The Invasion

Year: 2007
Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Jeremy Northam, Jeffrey Wright, Jackson Bond

The Invasion apparently is the fourth adaptation of the novel The Invasion Of The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney. I have not seen the previous incarnations of this story, so I will not be making any comparisons whatsoever to this version.

The Invasion begins with a space shuttle crash, and the shuttle brings along with it a mysterious virus that is alien in nature. One of the first to be infected with it is CDC officer Tucker Kaufman (Jeremy Northam). The virus takes over its host body when the host is asleep, and changes their genetic structure, until the host has a total change in behaviour, acting almost sterile and unemotional.

One of the first to notice the presence of something sinister among the everyday people is Dr Carol Bennell (Nicole Kidman). One of her patients tells her about her husband who is now acting like a total stranger to her. Then Carol discovers a strange substance during a Halloween trick-or-treat outing with her son Oliver (Jackson Bond). She takes it to her friend Dr Ben Driscoll (Daniel Craig), who along with his friend Dr Stephen Galeano (Jeffrey Wright) conclude that it is an alien substance unlike anything they've encountered. But before they can find out what's going on, it's already too late.

Kaufman, who is also Carol's ex-husband, kidnaps Oliver and infects Carol with the virus. Carol is forced to take extreme measures to save her son and keeping awake to prevent herself from succumbing to the virus. But it's easier said than done, as more and more people around her become one with the alien entity and start to hunt her and Oliver down. Along the way, she learns that Oliver is immune to the virus, and he may hold the key to stopping the crisis.

In my opinion, this is truly a good formula for a thriller. Imagine being in a world where everyone suddenly becomes someone else, and they hunt you down to assimilate you. It's like Star Trek where the Federation fights the Borg, only in this film, it's a much more realistic and potentially terrifying situation. That being said, this film has a lot of potential, especially with Kidman and Craig in the leads. Alas, the movie fails to achieve that potential.

Basically Kidman carries the majority of the weight of the film. She is in her element as the desperate mother who races against time to save her son and stay alive. Craig and the others don't have much to do, which is a pity, for Kidman, despite her talent, can't sustain the film by herself. The movie lacks suspense for the most part, though there is a well executed car chase scene towards the finish line. But it's a little too late to rescue the film from being dull and pedestrian. Apparently director Oliver Hirschbiegel was replaced by V For Vendetta director James McTeigue at the last moment, and the script was rewritten by the Wachowski brothers because the studio wasn't pleased with Hirschbiegel's cut. However, The Invasion still fails to excite on its final theatrical cut.

There is also a noteworthy argument presented in the film, where the aliens tell Kidman that by being assimilated as one, mankind's history of fighting one another to the death will end, and all they had to do was give up their individuality. And granted, though it is a good point, the strength of man's difference in individuality was not brought forward but ignored instead. Yet another failure on the filmmakers to inspire the audience's thinking.

Fans of Kidman might like The Invasion, but chances are you won't. (3.5/5)