The wrong direction for sci-fi to be going

Rating: 1/10 (20 December 2009)

I guess sci-fi can't be cool anymore without copious amounts of blood and gore and intense character studies of characters that aren't even interesting. The main character of the story is a guy named Wikus. He is just an ordinary guy doing his job moving aliens out of the slums of South Africa. Then one day someone alien fuel supply changes his arm into an alien one. If that isn't a major plot hole then I don't know what is. This plot hole is gigantic enough that it detracts and distracts from the rest of the movie and what there is of a story. Obviously, once Wikus begins his David Cronenberg-esquire "The Fly" transformation, we already knows what's coming. He's going to be alienated(no pun intended), fight for the aliens while all the people he used to know are going to fight against him and the other aliens. And... that's basically all that happens. The writing is never clever, the characters are not interesting or developed at all, and all of this just for a very ridiculously shameful hint at a sequel. The movie is shot like a documentary, which is probably its greatest weakness. This kind of filming doesn't allow for character development or hints at subtle and compelling story points. Instead, we get a climax that is way too familiar*cough*Iron Man*cough*! Then we are treated to more blood and gore, which doesn't lend more credibility to the movie as it does convey the idea that they did it just to make the movie R-rated. I also find it annoying that the cliché that Aliens would be enslaved and exploited is still popular and meant to reflect the sickening concept of apartheid. It's not unique, it's not interesting, and I honestly don't believe this allegory makes for any kind of entertainment. Basically, film-makers need to stop investing in the idea that every damn movie needs to be made into something like Cloverfield. Cloverfield sucked, and this crap isn't any better.