Solid science fiction with a message

Rating: 7/10 (25 February 2020)

It's not hard to spot the commentary on the cruelty of mankind, and in how these aliens are treated, to recognize how we treat each other, be it during apartheid in South Africa, or more recently, refugee camps along the southern U.S. border. There is no sign of an attempt to understand the alien culture or what intelligence they have by scholars, it's all about making sure they're subordinated, their weapon technology harvested, and anything of value monetized. The speed with which this occurs is devastating, but the film is lightened up a little bit by the humor of the naïve agent (Sharlto Copley) who bumbles through rounding the aliens up for relocation. When he's accidentally sprayed with some form of alien fuel, he begins morphing into one of them, and in the absurdity of it all, I thought of Gregor Samsa waking up to find he was a bug. It's all madness, and yet, the militaristic, inhuman response of the earthlings has disturbing elements of truth. It's unfortunate that the back half of the film becomes increasingly filled with action film clichés and concentrates mostly on special effects, plot holes be damned, losing its way from what was such a strong start. It's entertaining for sure, but could have been a classic had it not targeted being a blockbuster.