Blu-ray Review Attraction (2017)

On the eve of a massive meteor shower, a titanic damaged U.F.O. crash lands in Moscow. This sets off massive confusion among the citizenry with many resisting the arrival of our new-found brothers from the stars, some out of prejudice and others out of more personal reasons, such as Julia (Irina Starshenbaum) who’s best friend Sveta (Darya Rudenok) was inadvertently killed as the craft ripped the city apart during it’s landing. Soon Julia, along with her boyfriend Tyoma (Alexander Petrov) and his friends venture into ground zero to see what just what the aliens, who claim they wish for nothing more than to be left alone and repair their ship, are really up to! Unbeknownst to her pals, Julia finds out a secret about the aliens that causes her to have a change of heart…a change that leads to the fires of revolution and even love. But will all of that be enough to save the city, and just who does it need saving from?
The first thing you will notice about Attraction is that it has the stones to really hold it’s own against Hollywood alien invasion fare such as Independence Day and it’s ilk. The effects utilized for the alien craft and the destruction it brings to the city upon it’s arrival are nothing short of breathtaking, and along with that, this film features an alien armor design that is as unique as they come…think along the lines of if Syd Mead designed a character for Robotech, but it ended up in Tron and you’d be close…just a real treat for lovers of creature design like your’s cruelly.
In addition to that top-shelf design work comes a sense of scale that is insanely impressive. Director Fedor Bondarchuk (along with Screenwriters Oleg Malovichko, Andrey Zolotarev) have created a fully realized world set in a destroyed city that looks eerily similar to post 911 Manhattan…everything is covered in ash, buildings lay shattered, and large portions of the environment remain devoid of human life. As quiet as that sounds, the film also features full on military maneuvers, revolutionary riots, and of course; battles between humans and alien tech! It all adds up to a film that can only be described as “epic sci-fi”.
Now as grand as all of that set-dressing is, the real strength of the film is it’s acting with Starshenbaum making for a sympathetic and multi-layered heroine, Oleg Menshikov as Julia’s military commander father that provides the face of order among uncontrollable chaos, Petrov as both threat and love interest, and Rinal Mukhametov as the perfect “fish out of water” alien that is the catalyst for our leads character arcs. These are amazing performances that keep a much needed human element present among all of the spectacle.
Along with the amazing feature, there are some light bonus materials present on this Blu-ray release from Dark Sky Films. Offered are brief looks at the actors and visual effects, a promo reel, and the films trailer and teaser.
Attraction is large scale sci-fi done right; it’s packed to the rafters with huge set pieces, fun alien designs, and most importantly heart and examination of complex human emotions when faced with the unknown…cinematic perfection!