, having watched all three versions (can't remember much of the first, though). It is, for me, the best way to make science-fiction movies - ordinary characters put in danger, a truly unknown enemy and also the pervading theme of human desperation. Special effects have come a long way since black and white TV, when the 'aliens' were made to disappear like "The Invaders" in the 60's. Today they are used too generously (CGI, especially) and have taken a lot of terror out of the human side of things by being overly cinematic.
How then should this film be? An action-packed thriller like "Alien"? A meta-physical Stephen King spin like "Dreamcatcher"? Or a psychological horror like the 1978 remake in particular? Aiming to cover all three, "The Invasion" suffers from losing ground on the advantages of each. Reading about how the director's cut didn't please the studio bosses, and how the Wachowski brothers (of the "Matrix" series) were brought in to write new scenes, certainly speaks volumes about the content. Here, the vision of that man who directed "Downfall" and "The Experiment" must have been substituted for more audience-friendly, theatrical flair.
The result is - like the production - mixed. Two things save it from being a disaster. One is Nicole Kidman, who is, by virtue of her immense talent, always watchable no matter how disappointing a movie is. Her ability to portray female vulnerability ("The Hours", "The Others" and "Dogville") is well exploited. The other is the decision to minimise the special effects and stay true to its predecessors. There are no full-bodied pods or spider-like veins, like those which cocooned Meg Tilly and Brooke Adams in the earlier versions. We see only the gooey spit from the invaders as the last relics from that alien era.
However, the compensating human drama is inadequate. For example, the desperation not to fall asleep is not urgent, and couldn't even hold a torch to "Nightmare On Elm Street" in those terms. The element of trust (who is one of them?) isn't as cleverly explored as it could have been. The dialogue plants the right seeds for thought, especially with the cynical Russian ambassador who warns of world destruction through less obvious ways. However, even this serves only to dilute the impact further.
The 1978 version with Donald Sutherland is remembered to this day for one of the eeriest moments in film ever. That last scene with his pale face spoke a true horror - everything was lost and there was no escape from the aliens. While the ending is more optimistic this time around, the enemy is not real enough in the first place for the relief to be satisfying.
"The Invasion" is best dismissed as a semi-provocative thriller, cooked in token scientific jargons to manufacture a fear which is always subsiding, rather than building. Still, it's a timeless story and I don't mind being 'invaded' time and again until they get it right.
Production Photos - Click thumbnail for larger photos
