Over-hyped. Over-blown.

Rating: 4/10 (5 September 2009)

Over-hyped film for the year. Quality starved Sci-Fi audiences will latch onto anything these days. OK so, The GOOD the BAD and the UGLY...
THE GOOD---
Different. Not a sequel, prequel or a remake. Great to see gore back in Sci-Fi (harks back to the Verhoven days of yore - though Robocop, Total Recall and Starship Troopers are vastly more entertaining). Special effects put the big boys to shame.
THE BAD---
Plot holes galore. So-so acting. Main character both unlikeable and a bumbling buffoon. Would have worked so much better if he was more real. Could still be a nerdy guy but without the OTT 'Braindead' comic feel. Same goes for the 'bad guys' and cliché "Nigerian" gangsters. Could have felt much more gritty and real in a Paul Greengrass sense, instead it feels amateur. Humans understand aliens 'click and gurgles' after 20 years? Hmmm.
THE UGLY---
The alien design did not work for me in context. They are meant to feel vulnerable and yet are physically much more stronger looking than humans. If they had been more vulnerable looking and perhaps more relatable, they may have been a more emotional reaction to what was happening to them. Instead they felt like giant versions of the termite creatures from Attack of the Clones (even same sounding dialogue).