Okay, a few thoughts on this without giving any spoilers.
First of all, the acting, directing and CGI were all spectacular in the movie. Most of it looked way better than some parts of the GI Joe or Transformers films and they only had about a $30 million budget. The acting was top notch, you would never guess that most of the people in this film were not actors or had very short lists of credentials.
It's shot documentary style but unlike films like Blair Witch, it's not obnoxious. Whether the footage is from a guy on the spot following the action, closed circuit TV's around the areas the action is happening or just being filmed like a regular movie, it all works together in a very smooth way.
The plot has elements in it that you'll recognize from other films, but it's all put together in a way that doesn't make it feel ripped off.
The locations that they found to film in are incredible both because of the look it gives the film but also in the fact that you realize, at some point, that not all of it was a set, most of it really exists in South Africa. The film definitely is a commentary on South Africa's past even though you're watching this film about aliens, you can't help but recognize that you could easily take the aliens out and put humans in.
The film moves along at a quick pace but everything seems to be pretty well explained, I never felt like I was missing something in the story. There is a lot of stuff to see, though. There are subtitles that give you translations of the alien language but also for some of the humans since there's a lot of different dialects and accents. There are also some news broadcasts that look like your standard CNN or MSNBC with the scroll at the bottom, so there's stuff there to read also. The film definitely lends itself to a second or third viewing to take it all in, but that stuff just adds extra depth to the story, you can miss some of it and still not be lost.
I think the film is a home run. Makes you appreciate what a good film can be and how bad a lot of things coming out of Hollywood really are.
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