Thread: District 9

Everyone's seen the trailer that kick-started one very fishy-looking viral campaign, interviewing several humans and an alien in quick succession. That marks many people's first exposure to Neill Blomkamp's District 9, and the trailer - which had a decently executed "mockumentary" feel to it, which only served to make its sci-fi content seem even more surprising. This same element of surprise is still present throughout the film proper, and it is quite a cinematic treat.

District 9 takes place in an alternate timeline where, twenty years ago, an alien spaceship came to a halt above the city of Johannesburg. The inhabitants of the ship are unable to operate the ship anymore, so they end up being segregrated to their own slum within the city below. Eventually, the government calls for the eviction of the aliens (nicknamed "prawns" due to their appearance) from the slum. The film's ostensible protagonist is Wikus (Sharlto Copley), who through a series of events too complicated to recount in a synopsis, ends up undergoing some rather dramatic changes and before long he's thrust into the middle of something far too big for him to handle...

The best thing about District 9 is that it always manages to stay fresh and surprising throughout. As the trailers indicate, it starts off as a mockumentary in order to expose the gist of the story. The film gradually crosses over to being a more conventional film, although still filmed with a very documentarian look and interspersed with occasional news footage or interviews. Despite the unexpected change in presentation, you don't really notice because you're so wrapped up in the ingenious premise. Then you're presented with the plight of Wikus, whose story is one I don't really want to expose too much because watching it all unfold was just amazing to watch. He's a perfect example of the Everyman, trying to survive as best he can in the face of everything that the world throws at him over the course of the film. His development, along with that Chris, the prawn he befriends (who is surprisingly well-rounded for a CGI character) raises this above your average science-fiction film. Even when the film's final third act becomes incredibly action-packed, it still doesn't jar with the mood of the film and doesn't forsake its characters and intelligence for the sake of cheap action sequences.

On that subject, the action sequences are far from "cheap". Given that Blomkamp and collaborator Peter Jackson were originally aiming to make a film adaptation of Halo before changing to this, there's still plenty of moments that feel quite reminiscient of Bungie's game, from the alien technology to the frantic battles. The effects work looks great in even the simplest of situations, to say nothing of the bombastic finale. There's just something about the way it all comes together, especially when it is combined with one very uncompromising storyline and subject.

District 9 is a rare find nowadays. It doesn't sacrifice the intelligence or raw power that its story affords it for the sake of appeasing your "typical" blockbuster crowd with a lighter rating and less focus on the story. It's a damned fine thriller that is not without its flaws, but is still several cuts above your average summer film and is well worth watching - but only if you can handle the heat. And it does get quite hot.

[rating]4.5[/rating]

Awesome. Can't wait to see this.

awesome movie! i was kinda disappointed that i heard all the hype before i saw it, It probably would have had the same effect zombieland had on me, surprise hit!

Sorry for the delay in this review; I didn't see District 9 until it'd been out for a week or so, and just finished writing my review today. Here's an excerpt, with a link to the rest:


A very impressive, promising debut. I think the message was a little on the simplistic side, and I would've liked to have seen a fresher take that emphasized the way bureaucratic organizations can create and obscure moral tragedies without even meaning to. It opts for retread antagonists, instead, but the rest of the tale is too engaging for any of this to bring the movie down much.

I was particularly pleased with the way the film built to the outburst of action in its third act in a completely organic way. It never felt as if the violence was ramped off merely because the film needed a boffo third act; it all happened because it had to, given what had come before it.

The sequel should explain a bit more, and there will be a sequel.

I didn't really think it was all that special. I'm not saying it was bad, just isn't all that new and exciting like everyone seems to think it is..

Wanting to know where the aliens come from and so on and so forth is like wanting to know where E.T comes from. Sure it might be interesting but if your asking those kinds of questions you were paying attention to all the wrong aspects of the movie.

lol sorry didnt mean to cause any harm here..didnt think watching it online was illegal on my behalf if i was watching it on a streaming site such as (Removing Link!) NOT downloading it... it would be the streamer infringing the copy right law im just an innocent googler lol

So was I , the deaths were so over the top and crazy

Haha! Exactly! But im also pretty good in school and very good with people, I may have you know .

I turned this off after ten minutes. I just couldn't stand the fake mockumentary beginning; it was cringeworthy to me. I'm not condemning the film outright because, granted, I didn't give it enough of a chance. If the mood takes me I might sit down and give this another look in the future, but man, that opening is so forced.