“Attack The Block,” starring John Boyega, is a British sci-fi comedy thriller from the guy who gave us “Shaun of The Dead” and “Hot Fuzz,” Joe Cornish.
Set in a South East London Counsel Estate (the PJ’s) in present day London, the story follows a group of teenage friends of mixed ethnic backgrounds (and the same economic class or lower) defending their block against an alien invasion and a ignorant drug dealer bent on revenge.
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It’s a very cool looking and entertaining film with a wicked soundtrack and we recommend you check it out when it hits theaters on our shores in about two weeks.
The characters we witnessed in “Attack The Block,” Boyega’s Moses, for example made us think about how people of color are presented, if at all, in sci-fi films in Hollywood, as well as abroad.
Very rarely in big budget films do you find substantial characters of color who matter or just exist in a universe where fucked up shit is happening to white people. (FYI: “Attack the Block” was funded in part by the UK Film Council, Film 4 and StudioCanal).
It’s as if the writers of these films can not imagine a future or past, dystopian or otherwise, where people of color exist, kind of like in all of Woody Allen’s movies.
There are exceptions, of course, and England comes to mind. Some of the craziest and most interesting sci-films on TV and in the theatre where characters of color have significant presence and contribute to the arc of a story include “28 Days Later,” “Dr. Who” (recent revamp) and “Children of Men.” Add “Attack the Block” to the list.
It’s a funny and horrific film which has straight up action with teenage Black kids as its heroes, a first.
After the break, check out some of our favorite sci-fi films featuring a substantially driven Black lead.
Above: John Boyega
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“Attack The Block” trailer.
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Trailer for “Children of Men.” A Black female character, played by Ghanian-UK actress Claire Hope Ashitey, represents humanity’s last hope for reproduction in a dystopian society that is dying.
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Trailer for “28 Days Later.” Naomie Harris’ lead perfomance in this post apocalyptic zombie thriller is epic.[pagebreak]
“The Brother From Another Planet” Joe Morton plays a brother who crash lands from space in Harlem in 1984. Directed by John Sayles, the film was a commentary on American race relations at the time. Great segment on graffiti as language in one montage.
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Angela Bassett plays a bodyguard in this cyberpunk fantasy about technology corrupting man at the turn of the century.
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Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus in “The Matrix.”
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Will Smith in “I Am Legend.”
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Will Smith in “Men In Black.”
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Will Smith in “I, Robot.”
