Peter Jackson presents a stark vision of the not-too-distant-future as a race of alien visitors are corralled and contained within "District 9"
Now, when District 9 came out at the cinemas in 2009 I wasn't to keen to go and watch it I thought, "OK another mediocre alien movie, what's it going to offer me which the next alien genre film can't", well I'll tell you, a lot. Firstly, the cast was relatively unknown with Sharlto Copley playing the lead role of Wikus van de Merwe, but trust me Neil Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell got it spot on. Basically Wikus is a seemingly clumsy character who tries his best to please everyone, he is a alien affairs worker who is based in Johannesburg, South Africa, and his role is to relocate 1.7 million aliens to a new location outside Johannesburg city.
Now, I don't want to give too much away but the plot behind this film is second to none, it's gritty and dark which is what I like from films like this. Although in my opinion the introduction is quite slow it more than makes up for that with the sheer genius special effects and soundtrack used. It fully submerges you into the action making you feel like your part of the fight.
Overall, District 9 is a great take on the sci-fi genre and is a worthy contender to be included in anyone's film collection.
This film, for me, has set the benchmark of CGI/human interaction. The 'prawns' blend flawlessly with their surroundings and the actors involved with them perform brilliantly.
The storyline is sound however the documentary style of filming seems lost on the second half of the film 'I won't ruin it for any readers,' but the perspectives seem muddled.
I don't think I noticed any poor acting on any part and the realism of the situation was portrayed beautifully by Sharlto Copley amongst others.
All in all I have given this film a 4 star rating simply because of the muddled perspectives, it would be a 4.5 if possible as the rest of the film is spot on.
Hollywood has had an uneasy relationship with science fiction, the least structured of all the genres. Despite helping define it in a hotbed of b-movie paranoia, the studios have largely lost the initiative to comic books, animation and even games, such as Half-Life. You can count the truly definitive entries easily, like 2001, Bladerunner, Star Wars, etc, up to Children of Men. And for every one of those there are a dozen more copies demonstrating a basic misunderstanding of the material and the audience (often by the same creators; yes, I mean you, George Lucas!), resorting to cheap and tired blockbuster staples rather than themes that sell themselves to begin with.
Thankfully a new generation of film-makers have grown up understanding that problem and Weta effects wizard Neill Blomkamp is one of them. District 9, despite a strong political sub-text, feels rough and ready, like it's leaping from 1970s British comics, via the 1950s alien invasion horrors. All it needed was a trashy title ("My Husband is a Prawn from Outer Space!") and the love affair for generations of sci-fi fans would be complete.
A film distinctly of two halves, the first being paranoid horror and the second alien thriller, District 9 isn't shy about its roots (The Fly and Robocop are easy spots), but as with the recent popular zombie parodies like Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland, and now superheroes with Kick-Ass, it's a proud film by a geek for geeks. And I mean that in the best possible sense as this is a cult film punching above its weight (Oscar nominated, no less). It's exploitive, cartoony, and slightly nuts in the most fun way, and shot through with poignancy.
Much of that is thanks to the heartfelt and natural, but full-blooded and largely improvised performance by Sharlto Copley. In a film of broad strokes and cartoon villains, he is Blomkamp's ace. He looks like a nerd, but acts like a live-wire, grabbing your attention immediately (important in the exhausting opening ten minutes). He could so easily have been unlikeable and predictable, being a cowardly hero with an obvious arc, but he is affecting and memorable. In all the flash bang wallop, he is likely to be what you will remember most about the story, because he sells it to you.
Not that the flash, the bang, nor the wallop should be dismissed as Blomkamp proves his talent with the effects. This is after all, technically a low-budget effort, so the CGI and model work could easily have been a low point, but they're excellent across the board. The convincingly organic and frequently gory "Prawns" (given a nice twist with very human attitudes) are very much characters with personalities. And their technology is satisfyingly hardcore with several storming set-pieces, especially the finale and a suicidal assault on the offices of the corporate villains. The sharply contrasting palettes and a subdued, dirty landscape, come to life on Blu-Ray. It's a real feast for the eyes.
Blomkamps decision to use a lightly hand-held documentary style really helps those effects. The willingness to not focus and treat them as "real" was possibly first seen in Joss Whedon's Firefly and then Serenity. It's a brave thing to do, to spend significant time on effects and then not show them properly, but it makes it so much more convincing. Along with Wall-E creating traditional camera defects on purpose despite it being animation, this has created a small, but significant step for cinema that shouldn't be underestimated.
It isn't perfect. Repeat viewings will reveal multiple plot holes and the inconsistent documentary style may jar that the fast pace largely disguises, but it's such enthusiastic fun you will watch it over and over again anyway. It's a loveable b-movie, complete with the poignancy and heart that those classics had too. I just hope that Blomkamp doesn't forget those nutty roots for the sequel and learns from the fate of the Pitch Black and Matrix franchises.
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Sci-fi thriller based on the short film, 'Alive in Jo'berg' (2006), about the tense relationship that exists between a group of aliens who have been living on earth for 30 years and the humans who have been trying to keep them segregated and under their control. The aliens live in a place called District 9 in South Africa in squalid conditions and are now under the supervision of Multi-National United (MNU), a company who are solely interested in exploiting the aliens' superior technology to make money. However, the only way of getting the extraterrestrial technology to work is by using alien DNA, so when MNU worker Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley) becomes infected with a DNA altering disease, giving him alien DNA, he becomes a very desirable commodity. Realising he is alone and in serious danger, and as relations between the aliens and humans intensify, van der Merwe must enter District 9 to escape.
Please note this is a region B Blu-ray and will require a region B or region free Blu-ray player in order to play Producer Peter Jackson (&39;Lord Of The Rings&39;) presents this action-packed instant sci-fi classic Rich with social and political themes District 9 is also a spectacular effects-driven event picture offering clear evidence that blockbuster movies can have a brain to go along with the brawn!1982 Johannesburg South Africa A large alien spaceship hovers above the city carrying hundreds of thousands of ailing extraterrestrial creatures that the population of the &39;Joburg&39; would soon come to unaffectionately refer to as &39;Prawns&39; Twenty-eight years later and tensions are mounting The &39;Prawns&39; live in a militarized ghetto zone called District 9 where they are confined in squalor Munitions company Multi-National United is contracted to remove the extraterrestrial element with force to a distant compound Unexpectedly bureaucrat Wikus van der Merwe supervises the military charge However when Wikus discovers an unknown substance and accidentally ingests it he soon becomes the most hunted man in Johannesburg Alone and stripped of his former life Wikus&39; only allies are the creatures he once sought to banish
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