District 9

I have to admit I was sucked in by the TV commercials for this movie. I wasn't disappointed. It didn't take long to link the events of this film with the realities of many parts of our world. The aliens are the oppressed, and, realistically, the earthlings have interned them in camps and allowed them to create a dystopic society. They feast and are feasted upon by the exploiters. Like the Native-Americans and many other disenfranchised creatures, they have become a nuisance, and the society that is treating them so badly is now going to move them to a "more convenient" place. An overzealous public official, the central figure in the movie, gets his jollies by treating the aliens as if they were non-sentient creatures. He does a Steve Irwin kind of commentary as he invades their homes and tries to get them to agree to their relocation. He is so cocky that he doesn't realize that swipe from one these beings could cut him in half. In his stupid recklessness, he infects himself with an alien canister and begins to transform into one of them. The strength of this movie, however, is the "humanity" of the aliens. They have personalities. They are not bugs, though they look like them. They love, they fight, they survive in horrid conditions. This is a very complex movie that doesn't go for the cheap thrill, although it does occasionally go too much to the special effects and predictable battle scenes.

In 1982 a spaceship appears over Johannesburg, South Africa. They find an alien population of "Prawns" and put them in a concentration camp called District 9. After 20 years, the local population has had enough of the aliens and plan to relocate the aliens to a location far away. Wikus van der Merwe is a meek bureaucrat who is given charge to organize the relocation plan by private corporation MNU. District 9 has become a vast lawless place with alien technologies. While rounding up the Prawns and getting signatures on paperwork, Wikus is infected with something that is slowly morphing him into the alien.

What an amazing debut effort from director/writer Neill Blomkamp. It is richly original and so very human. It uses the documentary style to elevate its realism. The CGI Prawns are brilliantly grotesque without being a ridiculous horror. Wikus is such a wonderful comedic character. It is a scathing indictment of the treatment of the disenfranchised. The movie works on so many different levels. It is audacious beyond anything a big Hollywood blockbuster should be.

I do not give out ratings of 10 lightly, but here it is - the first film in years that has been deserving of the rating.

Neill Blomkamp brings to screens a fantastic, gritty, realistic piece of science fiction with District 9. Not since Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner", John Carpenter's "The Thing", or James Cameron's "Aliens" have we seen a science fiction film with a vision of this caliber. After viewing District 9, it will be clear to one and all why Peter Jackson put so much faith in Blomkamp and took him under his wing as protégé.

Abandoning the usual settings of Hollywood sci-fi and placing us in the harsh slums of South Africa, we are given an original piece of work which takes risks in the way it tells its story. Not only does it go against the expectations of audiences who have been trained to expect mediocrity from their sci-fi, it goes above and beyond the call of duty to provide us with spectacle as well as something to ponder after we've downed our popcorn.

There is, thankfully, not an overused, overexposed celebrity in sight, and every unknown face in the film gives a solid performance. The aliens themselves, brilliantly realized with top notch CGI even manage to make us feel something, only rivaled by Gollum from "Lord of the Rings".

District 9 has so much to like. It's spectacular, darkly funny, entertaining and thoughtful all at the same time, and it's all done on a meager $30m budget. There is true talent on show here. If only there were more films like this, the world of cinema would be a more interesting place.

Going into the cinema I had mixed expectations as I only saw a handful (yet interesting) posters and only one trailer. I only heard a handful of reviews yet all of them came from this site. Well, I decided to hedge my bets and walk in anyway. And I'm glad I did.

"District 9" is a wallop of a film that is also one of the year's very best films. It perfectly presents the balance of human emotions and CGI mastery. The acting is top notch and believable, and the characters are so realistically presented; even the protagonist is deeply flawed, and during some scenes I wonder who should I root for.

The story is well told; a refreshing, unique and somewhat original scenario, one that we've never experienced for quite some time. The atmosphere is bleak, dark and realistic, actually making me believe this thing can actually happen here on Earth.

The special effects are excellently rendered, and actually give more than their money's worth (Only US$ 30 million! And the effects were amazing, as great as anything WETA has done before!). The creature effects are so realistic we could not tell the difference. Thanks to none other than WETA for this amazing feat, and I hope they get an Oscar for visual effects. But the practical effects are believable too, as per the engaging and thrilling (and also non-stop) action sequences in the film's second half. And boy, those weapons are awesome! Special mention goes out to the fluid editing. Example, first half of the film works like a docu-drama, and the second half becomes a hybrid of Black Hawk Down, and we don't notice the change of pace. It's that brilliant.

Peter Jackson really knows how to pick a good story and director when he sees one. And I want to shake Neill Blommkamp's hand if I meet him. He is certainly a talented director, and one to look out for in the future. (P.S. If that Halo movie is still going on, Blommkamp has proved that he is the man for the job) In short, it's an excellent science fiction action film, but not without it's intelligence. It may have a few flaws and very few clichés (these happen near the end of the film) but it is still very solid nonetheless. If there is a sequel, I'll be first in line to see it.

Overall value: 8.5/10

I watched this again after 9 years. Still as impressive as it was back then visually and otherwise. The soundtrack was great. Reminded of how good South African films can be. Check it out if you haven't already