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Director of excellent German Hitler-flick Downfall Oliver Hirschbiegel, like so many other successful foreign directors before him, has not found his first venture into Hollywood to be a completely trouble-free experience. The Invasion was filmed over two years ago, meaning that now its cast list has taken on a more starry sheen than was originally thought - Daniel Craig has become James Bond since then. The film was delayed thanks in part to the Curse of the Test Screening; initial audiences bemoaned its lack of action so the studio decided they required reshoots. Hirshbiegel was "unavailable" - fired, perhaps? - so James McTeigue, the director of less-than-brilliant V for Vendetta and the Wachowskis' favourite, was drafted in by producer Joel Silver to complete the job. To their credit, it is not obvious which scenes have been added as they are quite cleverly integrated into the film, and there is no massive stylistic shift noticeable. Despite these changes, however, those hoping a sci-fi action film akin to, say, Independence Day will no doubt go home sorely disappointed.
The Invasion is an adaptation of the novel The Body Snatchers, which has previously been filmed three times (and also inspired others, such as John Carpenter's They Live). The tale in its 2007 form involves an alien organism arriving on earth on a crashed space shuttle - an image that overtly references the Shuttle Columbia tragedy, and which must have been more at the forefront of everyone's mind when this film was first greenlit - and surreptitiously taking over people's minds, transforming them into emotionless drones. This film's approach to the story makes it into something more resembling a zombie horror than an alien invasion film; the 'infected' in The Invasion transfer their virus via puking on people, but for the virus to take effect said people have to fall asleep. This provides substantial tension to the film, as Kidman comes into contact with the alien goo quite early on and thereafter has to fight falling asleep.
The first half of the film is devoted to slow but inexorable build-up. The sense of unease develops gradually during this part of the film, Hirschbiegel establishing an engrossing atmosphere of mysterious foreboding. There's never a sense that the narrative has stalled, with constant glimpses of TV programs reporting on the outbreak and numerous eerie sightings around the city. The occasional scene has the whiff of clunky exposition but for the most part the proceedings are very well handled. Although none of the actors have particularly distinctive characters to portray, they all make worthy contributions. Nicole Kidman has trouble shaking off her usual coldness but she does generate a commendable investment in her divorced mother character, while Craig, playing her boyfriend, always maintains a slight air of creepiness behind those icy blue eyes, which is perfect for the part.
The final third is basically one extended chase scene in which Kidman has to find her trapped son and then escape to safety. The suspense rarely lets up, helped by the conceit that uninfected humans can blend in with the infected by showing no emotion. A strange recurring editing style could have been discarded, however; at some points there are sudden flash-forwards to action scenes during conversations. It's as if the producers thought, "Oh no, there's too much talking! Quick, let's cut some out-of-context action in there before the audience get bored." Frustratingly the dialogue scenes generally do not need such a false injection of jump cuts, but on the other hand it does effectively evoke the feeling of helpless bewilderment that the characters are going through. Sadly the too-quickly-wrapped-up ending is a slight letdown, also bearing the fingerprints of studio tinkering after test screening reactions. At under 100 minutes the film is relatively brief, so presumably there are a few deleted scenes left on the cutting room floor from its original director's vision. It would be good to see Hirschbiegel's version some day, but the final outcome we are left with will do just fine for now.
The summary
Given its torrid production and dreadful critical reception, The Invasion is a surprisingly good science fiction spine-chiller. For those to whom the plot synopsis appeals it should provide thorough enjoyment. No, that 4 star rating isn't a mistake.
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