Believe it or not, this is best Invasion of the Body Snatchers since the 1978 version.
It's also a new take, which is nice. The 50's film was about the snatchers taking over a small town, the 70's one about taking over a major city, the 90's one about taking over a military base. The 08 one was a mess, so whatever.
So, this one focuses on these late teen/early 20 kids, so why not?
The 08 "The Invasion" was an unmitigated disaster and best forgotten. The 90's one in the military base wasn't terrible (and had some spectacular moments like "where you gonna go...") but a base is rather esoteric to most viewers.
It's not quite spectacular. It's another one of those "footage" movies where the footage angle seems almost pointless. In this case, it does serve as a plot point, but it could have been easily achieved without it.
This movie also manages a way to update the "pod" people in a way that's effective and scary, with some sort of nanites. The 08 movie blew that off completely and turned the snatchers into a head cold.
I personally think the pods are so iconic they should always be worked into the story, difficult as it may be. "Pod people" is a powerful pop culture notion to this day because it hits deep.
I don't think they nailed it by any means and I wonder if they are dodging lawsuits but still not a bad movie at all.
The three young leads are very very good as is the young boy. The smaller roles aren't played terribly well, though it's clear they are playing "pod" people.
I could have done without the shots of the alien thing flying in the air. The nanite/aphid shots on the apple and elsewhere are quite effective.
There is also quite an effective and unexpected money shot where a trailer home is turned over with the heroes inside.
It's also a new take, which is nice. The 50's film was about the snatchers taking over a small town, the 70's one about taking over a major city, the 90's one about taking over a military base. The 08 one was a mess, so whatever.
So, this one focuses on these late teen/early 20 kids, so why not?
The 08 "The Invasion" was an unmitigated disaster and best forgotten. The 90's one in the military base wasn't terrible (and had some spectacular moments like "where you gonna go...") but a base is rather esoteric to most viewers.
It's not quite spectacular. It's another one of those "footage" movies where the footage angle seems almost pointless. In this case, it does serve as a plot point, but it could have been easily achieved without it.
This movie also manages a way to update the "pod" people in a way that's effective and scary, with some sort of nanites. The 08 movie blew that off completely and turned the snatchers into a head cold.
I personally think the pods are so iconic they should always be worked into the story, difficult as it may be. "Pod people" is a powerful pop culture notion to this day because it hits deep.
I don't think they nailed it by any means and I wonder if they are dodging lawsuits but still not a bad movie at all.
The three young leads are very very good as is the young boy. The smaller roles aren't played terribly well, though it's clear they are playing "pod" people.
I could have done without the shots of the alien thing flying in the air. The nanite/aphid shots on the apple and elsewhere are quite effective.
There is also quite an effective and unexpected money shot where a trailer home is turned over with the heroes inside.