This latest incarnation of the famous alien pod people invasion story has gone through so much misfortune that I consider it a miracle that it was even given a cinematic release. As a matter of fact that said release can be deemed a cover-up. The studio, as if ashamed of its treatment of the film during production has done nothing to promote it. Thus, as a fan of any science fiction movie and someone who has watched and enjoyed all three previous versions of the story, it was understandable why I was worried about it entering the local cinema last night. Now I can safely say that all the indifference and negativity is quite unfair. Nowadays people sadly tend to be prejudiced about films prior to their releases, getting affected by positive or negative hype. What I watched last night was pretty decent science-fiction if not ranking among the best of the genre.
First of all, I liked the way the story has been updated for yet another installment. Abel Ferrera's update in 1993 kept the basic premise of people being replaced by alien pods during their sleep and with the support of nice special effects was highly effective. This new version completely drops the pods in favour of a virus that reprogrammes the human DNA to turn it into a lifeless and monotonic being, devoid of any features that define it as a separate human identity in the first place. Thus the story comes bang up to date, displaying all the anxieties of current global society as regards the genetic issues and controversies. All the scientific aspects of the story appeared believable and probable to me.
By turning humans into monotonic beings, the alien virus actually manages the utopia of definite peace in the world. This was a nice and well-thought-of point of irony by the filmmakers and continued to resonate in my mind after the film ended. Is it better or worse for us to keep our personalities intact, with all our inherent genetical psychological defects included that create all those never-ending conflicts both at global and daily life basis? Nice philosophical aspects of the screenplay and a well-deserved 10 points to the film for that matter.
Upon this ground base, the usual stages of the Body Snatchers story structure are ticked in an economical running time of 100 minutes, but with an added twist. Here the filmmakers try to do something different and tell the story in a very quick fashion. The viewer experiences the same sense of confusion as the heroine. She goes through her daily routine while the inhabitants of the city around her change abruptly during every passage of nighttime and sleep. The panic she feels after 3-4 days is very believable as a consequence. This sense of helplessness is further enhanced by a style of flash-forward editing structure utilised in some scenes. I found myself quite breathless during certain parts of the film as a result.
The two high profile stars of the film give decent performances, with special mention going to Nicole Kidman. She reminded me of Hitchcockian heroines, appearing cold from outside but taking control of the situation if necessary. She is in my opinion the right casting choice since her perfect features and stiff posture blend wonderfully with the background of lifeless virus-influenced people during the mid section of the film, making her imitation tactics for survival believable. Also I liked the chemistry she had with both the child actor playing her son and Daniel Craig.
The highly criticised ending was also satisfying to me. With the vaccine changing people back to their normal selves, the violence and war throughout the world continues as if nothing had happened. The alien phase is experienced as a blackout by the brain so humanity can safely go on in its routine of self destruction until the end of time. The doubtful look on the heroine's face at the last shot while the latest TV announcements about the killings in Iraq is heard in the background neatly wraps the story. No alien invasion can stop humans from being humans, for better or worse.
First of all, I liked the way the story has been updated for yet another installment. Abel Ferrera's update in 1993 kept the basic premise of people being replaced by alien pods during their sleep and with the support of nice special effects was highly effective. This new version completely drops the pods in favour of a virus that reprogrammes the human DNA to turn it into a lifeless and monotonic being, devoid of any features that define it as a separate human identity in the first place. Thus the story comes bang up to date, displaying all the anxieties of current global society as regards the genetic issues and controversies. All the scientific aspects of the story appeared believable and probable to me.
By turning humans into monotonic beings, the alien virus actually manages the utopia of definite peace in the world. This was a nice and well-thought-of point of irony by the filmmakers and continued to resonate in my mind after the film ended. Is it better or worse for us to keep our personalities intact, with all our inherent genetical psychological defects included that create all those never-ending conflicts both at global and daily life basis? Nice philosophical aspects of the screenplay and a well-deserved 10 points to the film for that matter.
Upon this ground base, the usual stages of the Body Snatchers story structure are ticked in an economical running time of 100 minutes, but with an added twist. Here the filmmakers try to do something different and tell the story in a very quick fashion. The viewer experiences the same sense of confusion as the heroine. She goes through her daily routine while the inhabitants of the city around her change abruptly during every passage of nighttime and sleep. The panic she feels after 3-4 days is very believable as a consequence. This sense of helplessness is further enhanced by a style of flash-forward editing structure utilised in some scenes. I found myself quite breathless during certain parts of the film as a result.
The two high profile stars of the film give decent performances, with special mention going to Nicole Kidman. She reminded me of Hitchcockian heroines, appearing cold from outside but taking control of the situation if necessary. She is in my opinion the right casting choice since her perfect features and stiff posture blend wonderfully with the background of lifeless virus-influenced people during the mid section of the film, making her imitation tactics for survival believable. Also I liked the chemistry she had with both the child actor playing her son and Daniel Craig.
The highly criticised ending was also satisfying to me. With the vaccine changing people back to their normal selves, the violence and war throughout the world continues as if nothing had happened. The alien phase is experienced as a blackout by the brain so humanity can safely go on in its routine of self destruction until the end of time. The doubtful look on the heroine's face at the last shot while the latest TV announcements about the killings in Iraq is heard in the background neatly wraps the story. No alien invasion can stop humans from being humans, for better or worse.