Invasion
Do all good things come in fours? Apparently not. Knowing that final cut was taken away from Oliver Hirschbiegel, (director of Downfall) I am hoping a directors cut will be released and it will be a completely different film. Much tighter and smarter, but the truth is I have no idea what was added or taken away from the film. The end product I saw could very well be close to what Hirschbiegel created, so I must take the film as it is.
From the beginning, The Invasion is an utter mess of a film. To much happens to fast. The beauty of the 1956 Don Siegel version (Invasion Of The Body Snatchers, one of my favorite films) is it's pacing. It has a big exciting opening, but than relaxes and slowly builds into some sort of masterpiece. All 4 film have the same basic idea, and all deal with the problems of their time. In The Invasion it's the war in Iraq. And yet this time it doesn't really say anything important.
One of the biggest problems with the film for me is the acting. I was wondering if the zombie like state had affected the cast from the beginning of the film. This gives me reason to fear that Hirschbiegel is a bit more to blame than I want to. The plot line was so predictable. Even though I know the story from the three other films, they failed to keep it interesting. The final straw for me was the ending. I can't go into it, but.....seriously. What the hell?
All in all The Invasion is not a Terrible film. There are far worse movies you could go out and watch right now, but it is a completely uninspired and dull story that maybe should just not be told again. At least we have the fantastic 1956 & 1978 versions to revisit and experience real tension and real terror.