Interesting story idea but poorly executed

Rating: 5/10 (15 August 2013)

I went into this movie with high hopes. I am a fan of Matt Damon and Jodie Foster (who I consider one of the true stars of our generation) and I liked District 9. I was severely let down. I found Damon's portrayal flat and his character's change of heart at the end of the movie unlikely, given the way he is portrayed during the movie. I assume we were supposed to see him change over time from being totally self- centered to someone willing to sacrifice himself for others, and maybe there was footage that would have shown this, but was cut to make room for unnecessary gore, such as his surgery to install the data chip and exoskeleton.
Even more disappointing for me was Ms. Foster's performance. I find myself agreeing with a movie critic (a very rare occurrence) that as a compassionate liberal, she found it hard to play a cold, reactionary whose only concern was keeping her world perfect and clean. Her character came across to me as a stereotype caricature of an uncaring, ultra-conservative warmonger.
In the end, I wish I had not spent the money to see this movie in the theater, and recommend that people wait for this to come out on the small screen to see it.