There are so many movies that come out just on a yearly basis and there’s always at least a handful that for the most part gets everything right for different reasons. A film could make you laugh out loud, it could bring a shiver down the spine because you fear for the lives of these characters, it could truly make you feel for its characters whether its happiness in the good times or sadness in the bad times, it could establish a clear and enveloping theme, and it could even have an original story that keeps you guessing as to what’s going to happen next. With a show of pure brilliance, Attack the Block manages to do all these things and much more.

Attack the Block is the perfect example of why you can’t judge a movie by a synopsis. It’s essentially a tale about tough inner city kids who battle aliens in their apartment complex with the help of the woman they just robbed and yes where that may sound like a fun film to some or even most, it clearly does not establish the fact that this is a truly amazing movie.

As the film begins, we’re almost immediately introduced to our protagonists, Moses and his friends, as they rob their soon to be friend, Sam. Each of these characters are in no way caricatures (which could have easily happened in the story being told), instead you get very distinct characters with real flaws and real emotions. When they’re down, you feel down and when their happy, you’re pumped and ready to watch some aliens die.

In this film, not only do you find a very well written exciting story and well written characters, but you’ll find that this excellent plot is being executed seamlessly making for the most fun I’ve had at the theater in a long time. With a great score and even greater editing you’ll get an action sequence that beats anything Michael Bay’s ever done or you’ll pause for a moment to laugh at a joke that was just cracked, then you’ll move into a very serious moment of drama that’s not at all forced and it all works perfectly.

Behind everything in this film, behind all the insanity, behind the coolest aliens I’ve ever seen, behind all of the laughs, behind the powerful deaths, behind the crazy alien violence, behind the weed, behind everything you’ll find a very touching and compelling tale about integrity and honor among friends and most of all, the people you love and how that’s worth more than anything in this universe. For this reason, the reasons I named above, among many others, I can truly bring myself to say that Attack the Block is simply awesome.

Grade: A