Going into District 9 I honestly wasn't sure what to expect. I had purchased midnight tickets solely on Peter Jackson's name and the general premise. Little did I know that I would walk away from my favorite movie of the year so far. Just wanted to get something out there, because my theater was probably less than 80% full, and I really hope this movie reaches a wide audience. It has action, interesting filming style, perfectly executed roles, and social commentary. What more could you want?

I'll split this sort-of review into three bits.





Traditional critical response or something.

The movie is tremendously well executed. It blends a documentary style with the camera of a traditional fiction film. The flash-forwards intermingled with the build-up keep the audience engaged as you begin to puzzle out what is going to happen before it unfolds on screen. This isn't always the case though, as the movie does manage to keep you guessing on several occasions. The casting for this film works very well. The weakest links are those of throwaway characters with all performances integral to the story carried out with nary a hitch. This includes those aliens or "prawns" that become the stars of the latter half of the film. While most are depicted as entirely alien, several convey more human emotion. Human emotion and impulsive response is the crux of the film. It is a commentary on racism through the lens of sci-fi, which stills hits disturbingly close to home. As you watch the choices of the main character(Wikus) unfold your feelings cycle through revulsion, understanding, and even respect. This movie humanizes those who seem to be at first completely alien, while also showing some of the basest, most cowardly levels man himself can descend to.

Finally, the production values are through the roof. While I expected it to have the Peter Jackson touch of the fantastic this movie went above and beyond anything I had expected. The prawns were extremely well integrated and most of the tech looked quite formidable. Despite a few guns looking a little silly, their effects carried enough gravitas to render their appearance moot.


There are probably SPOILERS from here on out.
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You've been warned.





Sci-Fi

The idea of emaciated aliens, far from home on the brink of death being stuffed into a sort of slum is taken straight from the annals of human history both past and present. However, the idea still stands as something new. By replacing humans with aliens it is easier to see the revulsion rise and the general hate that people can have for outsiders. The experimentation runs the gamut from weapons testing to genetic engineering.
These two aspects actually go hand in hand through the film because the alien weaponry is locked genetically requiring prawns to activate their tech. By introducing a third element of Nigerian gangsters to the world of District 9 interesting questions such as interspecies intercourse, and the witch doctor practices of offering power and potency through eating the flesh of the conquered are explored. You also get to see some of the reproductive processes of the prawns, and other little details that really bring the film to life. As you discover more about them it becomes clearer that the humans don't have any idea what they are dealing with even after twenty years. While it is unclear if the suggested worker leader class distinction holds true, I believe the movie suggests that it does, since it seems early on the Christopher's son is more intelligent than the average adult prawn. The transformation of Wikus is also quite a thing to behold as it never looks so unreal as to be divorced from the world around him. The plot hinges on a liquid which seems to be a power source as well as some kind of genetic catalyst, another cool piece of alien tech. The genetic locks actually remind me of the nanobot locks from MGS4.

Action, FPS, any game that has guns, gamer.

District 9 is full of weaponry that I would love to get my hands on. Even the Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator makes a very brief appearance, The weapons includes stopping bullets then redistributing them in mid air, sonic blasts, and several weapons that seem designed to simply explode humans. Including one the at first seems to be a taser then blows a man's head off. The mech is the most formidable piece of prawn tech and carries most of the aforementioned weapons. Gauss rifles also seem to be a mainstay of their weaponry as well as several grenade launcher type guns that also carry an electric charge. While I thought that the ending bit of the movie, where most of these weapons are used, was the weakest part thematically there were still many interesting concepts.

It would be really nice to see a game that manages to blend the awesome action of District 9 with the social commentary. for a large part of the film Wikus is effectively helpless. His alien transformation doesn't grant him super powers, simply the ability to use their tech. In fact, it makes him a target for those who could kill him even with his access to prawn technology. I think it would be extremely interesting to play a well made game based on this movie, because it would have to include some true stealth sections while also managing the transformation and its effects while balancing basic humans needs such as food and sleep.

Basically, see this movie. Please. I hope you enjoy it.

Oh, and if you come out going "Well it was ok, but those last 30 minutes of action really saved it for me.", which matches some sentiments I overheard as I left the theater, fuck you, that's not what it's about.