While returning to Earth, the space-bus explodes and the fragments bring an alien virus that recodes the human DNA. In Washington, the psychiatrist Carol Bennell (Nicole Kidman) observes the modification of the behavior of one of her clients first, then in her former husband and finally in the population in general. Together with her friend Dr. Ben Driscoll (Daniel Craig) and the researcher Dr. Stephen Galeano (Jeffrey Wright),they discover that the extraterrestrial epidemic affects human beings while sleeping and that her son Ollie, who had smallpox with Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM) when he was a baby, is immune to the disease and may save mankind from the outbreak.

Don Siegel's "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" is one of the best sci-fi ever, therefore most of the remakes are good because the story of earth being invaded through replicas of the human beings is excellent. "The Invasion" is maybe the third remake of the classic that I have watched and I liked it in spite of having an optimistic and corny conclusion. I do not dare to compare the classic movie of Don Siegel with this remake, but I have found it very reasonable and entertaining. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Invasores" ("Invaders")

The Invasion did have the ingredients to be good, but sadly not only as a remake but also as a film it falls well short. Its main merit is that it is well made, the cinematography is quite striking as is the lighting, the editing is okay-ish if rather too jittery in places and the special effects are also pretty good.

However, everything else fails. The cast are great on paper but when it comes to other assets they are wasted on screen. Nicole Kidman is a very good actress when she has a good role and script, but she has neither here and she offers very little other than look pretty and give forced facial expressions and dialogue delivery. Daniel Craig is certainly a charismatic actor, seen with Casino Royale the previous year, but when it comes to his dialogue and his bland delivery that is another story. Oliver Hirschbiegel is a talented director, but his direction here is lethargic and lacks any substance.

The worst asset of The Invasion is the script which is just dreadful, with lines that are toe-curlingly bad, are cheesy and further slow down the movie. But that's not all. The story is very threadbare, even with trying new ideas. It tries to have some science-fiction elements, some mystery elements and some thriller elements but The Invasion fails at all of them because there is no or little suspense or thrills to be had here with a last act that is severely lacking in any atmosphere or tension. And the less said about some of the logical lapses here, the better.

I think the pace can be blamed as well. A vast majority of it moves very slowly which makes The Invasion a tedious watch considering how banal the plot and dialogue are. But in the process there are some plot elements that are rushed especially the boy being attacked by a dog which is so rushed you feel no terror whatsoever and the idea of the alien virus which the script foolishly skims over. Also any scenes that do try to be suspenseful and the like are ruined by the lack of emotion, such as the alien-possessed humans idea. And then the metaphorical elements that made the wonderful original and its worthy first remake are either lacking or omitted.

All in all, not the worst remake out there but a very poor one and the worst and most soulless of the three films. To say that third time is not the charm in my mind is being too kind. 2/10 Bethany Cox

Despite being the third remake of a classic '50s-era B-movie chiller, THE INVASION actually manages to hold its own and wring maximum suspense from the familiar premise – at least until the second half, where it pretty much falls apart. While my favourite of the "body snatchers" films will always be the incredibly claustrophobic and chilling 1978 version starring Donald Sutherland, at least this is a credible attempt at reinterpreting the story and far better than Abel Ferrera's 1993 variant. German director Oliver Hirschbiegel, who made the 'last days of Hitler' thriller DOWNFALL, proves himself a force to be reckoned with in the early scenes here, investing moments with an utter alien eeriness that's just as good as in the Kaufman flick. The plot doesn't hang around, the invasion is underway pretty fast, and there are a ton of creepy/spooky moments to enjoy (the visiting census man is one such highlight).

And then…the studio saw the completed draft of the film and decided there wasn't enough action or things blowing up. The decent, slow-moving, suspenseful scenes were jettisoned and some generic chase stuff brought in, in which Kidman et al attempt to evade capture by driving around in burning cars, driving through things, running down streets, ad nauseum. The second half of the film turns into some bland, seen it all before thriller, and it's so predictable that I felt like screaming. Had the film stayed focused to Hirschbiegel's vision, it could have been a made for the '70s outing, but instead it turns into typical Hollywood tosh.

Still, kudos is still there for the first half. The acting talent, too, isn't half bad. Kidman looks eerie to begin with – some kind of post-production manipulation has happened here to give her skin a flawless, elfin look – and I enjoyed watching her trying not to fall asleep. Craig just plays a nice guy, which makes a later twist more effective. Jeffrey Wright, who plays Felix Leiter in the new Bond movies, is excellent as a sympathetic scientist, and even Veronica Cartwright – who starred in the 1978 version – pops up as a psychiatric patient convinced her husband is a stranger. Until the repetitive action starts, the film's generally devoid of special effects which heightens the stark realism, and I had real hopes that it was going to be something other than a missed opportunity. Studio interference ruins a good film once again.