Attack the Block
Screen Gems | Release Date: July 29, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
75
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
25
Mixed:
1
Negative:
1
Watch Now
Stream On
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Time OutJoshua RothkopfJul 26, 2011
Starring a tough-minded band of scrappy teens who actually do some solving, it's the movie "Super 8" wanted to be - or should have been. Read full review
90
NPRIan BuckwalterJul 29, 2011
Boyega is absolutely riveting, leading with a stern glower, and constantly trying to prove himself. Yet Moses has a deep well of tenderness and honor beneath the façade, and Boyega almost single-handedly makes you care not just about his character, but about everyone in any gang that would align itself with him. He's that magnetic. Read full review
90
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisJul 28, 2011
This fabulously inventive debut feature, written and directed by the British comedian Joe Cornish, never flags. Read full review
90
Village VoiceMark HolcombJul 26, 2011
The smartest, funniest cheap monster-movie import this side of June's "Trollhunter," Attack the Block is a near-perfectly balanced seasonal trifle: Anchored in social realism yet determinedly goofy, it's neither too eager for laughs nor overtly preachy. Read full review
90
Boxoffice MagazinePam GradyJul 24, 2011
Cornish's idiomatic dialogue is hilarious and the longtime comic's sense of timing is perfect. Read full review
88
Washington PostJohn DeForeAug 25, 2011
In the end, police descend on the block at the very moment their presence becomes irrelevant. They misinterpret everything; locals watch as they blame all the wrong people. Soon their flashing lights will drive away, and the block will go back to taking care of itself the best it can. Read full review
88
Rolling StonePeter TraversJul 28, 2011
It's hot, fierce, funny, vicious and ready to bite, baby. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianM. E. RussellSep 8, 2011
A terrific midnight movie of the future -- a tough, funny, fast-moving and tightly constructed John Carpenter riff in which a bickering group fights a pack of space monsters in and around a single location. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubNathan RabinJul 28, 2011
Attack The Block turns its modest budget into a virtue by focusing on character, especially the surprisingly charged, complicated dynamic between enemies-turned-allies Whittaker and Boyega. Read full review
83
Entertainment WeeklyKeith StaskiewiczJul 27, 2011
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 full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinJul 31, 2011
Cornish, like Edgar Wright (who directed "Shaun of the Dead" and was an executive producer here), can parody a genre in a way that revitalizes it, that reminds you why the genre was born in the first place. The movie is in a different galaxy than "Cowboys & Aliens": It has, in both senses, guts. Read full review
80
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanJul 29, 2011
The cast is splendid, the script quick-witted and the action satisfying. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesMark OlsenJul 28, 2011
Pulsing with a rowdy energy, the film works as both a sci-fi horror flick and a teen adventure film. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyJul 24, 2011
There's a vaguely Spielbergian quality to Cornish's skill at balancing the sense of shared adventure with genuine danger. Read full review
80
VarietyCharles GantJul 24, 2011
Brit comedian-TV presenter Joe Cornish emerges fully formed as an exciting new writer-helmer with his enormously appealing debut feature, Attack the Block. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenJul 28, 2011
Smart, quick, funny, and economical, Attack the Block is an alien-invasion movie that is a breed apart. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezSep 1, 2011
The movie is more interested in making viewers consider its disenfranchised protagonists from a fresh perspective. The fact that the film accomplishes this without a trace of gooey sentimentality is a small miracle. Read full review
75
New York PostLou LumenickJul 29, 2011
What follows is a hilarious, slam-bang series of chases and battles that cross "Gremlins" with "Assault on Precinct 13," the two most prominent of many genre films quoted by Attack the Block. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Jennie PunterJul 28, 2011
Stacked against this summer's CGI-driven blockbusters, Attack the Block is definitely the fastest action ride (clocking under 90 minutes), and quite possibly the most fun. Read full review
75
MovielineStephanie ZacharekJul 28, 2011
The picture's finale isn't as smart as it ought to be. Cornish tries to make a damning social statement, but the only thing you take away from the movie is how cool it is to kick alien ass. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertJul 27, 2011
The movie, which should have been titled "Defend the Block," illustrates once again that zombie, horror and monster movies are a port of entry for new filmmakers. The genre is the star. Read full review
75
Orlando SentinelRoger MooreJul 24, 2011
A brisk blast of bloody good fun, sci-fi with a little social commentary as subtext. Attack the Block is the movie that "Battle: Los Angeles" was not - thrilling, nerve-wracking and fun. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineJaime N. ChristleyJul 24, 2011
More "Bloody Kids" than "Super 8," more "Assault on Precinct 13" than "Jumanji," and, in the end, more "Be Kind Rewind" than "Adventures in Babysitting." Read full review
70
SalonAndrew O'HehirAug 4, 2011
Attack the Block hovers in that uneasy zone between eager-beaver likability and trying way too hard to be cool, but it captures its gritty setting with unusual affection. Science-fiction buffs seeking a change of pace and fans of British pop culture shouldn't miss it. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeWesley MorrisAug 18, 2011
The movie's amateurishly made. But the script is full of little surprises. Read full review
40
Chicago ReaderJ.R. JonesJul 28, 2011
This low-budget sci-fi item was produced by some of the Brits who made "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz," including their writer and director, Edgar Wright, but it hardly compares, despite Nick Frost's brief appearance as a mangy pot dealer. Read full review
0
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJul 28, 2011
Attack the Block is the other alien-invasion movie opening today, the lousy one, the one from Britain. In Britain, it's probably just a regular bad movie, but here - with accents that are barely comprehensible and in-jokes about council flats, not to mention a swerving handheld camera and some of the cheapest effects since "Night of the Lepus" - it's surprising this thing ever got released. Read full review
More From This Movie

75 Critic Reviews

7.1 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL