Hello everybody! I just got home from seeing the action-packed and alien-filled District 9 produced by Peter Jackson, director of The Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong. Knowing this, I had very high expectations but did District 9 live up to them? Keep reading to find out.
Title: District 9
Director: Neill Blomkamp
Starring: Sharlto Copley
Genre: Action, Drama
Length: 112 min
MPAA Rating: R
IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1136608/
Summary: In 1990, a massive star ship bearing a bedraggled alien population, nicknamed "The Prawns" (to be used as a politically incorrect term), appeared over Johannesburg, South Africa. Twenty years later, the initial welcome by the human population has faded. The refugee camp where the aliens were located has deteriorated into a militarized ghetto called District 9, where they are confined and exploited in squalor. In 2010, the munitions corporation, Multi-National United, is contracted to forcibly evict the population with operative Wikus van der Merwe in charge. In this operation, Wikus is exposed to a strange alien chemical and must rely on the help of his only two new non-human friends.
My Review: District 9 fell below my expectations. It is quite saddening because I was really enjoying the Documentry-style shooting of the film but as the movie transitioned from documentry style to Hollywood blockbuster I found the film less and less interesting with all of the violent massacares of humans and aliens alike.
The first half of the film was very interesting, showing the backstory behind District 9 and showing how badly the aliens live. This is what mainly got my attention. It was amazing how realistic the movie was and if you replaced the aliens with people the story would still make sense. It was very saddening watching how horribly mistreated the aliens were and how believable the living conditions and predjudice was.
About 40 minutes in is where the plot changes when Wikus accidently sprays himself with an alien substance. After that, he slowly changes into one of the non-humans. I didn't really enjoy Wikus' character too much. Throughout the film he was very self-centered and the only thing he cared about was how to make himself live up to his recent promotion and how to change himself back into a human and how to stay with his wife.
Another thing I did not enjoy was the frequent use of the f-word and nonsensical violence. But I especially didn't like the room for a sequal probably entitled District 10. They made it very obvious a sequal is probably in the works and is going to be much worse then District 9.
Some of the few things I did enjoy was the message the movie gave. I already told you about how much I enjoyed the documentry style filming but when they showed the fake news feeds I felt like I was in the setting of South Africa watching the news surrounding the mysteries of District 9.
Final Note: District 9 was a film that did not live up to my expectations. Although very epic with great themes the story line was great but could've been represented in a different way.
Do I Reccommend It?: Don't spend $15 going to the theater to see it. Rent it from Netflix or whoever but make sure you have surround sound.
Grade: C+
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Hey Rob,
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen this picture yet but I do plan on it (from home, not the theatre -- it takes a lot to get me to the movies). I have been a fan of Peter Jackson since before Lord of the Rings. His early films were made with next to no budget and there was a lot of swearing, disturbing situations and ultra violence (tho in a humorous way) so the nonsensical violence you spoke about in this film doesn't surprise me. I was actually quite stunned when he was selected to direct the trilogy. Until that point, Heavenly Creatures was the only "normal" movie he'd done.
Anyway, as always, I enjoy hearing your opinions. You have a great point of view and state it really well.
Judy
PS: If you haven't already seen it, rent Alien Nation which has a different take on a similar premise - aliens living here on earth and encountering prejudice.