A nice plot, but the direction sucks

Rating: 5/10 (18 September 2014)

(50%) Perfect example of a decent concept hampered by poor directional decisions. The idea of an alien ship coming to earth due to them escaping mortal peril, only for the world population to then not really know what to do with them is a very good refugee based concept. And I am guessing the reason why this film is so highly regarded is because of those political messages regarding how we treat others in times of crisis and the apartheid, but it is all so massively on the nose leaving not a hint of subtlety to anything. The worst aspect of the movie though by a mile is the direction, the makers have tried so hard to make it look as real as possible that it becomes a joke. Why must almost everything look like it is shot via a live feed from a hand-held camera? Why do we need to see fake interviews and news reports? I know the story is not real, so why try and force me to think that it is, the movie is partly about a man that turns into a cricket for god-sake, so why make this way? It's just plain stupid! And even is the movie is true to life then it is still no excuse as it feels really uncinematic and cheap. Maybe in the future this could be re-made once the found footage fad has died out and maybe that will be a good film, this though is a disappointment.