Don Siegel's 1956 Invasion of the Body Snatchers has now been remade three times, said Mick La Salle in the San Francisco Chronicle. It deserves to be. 'œThere is something about this story that speaks to the experience of life.' When Nicole Kidman, star of the latest remake, must impersonate an alien, 'œwe know what she's going through.' We've all felt alienated from our society and had to pretend to be something we're not. The Invasion taps such primal feelings while updating the story to reflect current anxieties. Yet 'œsome things don't need to be new and improved,' said Cary Darling in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The original was a clever fable about both communism and suburban conformity. The Invasion is just an action movie with topical references: The aliens replicate not by hatching from pods but through an alien virus, which spreads across the planet following a Challenger-like space shuttle catastrophe. Such gimmicks can't save the film when Kidman and co-star Daniel Craig lack any chemistry. The Invasion does add one clever twist, though, said Mary Elizabeth Williams in Salon.com. The alien rulers prove more peaceful than human ones. President Bush pulls out of Iraq, while India and Pakistan reconcile. The film asks which is preferable'”'œthe often destructive boiling pot of human emotion or a calm, rational peace of mind' like that of the aliens?
Rating: R
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