District 9

Director: Neill Blomkamp
Genre: Sci-Fi/Adventure/Action
Year: 2009

I consider myself lucky to have been one of the few people that got to see the world premiere of this particular movie at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con, it has given me the opportunity to post a review for this particular film a good two weeks before the film is actually released. I will also disclose that I will try to be a bit more careful with the plot discussion, given that it was asked by the director (Neill Blomkamp) and the producer (Peter Jackson), when they introduced it that no major plot points be revealed in order to keep the mystery about the movie under wraps a bit longer. I am not one to spoil a movie, so the danger of me doing that would have been small, with a good movie, the danger of that is even smaller. Sunshine, another movie that I put in this category is a prime example.

Right off the bat, I must say that I was extremely impressed with this film, particularly going in with very little knowledge as to the full plot and knowing that this was the work of a first time director who was slated to direct Halo (a project that never came to fruition). With all due respect, neither of those points inspired confidence on me. The two things this particular film had going for it was the backing of Jackson as a producer and the trailers which, regardless of my hesitation, were hooking me. In the end, the pay off was very much above the bar I had originally set myself.

Without ruining the plot of the film for you, I will give you a brief synopsis. Thirty years ago, aliens arrived on earth, not over New York, or some other great North American city, but rather over Johannesburg. There, suffering apparent technical malfunctions, the ship stayed and the attack we humans feared never really took form, instead what we seemed to gain was a wave of alien refugees which where taken in and later moved off to a sectioned off area of the city dubbed District 9. But with mistrust over the alien race and growing numbers in population, Multi-National United (MNU), the company in charge of the aliens well being, decides to relocate the aliens into a concentration camp, even if they try to paint it in brighter colors.

Bringing illegal alien issues, quite literally, to the table, this movie carries a bit of social commentary in its subtext even while providing a thoroughly enjoyable film on the surface, full of thrill, intrigue and ultimately action. Breaking form with the typical Hollywood movie, this film uses its lower budget to its advantage, delivering a fast paced, documentary formatted film. Its quick editing and rapid delivery leaves very little room for breath off the start and never quite slows down. There is great usage of special effects and humor, but it is the acting of the Sharlto Copley’s portrayal of Wikus Van De Merwe that truly seals the deal.

With one of the coolest mech battle scenes I have ever seen, great creature design and effects, District 9 hands down is one of my favorite Sci-Fi movies and I highly recommend that come opening day, you rush out to see this film, you definitely will not regret it.

Rating:
Comments: Violence, some language, disturbing imagery and adult situations…all of them presented to you in incredibly believable ways.

Todd’s Two Cents:

I was able to catch this film with Francisco. He’s already given a good synopsis of the film, so I’ll jump right into my point of view. Overall, this film was fantastic. It was relatively low budget (for a sci-fi film with this many effects shots) but you wouldn’t know it. The mix of drama, political commentary, and action blended perfectly to make a thought provoking film that easily kept my attention throughout. The film starts out in a documentary style to quickly explain the current situation. But it quickly loses its format and slips into more of a standard 3rd person camera view for most of the film, only dropping back into documentary form for the conclusion. The question of why the aliens were stuck here was never clearly explained, but I think the answer was not essential to the plot of the film. I highly recommend it and give it an A.

I have been a bit disappointed (as usual) with the amount of information they are willing to give away in trailers and commercials.