This is the 2009 release from TriStar Pictures which did not feature many big name stars other than one of its producers, Peter Jackson.
An extraterrestrial race comes to earth and eventually the humans make contact but discover the aliens in a state of disorganization and in bad conditions. In an attempt to better their circumstances a sort of refuge camp is created near Johannesburg, So. Africa to house them. The camp soon becomes more of a slum. Eventually a new camp is built and a plan is hatched to relocate the aliens to the new camp. The central figure in effecting this plan (which includes 24 hour notices of eviction) is Wikus Van De Merwe (Sharlto Copley). When Wikus is exposed to alien biotechnology and is mistreated by the government he suddenly becomes an ally of the Aliens.
SPOILER ALERT!! My main complaint about this film is that it appears to be setting up a sequel. Most of the movie is compelling and keeps you involved then when I saw the set up for the sequel I felt a little bit disappointed.
The format of it being presented as part documentary and part live action was enjoyable to me. I was surprised at home much I liked this film despite how slow it felt at times. Now despite saying that it felt slow at times it never lost my interest nor did I find myself thinking immediately about how slow it was.
I enjoyed this film but the R rating was deserved. Not everyone will enjoy the violence and gore in this one but it was still a good film. 3 out of 5 stars.
Jumping ahead and Spring Break....
14 years ago
1 comment:
Certainly the film was not always consistent in how it moved from ‘documentary’ to ‘real-life’ scenes, but like you this didn’t really bother me. While I liked some of the ideas in the movie, and think the backplot of the Aliens arriving in early 1980’s apartheid South Africa could be a good starting point for a series of novels, the characters and primary plot were not all the interesting. Wikus starts out as pretty much a loser and stays that way, thusly his is an odd choice for a hero. Again I liked the accompaniments but the core was weak. Thumbs down.
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