Not just great sci-fi action, but also dark comedy

Rating: 10/10 (6 November 2016)

I just watched this movie again for the second time - the first having been when it was first released in theaters. It's been long enough that my second viewing felt fresh.
I remembered an exhilarating sci-fi action movie, but what I'd forgotten and stood out to me this time was that this movie is loaded with hilarious dark comedy. I found myself laughing throughout at the movie's twisting of what are supposed to be horrific events into funny situations - for example, the main character's casual indifference to the cruelty of his job, from evictions to abortions(!), and his nonchalant reactions to horrors happening in front of him, such as an alien chopping off someone's arm, or all the people who explode upon being shot by alien weaponry. Oh, and the scene when the main guy is trying to order a burger and sees himself on the news and sees what the media has been saying about him - hilarious!
There's even a certain dark sense of humor in the movie's overall themes, and its portrayal of everyone on all sides as horrible people, from the anti-alien (racist) citizenry, to the corrupt and evil government officials, to the violence-addicted soldiers, to the ignorant and clueless family members and co-workers, to the aliens themselves as mostly inept slum-dwellers, too incapable to do anything to get themselves out of their predicament, and of course the obscenely ridiculous Nigerians. Some people found some of these portrayals offensive, but I'd say it's all so exaggerated that it's funny.
It's been a few years since Sharlto Copley's career took off, thanks to this movie, but this guy has yet to disappoint in his acting choices. I've liked everything I've seen him in, so it's great to rewatch the movie that launched his international stardom. This guy deserves all the praise for bringing this role to life, one that doesn't actually portray him simply as some cool hero, more typical of a sci-fi action movie, but instead thanklessly starts him of as a sort of a useless bumbling doofus, who then changes all the way from desperate and pitiful to badass all within the span of the movie. This is the kind of performance that deserves awards.
I continue to look forward to whatever Sharlto and director Neill Blomkamp are up to in the future.