They're Among Us!

Intense and suspenseful are the first two words that come to mind when I think of The Invasion, the movie starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig that opened on Friday. The Invasion is yet another adaptation of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the book written by Jack Finney, and, if the critics at Rotten Tomatoes are to be believed, it certainly is the worst one.

I either haven't seen or have forgotten I've seen the previous versions of the story, but I did enjoy this movie. Nicole Kidman does a great job portraying Carol Bennell, and even though Daniel Craig's performance is nothing to write home about (he is not given all that much screen time to shine, let's be honest), he gets the job done. I thought the movie had an overall creepiness to it that was nicely done, and several scenes are quite eerie without using any special effects, an art that seems to be mostly forgotten nowadays, when gore usually (and poorly) substitutes suspense. Lately, movies are disgusting instead of spooky, so films like The Invasion -or 1408 earlier this summer- are a refreshing and welcome change.

I was also interested in why the movie, which Daniel Craig shot before becoming the new James Bond, had been so ridiculously delayed. Interested and wary, since movies so very much delayed by the studios are usually disappointing movies. It seems director Oliver Hirschbiegel delivered a cut producer Joel Silver didn't like, and so the Wachowski brothers (of Matrix fame and Matrix-sequels notoriety) were hired to make changes and add some top-notch action. And in order to do this, the brothers contacted their protégé James McTeigue (of well-deserved V for Vendetta fame), who shot new scenes and delivered a new cut of the movie that I guess better fitted the producer's original vision.

The result is an entertaining movie that radiates unease and tension, and even though it's far from the best films I've seen this summer and it's being unanimously panned by every single critic in the country, I think it's definitely enjoyable. So go ahead and see it before The Nanny Diaries opens!