Fast-Paised review: 'The Invasion'

Sci-fi remake fights for humans' imaginations but has little of its own

By Matt Pais

August 16, 2007

A psychiatrist (Nicole Kidman) works to protect herself, her son and her semi-platonic pal (Daniel Craig of "Casino Royale") after an extraterrestrial species starts turning most of the planet into emotionless pod people.

Big question: Do we really need another version of Jack Finney's thrice-adapted novel, "The Body Snatchers"?

Skip it: Usually a little glassy-eyed herself, Kidman's an odd choice to play the source of emotion and independence in an otherwise brainwashed world. The movie should deliver the kind of jittery, twitchy terror found in the "Dawn of the Dead" remake rather than relying on Kidman's increasing panic and explanations of medical terminology that don't make you yearn for safety, just a dictionary.

Catch it: If you, like some of the masses in "The Invasion," would be quick to sell debris from a destroyed spaceship on eBay. It's at least more valuable than that autographed picture of ALF that uh oh, we've said too much.

Bottom line: A bolder take might address the ways society is already homogenized by groupthink, or at least present the pods with more menace than an overeager telemarketer. But the only contemporary message of "The Invasion," a mildly juicy sci-fi flick without any pulp, is that world leaders get along much better when they all think inside the same standardized, mindless box.

Bonus: Losers in love can rejoice when Ben (Craig) apologizes to Carol (Kidman) for "taking advantage of a drunk woman" after a kiss. It means only one thing: Even James Bond is off his game sometimes!

Matt Pais is the metromix movies producer.

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'The Invasion'

Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel; screenplay by David Kajganich, based on Jack Finney's novel "The Body Snatchers"; photographed by Rainer Klausmann; edited by Joel Negron and Hans Funck; music by John Ottman; production design by Jack Fisk; produced by Joel Silver. A Warner Bros. Pictures release; opens Friday. Running time: 1:33. MPAA rating: PG-13 (for violence, disturbing images and terror).

Carol - Nicole Kidman

Ben - Daniel Craig

Tucker - Jeremy Northam

Dr. Galeano - Jeffrey Wright