Product Description

The Invasion tells the story of a mysterious epidemic that alters the behavior of human beings. When a Washington D.C. psychiatrist (Nicole Kidman) discovers the epidemics origins are extraterrestrial, she must fight to protect her son, who may hold the key to stopping the escalating invasion.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20595 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2008-01-29
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Dubbed in: French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 99 minutes

Amazon.com
The Invasion deserves a second chance on DVD. This ambitious sci-fi thriller represents a flawed yet worthy attempt to bring contemporary vitality to Jack Finney's classic science fiction novel, previously filmed as Don Siegel's 1956 classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Philip Kaufman's suspenseful 1978 remake, and Abel Ferrara's highly underrated Body Snatchers from 1994. And while those earlier films are superior in many respects, The Invasion is not without strengths of its own, particularly for those who prefer action and suspense. Unfortunately these strengths were compromised by the unpredictable misfortunes of production: Original director Oliver Hirschbiegel (hired on the strength of Downfall) was eventually replaced by James McTiegue (V for Vendetta), and the Wachowski Brothers (of Matrix trilogy fame) added high-octane action sequences to the original screenplay by David Kajganich. Perhaps the movie had a curse on it (star Nicole Kidman was almost seriously injured in a stunt-car mishap during last-minute reshoots), but it's really just a matter of disparate ingredients that don't always fit together, resulting in a slick-looking film that can't decide if it's a sci-fi mystery, action thriller, or political allegory. It tries too hard to be all things at once.

Despite this, Kidman rises to the occasion with a solid performance as Carol, a Washington, D.C. psychiatrist who's convinced (with the help of costars Daniel Craig and Jeffrey Wright) that a flu-like virus is spreading throughout the population, its alien spores turning victims into soulless "pod people"... only in this case without the pods. The idea is that you'll be fine if you don't fall asleep, and especially if you don't let anyone sneeze or vomit on you. (There's a lot of vomiting; don't say you weren't warned.) With a crashing space shuttle to deliver the alien threat, cute tyke Jackson Bond as Carol's threatened son, and a nod to Kaufman's film with a small role for Veronica Cartwright, The Invasion will surely fare better on DVD than it did in theaters. If nothing else, it proves the timeless relevance of Finney's original premise, which continues to inspire a multitude of variations. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

From J. Kaye's Book Blog
This was a careful blend of a past event - cash of the space shuttle and the movie, The Body Snatchers. What an awesome film. I basically knew the plot and didn't care. It was an edge of your seat event. I had no idea who was going to live and who'd die until the very end. Rock on awesome!

sj-az
DVD didn't work. Seller didn't respond to emails. Amazon intervened and made things right for me.

The Pod-less People...
No pods in this latest take on INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS called simply, THE INVASION. This time out an extraterrestrial virus has hitched a ride on a returning space-shuttle. Oh no! The shuttle crashes, releasing the viral terror from beyond space! Soon, most of the populace is walking around like mindless cultists from Saturn! Nicole Kidman is one of only a few people who realize that things just aren't right. With the help of Daniel Craig, Ms. Kidman attempts to rid the world of the spreading zombification plague. THE INVASION has plenty of suspense, even though it seems like the heroes figure things out a bit too early and easily. Nicole Kidman is wonderful as usual. The only real gripe I have is the speedy, rather contrived resolution. It felt tacked-on and cheap. However, I watched this movie immediately after watching M. Night Shyamalan's latest mega-dud, THE HAPPENING. Compared to that pile of donkey-doo, THE INVASION is a flawless masterpiece! But, I digress...