The Invasion (2007)

Director:

Oliver Hirschbiegel

Writers (WGA):

David Kajganich (screenplay)
Jack Finney (novel)

Release Date:

17 August 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Do not trust anyone. Do not show emotion. Do not fall asleep.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Epidemic | Psychiatrist | Alien | Virus | Emotionless

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Nicole Kidman	...	Carol Bennell
Daniel Craig	...	Ben Driscoll
Jeremy Northam	...	Tucker Kaufman
Jackson Bond	...	Oliver
Jeffrey Wright	...	Dr. Stephen Galeano
Veronica Cartwright	...	Wendy Lenk
Josef Sommer	...	Dr. Henryk Belicec
Celia Weston	...	Ludmilla Belicec
Roger Rees	...	Yorish
Eric Benjamin	...	Gene
Susan Floyd	...	Pam
Stephanie Berry	...	Carly
Alexis Raben	...	Belicec's Aide
Adam LeFevre	...	Richard Lenk
Joanna Merlin	...	Joan Kaufman

Also Known As:

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (USA) (working title)
The Visiting (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence, disturbing images and terror.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA | Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | UK:15 | Netherlands:16 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Australia:M | USA:PG-13 (certificate #43529) | Hong Kong:IIB | Singapore:PG | Portugal:M/12 | Ireland:15A | Germany:12 | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Brazil:14 | Taiwan:PG-12 | Malaysia:U | Sweden:15 | Finland:K-15 | New Zealand:M | Japan:U | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

While filming in Baltimore, Daniel Craig got the call from 'Barbara Broccoli (I)' informing him he won the role of James Bond. He had to take a short period off shooting to fly back to London for the Casino Royale (2006) press release.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When the space shuttle Patriot is making its fatal plunge into the atmosphere, the three main engines are ignited. These are fueled by the large External Tank during liftoff, and are inoperative once the ET drops away 9 minutes after launch.

Quotes:

[first lines]
News Announcer: [off-screen] Tragic news tonight as the space shuttle "Patriot" explodes during an unscheduled landing attempt.

Movie Connections:

References Star Wars (1977)

Soundtrack:

Them Boyz in the Hood

Blame it on the Hollywood suits

I honestly don't think the movie is worth an 8, not in its released form. But since the cuts and additions from the suits are so painfully obvious, I'm willing to give a higher rating to the movie that could have been... and for now, only the original director Oliver something has seen.

So the original movie (which is still discernible somehow) was supposed to be a dark, slow take on isolation, pill overuse and boring modern life. With a twist: a mom so desperate to protect her child, she would silently watch other people being killed as long as she can find her kid. That's actually moving and seldom seen in a macho-dominated Hollywood. I won't say that ice cold Kidman is the right choice to depict a desperate mom, but given that her role is to often look emotionless (so she can pass as another "pod people") she doesn't do too badly.

Now, the suits didn't like that and called those soft-brained Wachowski bros to make it -supposedly- more mainstream. And what they did was to add car chases, crashes, helicopters, fires and senseless violence in general. Inserted into the original movie at close intervals to keep people amused (or so they thought). Now, there are a few good directors who can pull out a combination of slow burn and crazy action. But a patchwork movie made of two different directors' bits, guys with widely opposed instincts and goals, no wonder the result is a flop.

If anything is to be learned from this, it's how little do Hollywood executives know about what makes a good movie. Granted, a non-stop mishmash of violence and fifth-drink bar philosophy like The Matrix can earn the big bucks, but you can't expect Matrix-like bits to improve what was intended to be a slow paced, moody film. Which was probably condemned to be a box office failure, but also could have been pretty good.