Fighting aliens with these diverse, street-smart, slang-slinging little criminals is all the more fun for fighting them in the Block: a fantastic funhouse of a battlefield, providing plenty of room for extremely witty and well-shot action sequences.
- CJ Johnson, ABC Radio (Australia), December 04, 2011
When the going gets tough. Attack the Block hangs as tough as any modern thriller should.
- Leigh Paatsch, Herald Sun (Australia), December 01, 2011
This pitch perfect blend of sci-fi action, comedy and social commentary winds up a gleeful delight.
- Joshua Blackman, FILMINK (Australia), December 01, 2011
Cornish and his effects team work magic with the creature designs. I won't spoil their look here as their eventual reveal provides quite a payoff, but it's an ingenious, scary, and memorable movie monster they've created.
- Simon Miraudo, Quickflix, November 29, 2011
The story unfolds visually for the most part, and the body language is enough to keep us informed. It just doesn't quite meet expectations for a movie that has an interesting premise
- Andrew L. Urban, Urban Cinefile, November 28, 2011
Attack the Block is a fast-paced and inventive action/science-fiction film with an unconventional set of heroes.
- Thomas Caldwell, Cinema Autopsy, November 28, 2011
This wonderfully talented filmmaker will get to the serious stuff later in what is sure to be his long career. Right now, he seems far more interested in crafting a good-time scare, which he achieves superbly.
- Simon Foster, sbs.com.au, November 11, 2011
Attack the Block attacks the alien invasion genre with wit, energy and a cheeky insolence that makes it out of this world.
- Tom Long, Detroit News, August 26, 2011
An energetic genre ride with social ambitions about race and class.
- Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post, August 26, 2011
"Attack the Block" demands to be seen simply because it is a thrill - a pulse-raiser whose perfect construction and pointed wit make it one of the year's most exciting films.
- John DeFore, Washington Post, August 19, 2011
The movie's amateurishly made. But the script is full of little surprises.
- Wesley Morris, Boston Globe, August 18, 2011
It's exciting, and there is plenty of gore for fans of that sort of thing, but one wishes the mix of horror and comedy leaned a little more to the horror side of the equation.
- Randy Cordova, Arizona Republic, August 18, 2011
It's a doozy, offering tight and imaginative camerawork, electric thrills, and a sharp, twisty script that plays like a social satire.
- Bruce Diones, New Yorker, August 08, 2011
It's wall-to-wall sci-fi pop-culture bric-a-brac, yet it feels organic. There's something more at stake than the fate of a movie-ish Earth.
- David Edelstein, New York Magazine, July 31, 2011
Science-fiction buffs seeking a change of pace and fans of British pop culture shouldn't miss it.
- Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com, July 31, 2011
Irreverently funny without ever being spoofy...The one-liners are hilarious, and Cornish has a deft touch at weaving social commentary on urban gentrification into the narrative.
- Ian Buckwalter, NPR, July 29, 2011
Unfortunately, "Attack the Block" makes two crucial mistakes: It doesn't have great monsters. And it doesn't have great heroes.
- Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger, July 29, 2011
It's a mash up of Gremlins, E.T., a stoner comedy and a monster B-movie, delivered with a visual nod to 1970s teen gang films and reflecting the comedy smarts of, well, Joe Cornish.
- Jennie Punter, Globe and Mail, July 29, 2011
Here is a shaggy monster movie that pulls double-duty as a satire of class and ethnic barriers, and how those barriers quickly disappear when we are forced to fight for our simple survival.
- Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald, September 02, 2011
This spunky, low-budget British action-comedy proves once again that a smart script can breath new life into even the most tired of subjects.
- Leah Rozen, The Wrap, July 29, 2011