Sector 9

Going into the cinema I had mixed expectations as I only saw a handful (yet interesting) posters and only one trailer. I only heard a handful of reviews yet all of them came from this site. Well, I decided to hedge my bets and walk in anyway. And I'm glad I did.

"District 9" is a wallop of a film that is also one of the year's very best films. It perfectly presents the balance of human emotions and CGI mastery. The acting is top notch and believable, and the characters are so realistically presented; even the protagonist is deeply flawed, and during some scenes I wonder who should I root for.

The story is well told; a refreshing, unique and somewhat original scenario, one that we've never experienced for quite some time. The atmosphere is bleak, dark and realistic, actually making me believe this thing can actually happen here on Earth.

The special effects are excellently rendered, and actually give more than their money's worth (Only US$ 30 million! And the effects were amazing, as great as anything WETA has done before!). The creature effects are so realistic we could not tell the difference. Thanks to none other than WETA for this amazing feat, and I hope they get an Oscar for visual effects. But the practical effects are believable too, as per the engaging and thrilling (and also non-stop) action sequences in the film's second half. And boy, those weapons are awesome! Special mention goes out to the fluid editing. Example, first half of the film works like a docu-drama, and the second half becomes a hybrid of Black Hawk Down, and we don't notice the change of pace. It's that brilliant.

Peter Jackson really knows how to pick a good story and director when he sees one. And I want to shake Neill Blommkamp's hand if I meet him. He is certainly a talented director, and one to look out for in the future. (P.S. If that Halo movie is still going on, Blommkamp has proved that he is the man for the job) In short, it's an excellent science fiction action film, but not without it's intelligence. It may have a few flaws and very few clichés (these happen near the end of the film) but it is still very solid nonetheless. If there is a sequel, I'll be first in line to see it.

Overall value: 8.5/10

Ever since Neill Blomkamp was lined to do the film version of the "Halo" video game, he's become a household name with the fanboys. But as we all know, that project stalled and Blomkamp is no longer on board as a director. After that happened, Peter Jackson gave Blomkamp $30 million to make whatever movie he wanted. Blomkamp made this film, and it is a stunning debut.

Normally I despise remakes, but after viewing Blomkamp's short film, "Alive in Joburg," which served as the inspiration for this movie, I can say that calling "District 9" a remake of the short film is about as untrue as it is unfair. Even saying that Blomkamp used the short film as a jumping off point is pushing it (a lot). "District 9" takes the idea and runs with it, not even remembering to pass "Go" and collect 200 dollars.

South Africa, present day. A spaceship has been hovering over Johannesburg, South Africa, for the past 20 or so years. The aliens were brought down and nourished back to health, but people's apprehension with the new beings caused major clashes, and the visitors, known as "prawns" were moved into a slum called District 9. Today, the shady corporation Multi-National United has decided to move the prawns to District 10, and to make sure that it's handled legally, they enlist Wikus Van Der Merwe (Sharlto Copley) to oversee it. Suffice it to say, things don't go as planned.

"District 9" is not flawless, but it's so good that I'm more than willing to look the other way at any of its "flaws." But the best part of it is that it takes chances. In broad strokes, the story is familiar, but the details and execution are completely new.

One of the best things that I liked is how Blomkamp portrays people reacting to the aliens. Everything that the people do in response to them is completely credible. I don't want to give anything away, but the way that the people "acted" in response to the coming of the prawns is so believable it's almost chilling. "Interviews" with people who worked with Wikus and were involved in the story enhance this effect.

Meanwhile, we have Wikus guiding us through the story. Wikus is eager, but he's not the brightest bulb in the bunch. Sharlto Copley is excellent as Wikus. Copley does a great job playing a poster boy for MNU, but Wikus is also likable, and that's important.

"District 9" is a mixture of a million ideas all thrown together at once. Past movies have done this and sunk because of it, but "District 9" succeeds because they're competently explained and portrayed. A few technical things cause this to get an 8 instead of a 10 (for example, one scene is interesting, but it's out of place, and the film's big transition doesn't go very well), but it's still a highly recommendable film. And for once, the shaking camera is used effectively.

Do I think that Blomkamp should direct "Halo?" While there's no question that he could do it, and make a great movie out of the game, I don't think he's the right man for the job. I don't think "Halo" would look good as a grainy documentary. But that's just me.

In 1982 a spaceship appears over Johannesburg, South Africa. They find an alien population of "Prawns" and put them in a concentration camp called District 9. After 20 years, the local population has had enough of the aliens and plan to relocate the aliens to a location far away. Wikus van der Merwe is a meek bureaucrat who is given charge to organize the relocation plan by private corporation MNU. District 9 has become a vast lawless place with alien technologies. While rounding up the Prawns and getting signatures on paperwork, Wikus is infected with something that is slowly morphing him into the alien.

What an amazing debut effort from director/writer Neill Blomkamp. It is richly original and so very human. It uses the documentary style to elevate its realism. The CGI Prawns are brilliantly grotesque without being a ridiculous horror. Wikus is such a wonderful comedic character. It is a scathing indictment of the treatment of the disenfranchised. The movie works on so many different levels. It is audacious beyond anything a big Hollywood blockbuster should be.

I watched this again after 9 years. Still as impressive as it was back then visually and otherwise. The soundtrack was great. Reminded of how good South African films can be. Check it out if you haven't already

"District 9" is a film I was lucky enough to see in the theater when it first released. The marketing for the movie was remarkably good, posters everywhere meant that before you even entered the theater, you had already been primed to see the "Prawns" as a nuisance, larger and stronger than humans, and probably best kept at a distance. The film's opening and narrative bookends being from the perspective of a documentary of news crew meant that everything felt very lifelike when you saw ads running on TV. As a Sci-fi lover, my interest was primed and pumping as I bought my ticket.

Now, 10 years later, my love for this movie is not as strong and has shifted from my previous reasons for liking it, but nevertheless, this is a film I expect will remain on my shelf for years to come.

"District 9" wowed me in the beginning for many reasons. The first one out of the gate that grabs you is the world building. There are hosts of movies that take similar tacks when it comes to informing the audience about the history or rules of a fantasy, sci-fi, or just slightly left of real, world. Relate everything through news stories that play in the background or are featured in scenes that inform everyone as to what is going on. In fact, this approach is so common that it is considered a crutch by many filmmakers and is classically made fun of in the brilliant "Shaun of the Dead"

It is truly rare to find films which spin a tried and maybe tired device into something fresh and even featured as a part of their film but Neill Blomkamp delivers a fresh look at documentary news coverage as exposition that simply stunned. Not only does the footage seem real, immersive, and present important concepts to audiences, it does so in a way that they are used to receiving information so that when they are presented with personal stories that contradict the news coverage, it causes them to ask questions about those same sorts of stories in their own lives, but more about that later.

The next thing that stood out about the film was the performance of Sharlto Copley ("Chappie") which, essentially, launched his international career. One of the most difficult tasks that a writer, director, or actor faces is to make relatable that which is unrelatable. Taking a character like Wikus, who is blind to his prejudice, complicit activities, and general willful ignorance and turn him into someone for whom we have genuine empathy is the essential role of an artist. To not hide from the way that Wikus allows himself to be stupidly used in the beginning of the film and give him a journey which confronts him with the horrific results of his apathy in a way that leaves us hoping for better for him is the essence of good acting and I say Bravura to Copley for his performance.

The reason that I highlight these two aspects of the film is because they are what I find to be essentially brilliant about the film, yet also what was lost on me about it ten years ago. With the way the film tells its story in two ways: through high level news; stories, documentary footage, and interviews with family and friends of Wikus; as well as on the ground personal interactions; between Wikus and his coworkers, the company, his family, and the Prawns; we end up getting the story from two perspectives.

As a young man, I wasn't asking myself the questions I now ask myself so I only saw the interesting story, the horror of realizing something alien is happening to you, and the thrill of some impressive action sequences especially considering the budget. As an older man I realize that while the film is about these things on the surface, it is also about the difference between what we receive through screens, second hand accounts, and media outlets, as opposed to that which we experience personally.

The film is about perception, propaganda, prejudice, and personal connection. It is about what is real and what is not. Questions like this continue to be begged more and more as our world becomes more saturated, debate if you will for good or ill, with screens, vlogs, stories, commercials, news stories, reality shows, and everything in between. "District 9" is a reminder that while our world has gotten wider with the advent of new technologies there is always the threat that it may not get deeper as it grows in breadth. We must remember that the tactile person to person contact which is the enemy of prejudice requires us to seek specifically for the individual and to see them for who they are as an individual and not just what group they belong to.

The Prawn in this film is a stand in for all of the things we fear at a knee's jerk whether it is the immigrant, refugee, Muslim, Jew, Christian, Communist, Fascist, Snowflake, or Boomer. May we all seek to understand each other more despite the efforts of the powerful to shape our understanding through media.