Even though usually I get tired of seeing this kind of thing, in this movie I really enjoyed the use of news footage mock-ups. There was so much in them that was deliberately reminiscent, visually, of the kind of unstable areas you often see on the real news, so I thought it did a good job of adding to the verisimilitude.
As for the protagonist -- granted I have a softer spot than most for a mean protagonist, but I think the writer nailed what he was going for here. This guy is no better or worse than the rest of the human race -- he's on board with the eviction scam, and despite his reaction against bringing more ammo than food, if you listen closely he says some pretty nasty stuff about the aliens under his breath when they're going door to door. But basically he's "just doing his job", and a dangerous one at that. Okay, and he's not that good at it -- he's an average schmoe.
Missing from the picture, I think, is the element of the human race which would be more benevolently studying these creatures and their culture, even though it had to exist or how could anyone have learned to understand the aliens when they talk? (I know, they've got Babel Fish in their ears.)
