LuckyWillDISTRICT 9: Not Since ET Was An Alien So Loveable
September 16th 2009 03:12
There are many secrets in District 9 and I don’t want to begin by giving any of them away. The film is a semi-documentary style sci-fi thriller that skilfully combines nail biting suspense with short but impressive action sequences and, most importantly a plot that really makes you feel for and take interest in the characters in a way I have not seen since Slumdog Millionaire.
The film is set in modern Johannesburg where, 2 decades ago, an alien vessel came to rest just above the city. Its 1 million inhabitants were malnourished and dying, like a boatload of refugees, and so we took them in. Now in a region where racial prejudice has run rife for years between the blacks and the whites, they must now learn to cope with a new racial class cleverly introduced by director Neill Blomkamp, which doesn’t necessarily unite humanity but, at the very least, gives them a common enemy. The prawns, as they are derogatively known for their unique crustaceous skeletal structure, are moved into a localised refugee camp after long failing social integration attempts succumb to political pressure. Unlike every other alien film to hit the screen, the aliens are portrayed almost exactly like us. They form communities, live in huts, they speak and they are peaceful for the most part unless driven by fear or starvation to protect themselves. Aside from their physical appearance, the only real difference is that they lack leadership. “Workers without a boss” and so they are pushed around with little resistance by the humans.
Of course one must question just how intelligent they are if they could build such a large ship to travel here with millions of passengers, and so throughout the film we see glimpses of their true potential. Their scrap metal bio weaponry is coded only to be used by their DNA, useless in the hands of humans, but has enormously entertaining power when wielded properly. (explosions are short but oh so sweet) We also meet Christopher and his son, two vastly intelligent creatures that certainly break the mould of his species first impression.
Christopher has been collecting fluid for the past 20 years, from power cells and utensils scavenged from fallen parts of the mother ship with a great plan in mind. However just as it nears fruition humanity begins a large scale relocation process of District 9’s shanty town residents to the nearby concentration camp, District 10. He meets the man in charge, Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley) who comes across as very knowledgeable and possesses a good moral compass if only lacking in the strength and conviction to enforce it. As circumstances unfold, the two form an unlikely bond and embark on a quest to save the Prawns from the ruthless Nigerian gun smugglers and money hungry white powerbrokers. Good vs evil vs evil vs themselves!
It is a great film that is pleasing on so many levels. It has strange looking aliens with stranger technologies that create powerful explosions. Government agents get killed in suspenseful battle scenes; there are chases and love interests and “cute” kids. Yet the defining characteristic, I believe, which sets this apart from many action films this year is that all the action has a purpose, the chaos makes sense and a decent plot is clearly evident throughout the entire film. Also, despite how good a film is, the ending must work for me if I’m to leave the cinema feeling satisfied. Needless to say the film builds to an incredibly suspenseful, visually appealing end thus completing one of the best films of the year.
It’s a well balanced film and I couldn’t find fault.
Rating: 5 gruesome intergalactic crustaceans/ 5
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Comment by funny and interesting crap
Funny and interesting crap
I don't fully understand why it took 20 years for that prawn to gather the fuel. That's a long time.
I hope they make a sequel to this. Great movie. 5 thumbs up from me!
Comment by LuckyWill
CINEMATRIX
NRL, Tennis, Soccer - In sport. In here
I think it is definately set up for a sequel if only to utilise the name of their new holding centre, District 10.
I wonder if the temptation to go blockbuster with an intergalactic war will be too great. I love the low key, down to Earth nature of the first film but I can't help but think, if the aliens do come back in a sequel they will be pissed because of the atrocitices inflicted upon them by humanity (experiments and mistreatment) and if the film isn't done properly I can see action overriding the plot.