Having established an effectively creepy mood in the first half, the film eventually degenerates into a muddled mess, with Nicole and Daniel Craig dodging zombies while popping amphetamines in a desperate effort to stay awake. We know how they feel.

Novelist Jack Finney's body snatchers have appeared in some fine movies, but the only disturbing-looking thing here is what they've done to Nicole Kidman's lips.

If not a train-wreck, this is certainly more than a fender-bender. In a world overflowing with targets for a satirical pasting, we needed something a lot sharper than this.

I suppose almost every generation deserves its own sociopolitical take on Jack Finney’s novel The Body Snatchers, although The Invasion does neither the viewer nor the source material any favors.