[DVD REVIEW (R2)] THE INVASION
Let’s just come right out and say it – The Invasion is not the disaster you’ve heard it is. It’s not a bad film. It’s just that is such an outright mediocre one, and a frustrating viewing experience to boot, that it’s a lot easier to hate on it unnecessarily then it is to take a step back and say “Well, it could have been better!”
You all know the plot of The Invasion if not by way of this current incantation then definitely as a result of Don Siegel’s classic piece of 50s paranoia, Invasion of the Bodysnatchers, or Philip Kaufman’s awesome 70s conspiracy style remake of the same name. This is the same plot – covert alien invasion that aspires to infect the human race and turn them into emotionless vessels for their own nefarious needs and the one man (or in this case, woman!) who is going up against stiff opposition to try and make the world aware – only filtered through the grip of hands-on producer/regular verbal fellator of The Wachowski Brothers, Mr Joel Silver, for whom subtlety doesn’t just get hit with a sledgehammer in his movie productions, it then gets set on fire, thrown out of a skyscraper, ran over with a car then tied to the rear bumper of said car and dragged from LA to Ohio at high speed over rough terrain.
The cast is impressive if you’re reading the back of the DVD cover – Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Jeffrey Wright and Jeremy Northam to detail the “bigger” names although there’s a whole host of familiar faces whose names you’ll fight to remember from numerous other movies on show too – but don’t get too excited as one and all universally phone their performances in… from overseas… using an international phonecard… and on a phone that’s not actually real but just, in fact, a toy!
What’s frustrating first of all is that what Oliver Hirschbiegel, the original – and credited – director tried to do was make an atmospheric chiller with the actual “invasion” almost an incident background characteristic to the characters caught up within it. After all, the man that gave us the fantastic Downfall was never going to do empty headed blockbuster nonsense was he? Clearly that is not going to fly with a producer like Joel Silver, who not only gave us Hudson Hawk and the Andrew Dice Clay movie (that literally nobody went so see, nobody rented on VHS and nobody is interested in the DVD but which Silver still refers to as a “cult favourite”) but who also still vehemently defends those Matrix sequels even to this day! So whilst it was bandied about that Hirschbiegel left the project ahead of “important re-shoots” because of a “death in the family”, it was obvious that Silver wanted more action and high gloss put on show then Hirshbiegel clearly envisioned. And so V For Vendetta director, James McTiegue, was brought in to throw around some car stunts and chase sequences. Then The Wachowskis themselves were brought in after that to bring the whole thing together in the editing bay. For me personally, the reshot sequences stand out like a sore thumb and are actually the least interesting thing about a movie that had such potential to be slow-burning and chilling like the two other movies born of the source novel.
Then there’s the most frustrating thing of all – the source material for this movie is so interesting and clever that to mess around with it or fuck it up is almost a crime in itself. You let the material play out naturally within the era it was intended for (a la 50s communism related worries or 70s conspiracy soaked mistrust of the government) and audiences will find the subtle suggestions being made for themselves. They don’t need, and nor does the material, the points to be hammered at them from all directions in a stupid, ill-thought out manner. I mean “war is bad so we’re getting rid of all humans” is just friggin’ beyond moronic.
The only real way I can put this film’s level of quality across is that both Siegel and Kaufman’s versions of this story are for true, intelligent cineastes who like flawless pieces of cinema. This version is big, broad, dumb entertainment of the ‘four popcorn’ variety for those who occasionally taste their own sperm after masturbation in order to decide whether they need to alter their diets or who buy Playboy but always respond, when asked “I suppose you bought it for the articles?”, with “There’s articles in there?”
The thing is though there’s echoes of a possibly great film trapped within the crumbled wreck that Silver has finally pushed out onto the screens. Which leaves true film fans staring at this in an overly-generous “three popcorn” manner and inevitably thinking “Yeah, it’s okay! But it could have been so much better!”
I, personally, would love to see the release of Oliver Hirschbiegel’s rough cut before the broad reshoots took place. It might be the lesser film, once again, when placed alongside Siegel’s version or Kaufman’s remake. But it would still be a considerably stronger movie then what he has allowed his name to be finally attached to.
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