I JUST got back from it with gf, bro and bro's gf. I have many things to say about it. Overall I liked the movie but it had some real glaring clumsiness that made the movie just silly at many times.
[spoilers]
1. The plot progression switch: The first 15 minutes were great. It set a very serious tone with the social commentary on what happens in today's world. The plot unveiled with documentary-style authority, complete with news footage and personnel interviews. It LOOKED like it wasn't going to be a shallow flick like Independence Day. Then the movie started to show some really clumsy moments and dumb plausibility that completely distracted from its very strong beginning. J How does the ship's vital fuel also happen to turn Wikas into an alien? That made no fucking sense. The aliens have been collecting enough fuels for TWENTY years so they can launch themselves back to mothership. Fine. But if you get sprayed by it, the FUEL turns you into alien? That was such a weak plot device.
Also if MNU is such a serious organization with a daunting task of relocation, why is Wikas, the god damn director of the task, simply allowed to go back to his cubicle and even go home after he first showed signs of infection through puking, black shit coming out of his nose, exhibiting delusional behavior? Wouldn't the unit immediately take him into a medical facility? Clumsy.
The aliens are fucking 2.1 MILLIONS strong. Where the hell were they throughout the movie? Are the aliens dumb? There was no organized outrage, social structure or rioting of any sort.
MNU seems to be a mega powerful organization. Whenever shit goes down, I was irritated how they sent like 1 fucking truck of reinforcement at a time. This is a HISTORIC event with the mothership moving for the first time, Wikas becoming the world's first alien-hybrid, relocating 2.1 MILLION aliens, etc. If shit went wrong, wouldn't you SWARM the fucking place with 989283749238 units? I kept thinking of another Scifi movie Terminator II. Why? Because it was REALISTIC how many fucking cops showed up when Terminator infiltrated Cyberdyne office.
Man the start was SO strong and the movie just suddenly dropped into a typical cartoon flick.
2. Wikas' Character: He was supposed to be a heroic liaison between the two race. It's okay if he's completely goofy, that's fine. BUT his very character was just confusing which made the audience fail to connect with him. At first you see Wikas being an asshole and condescending towards the aliens, then after the infection he cares for nothing but his own arm to be reverted back. Then suddenly he cares for the aliens? The bond between Christopher and Wikas seemed so contrived. It was just so damn silly... again, especially compared to the very promising beginning. Ugh.
3. Things I DID like: The movie is completely unique on its own. It had the most badass mecha battle in the history of US films. That mecha Wikas rode was wearing down minute by minute. Then it was brought to its knees and it persisted as long as possible. Was it me or I felt sympathy for the mecha vehicle? The finishing shot which made the mecha completely shut down and 'puke' gasoline out made the audience feel like it was a living being. Was it just me or anyone else felt that way?
During the mecha scene, I really felt like I was watching a Japanese anime. The style was strikingly similar. It reminded me of Ghost in the Shell or Evangelion how the mecha was broken down slowly and slowly but it continued to go on.
The soundtrack was absolutely amazing.
I liked the artsy ending of 'will the aliens come back after 3 years? If so, then what?'. I really hope they don't make a sequel and ruin that wonder.
4. Final Verdict: 3 out of 5 stars. A very heavy-handed and strong premise, then the movie just petered out with childish elements.. I couldn't get over that. It's certainly not forgettable. But it's not anything particularly special either. I would love to see if the script writers were influenced by Japanese anime in any way. The mecha scene was so damn atypical American Hollywood.