I’ve been waiting for this film ever since I watched the Neill Blomkamp short movie Alive in Joburg.

It follows a documentary style reportage of aliens occupying a sector within South Africa as immigrants. Malnourished and underfed, there are stark contrasts between the way humans treat aliens (of both indigenous and extra terrrestrial types) and how they are treated simply as science projects and research material.

The film follows the plight of Sharlto Copley as Wikus van de Merwe, an out of depth senior representative of UN equivelent organisation. Tasked with relocating these aliens to a camp of questionable origin, using questionable illegal methods, Wikus finds himself infected with some sort of biological substance that starts to affect his genetic make-up. Suffice to say, what follows is a transformation, not only of physicality, but of stance and opinion, turning Wikus into an important Mandela’esque figure head.

The special effects are simply stunning, the action scenes are out of this world and acting, bar some wooden, token, meat head soldier roles, is exemplaray. I’ve read that Wikus’ entire dialogue is improvised. The unknown cast are superb and the South African taint adds a strangely believable ambience to an otherwise unbelivable settings.

I can see why Peter Jackson took Blomkamp under his wing!

Thoroughly recommended, go and see it on the big screen.