Excellent sci fi film warmly recommended to all who enjoyed the recent Battlestar Galactica. It’s got the same combination of sci-fi, politics, action, flawed characters and an insane world. Only a South African filmmaker could have made this – with it’s leading public servant hero nerd, who loves his wife and regulations, living in an insane world full of violence, petty triumph, greed, etc. In an American film the government organisations and army tend to be ruthlessly efficient; in South Africa they’re gung-ho and incompetent (after being infected by an alien virus they don't go see a doctor but keep working and even stop off at a fast food place).
Some gripes – sometimes the action gets over the top (eg hero flying a plane) and sometimes it seems illogical (eg tracking the car that leaves the building and turns up in District 9). Also the acting is a bit iffy (eg the over the top baddy mercenary) but the South African accents and unfamiliar faces put it over the line. Very smart and enthralling – a real roller coaster ride that stimulates the brain as well as the senses.
Interesting enough the film reminds me a lot of Bad Taste, with its nerd hero who gets infected and has bits falling off him as he turns into an alien.
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