A race of aliens have come to Earth and land in South Africa. The twist is that they arrive starved, frightened and living in squalor. The authorities do what they can for the aliens and group them in their own neighborhood. Before too long their neighborhood becomes a slum. Their slum then descends into a hotbed for criminality and decay.

The first half of the film is like a tongue-in-cheek version of Cops. We are introduced to the characters in documentary style, each one talking about the fate of poor Wikus Van De Merwe (Sharlto Copley), a government agent who is put in charge of relocating the aliens (who humans have given the slur "prawns".)

Wikus is a bureaucrat with a clipboard who is slightly out of his depth knocking on the shantytown doors of the tall, bug-like aliens. As he deals with a variety of situations, Wikus nervously barks out orders while also keeping one eye on the cameraman following him around.

This opening half is simply great film making. The obvious intent of the film is to draw parallels between the government and aliens and the black residents of real South African slums. Unlike the deeply racist film Avatar, this film acknowledges its analogy and then moves on. It doesn't wallow in its agenda, director Neill Blomkamp let's it develop on its own.

The film runs into a huge wall however. The second half of the film suddenly drops the pseudo-documentary style. It also loses its sense of humor. Wikus gets spun into a government web of deception, torture and violence.

The film abruptly switches gears and becomes a messy chase film. A secondary character is promoted to become the villain and a plot bonding Wikus with the aliens is quickly concocted. The move is jarring and the film doesn't survive the transition.

I understand why so many people found this to be an enjoyable film. The first half includes some very clever and enjoyable film making. Blomkamp obviously has talent. It is also obvious that he can take things too far. I can't recommend the film because I don't think the first half makes up for the latter portion. I will say that if you do find yourself watching it, the second half of the film won't be the worst thing you'll see on film, but it will leave you pining for the opening scenes of the picture.


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Labels: alien, film, movie review, Neill Blomkamp, Sharlto Copley