District 9 is astounding. I am in no way exaggerating; everyone needs to see this film in the theater both to receive the full experience that it offers and to financially support a phenomenal piece of art. We live in a world where the science fiction genre is filled with big dumb loud films that never have any substance to them. There have been a few gems produced in the past few years, like Danny Boyle’s Sunshine and Alex Rivera’s Sleep Dealer, but they are dwarfed by the sheer power and complexity of Neill Blomkamp’s District 9. Disregard everything that you have seen or heard in the trailer or from another source, you simply have no idea what this sci-fi romp has in store for you until you see it.
Without ruining anything about this film, I need to keep my synopsis short and sweet. Essentially, an alien mothership arrives on Earth above Johannesburg, South Africa in the mid-80’s. The human race waits a few weeks for Earth’s visitors to make first contact but then cut their way into the spacecraft to find about a million starving aliens (later known as the Prawn). In an attempt to show our kindness, the local government gives food and shelter to the Prawn but this does not last long as the citizens of Johannesburg feel scared and threatened by their new neighbors. Over the years riots erupt, propaganda spreads, and a death toll rises until the government forces the Prawn into a dirty and disgusting shanty-town dubbed as District-9. However, this is not enough as the government looks to an international conglomerate (MNU) to handle interspecies affairs and force the Prawn out of District 9 and into a concentration-style encampment. This is when everything literally goes to hell.
YAY
- Sharlto Copley delivers the performance of the year. He is absolutely amazing as the film’s main character, Wikus Van De Merwe. When I got home after seeing the film, I had to research this guy’s filmography and he has never had any acting experience where he has been on screen for more than 5 minutes. I am flabbergasted as he is perfect in his role and more importantly, completely convincing.
- The structure of District 9 is very odd and very effective. Neill Blomkamp is sort of a mad scientist here as his movie feels like three different films melted into one. District 9 is a documentary, a viral video and a feature film. The movie never runs into itself nor does one style of filmmaking take away from another. I was just floored by how this worked so seemlessly.
- The rawness of Blomkamp’s direction is fantastic. The first half of the film is in-your-face but it never comes off as preachy. Instead of yelling and screaming about how the events in Johannesburg are so vile that you feel guilty for sitting in an air-conditioned theater, it focuses on what is happening on both sides of the conflict. Often times you will find yourself torn as you feel connection to the actions of Wikus and the desperation of the Prawn.
- Visually breathtaking, Blomkamp has crafted some of the best special effects of the summer. The Prawn are detailed beautifully and interact with their environment perfectly. I do not know how this film was made with only a 30 million dollar budget, but it blew my brains all over the people unfortunate enough to sit behind me.
- The alien weaponry is the shit. Every single time someone pulled the trigger of a weird looking weapon, the entire theater giggled with glee. I swear Blomkamp and his visual advisers made the weaponry so awesome that they could give the middle finger to Microsoft and all the movie producers who let his Halo film fall into development hell.
NAY
- The ending is a little too open. It doesn’t exactly say “to be continued” but it does leave the audience with ideas for a sequel. I certainly loved the conclusion but I do not think it is worth leaving the viewers with some hope that this is going to be a series. Also, what if Blomkamp does not return for the sequel? Too many things are up in the air that I feel uncomfortable not having the ability to see into the future.
Do I need to say anything else about how good this movie is? It is the movie event of the summer and could be a huge sleeper hit if enough people go out and see it. I can not stress enough how pivotal it is that District 9 succeeds in the box office. 2009 has been a black hole for the sci-fi genre and this is the kind of original filmmaking that Hollywood needs to gravitate towards.
