Rated PG-13 for violence, disturbing images and terror.
99 Minutes
Directed By: Oliver Hirschbiegel
Written By: Dave Kajganich
Based On the Novel By: Jack Finney
Staring: Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Jeremy Northam, Jackson Bond, and Jeffrey Wright
My husband is not my husband. -Wendy Leek
Synopsis
As a Washington psychiatrist unearths the origin of an alien epidemic, she also discovers her son might be the only way it can be stopped.
Review
As a viewer you tend to get pretty excited when you hear Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman are your leading actors, but then you realize they are making a sub par interpretation of Invasion of the Body Snatchers and have nothing new or relevant to add to the brilliant classic in 1978. Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, and Jeff Goldblum made an unforgettable film about humans being replaced by near duplicate replicas. This version is actually a remake directed by Philip Kaufman from a 1956 version. This version is way more sci-fi oriented and engages the mystery of the situation by really delving into the relationships of the characters, making it dark and terrifying.
The third time was not a charm with this third interpretation that had thirty years to add new elements of technology and new concepts to, and yet it lost everything that was good only bringing prosaic additions. The only part of Kidman’s character, that carries the name Bennell, that holds any interest is that it’s Nicole Kidman herself. Adding the effect of her son to the story only changes the story to feel more like a kidnapping movie than a Science Fiction thriller.
The alien takeover itself is done in such an obvious way that it’s not shocking, nor scary. The unfortunate actions of the aliens make them seem more like zombies chasing the uninfected than anything. When they begin spitting in drinks and on peoples faces it is even more insulting. Could the creator’s honestly not invent a more original way for the aliens to pass their seed around, rather than spitting? Thirty years pass, and instead of pods we have spitting?
There is really not much that saves The Invasion. It has few moments of suspenseful moments, that Kidman does well, but the happy go lucky finale that destroys one of the most shocking and disturbing film endings ever just makes things worse if possible. Ultimately, The Invasion is dry, with no soul. It is a clear insult to it’s original creation and anyone who watches it.
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