I certainly didn’t expect this movie to be shot like a documentary and still be pure fiction. This may transport thoughts of The Blair Witch Project which isn’t how the trailer placed the movie into my mind, ensuring I’d buy my box office ticket.
It’s actually a science fiction action packed film that uses a documentary timeline shooting effect to take you through the events surrounding the relocation of alien creatures (who had settled on earth and lived in shanty towns) and who had spent the past twenty years planning their escape from earth.
Sharlto Copley, as Wikus van de Merwe, is outstanding. Firstly, as the official of a security company taken on by the South African government to move on the aliens. Secondly, during the issuing of eviction notices he comes into contact with alien chemicals and he starts a transformation into one of them. The audience believes in him, they don’t like him, then they do when he becomes part alien and is being chased by his own company security guards.
The ending leaves the movie open to a sequel, something that we’ve become used to these days. We don’t know the outcome at the end of the movie, so we’d better get another movie just to find out what happened. At least his wife doesn’t appear to mind how he looks!
The only downside to the movie is its South Africa apartheid connections, but this history lesson can be a blessing for those who don’t know what really happened in South Africa until Nelson Mandela changed the scenery. The similarities are so close as to not be an accident. Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell have written a grand screenplay and spend a lot of time making you feel like South Africa didn’t learn enough from its earlier problems and just moved apartheid on a hundred years. The lessons not learnt become clearer as the movie progresses.
This movie is one of the year’s better showings and also one of the best profit makers. It may have been put together for only (only he says in jest!) $30 million; already it’s way into profit having taken over $200 million at the box office.
The DVD will, no doubt, be full of extras showing how they made the special effects – the prawns/aliens – work so well. Certainly you’ll think this was equal to much bigger budget movies for all of their CGI and green screens.
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