Attraction

Russian sci-fi meets young adult. It's a weird premise, but the film is actually better than it sounds. The sci-fi elements were well executed and the young adult romance isn't quite as pervasive or juvenile as usually the case in the American counterparts. The result is a film that entertains.

The first twenty minutes or so are quite impressive, with an alien spaceship crashing down in Moscow (while causing quite a bit of destruction). The film slows down after that and focuses on a human/alien bond that is used extensively to provide some (critical) comments on the human race.

Performances are decent, the effects and designs look impressive, the cinematography is modern and snappy and the score is fitting, though a little too poppy at times. It's nice to see Russia isn't skimping on making big budget genre cinema. It's a bit long though and Bondarchuk can't match the impressive beginning, but I'm looking forward to the sequel.