District 9 is so much more than aliens and special effects. But regarding both of these topics, it delivers!! What is not to love? If that doesn’t tickle your fancy, what about the deeper meaning of it all? How about a little drama? This film does not forget to pull at your heart strings in midst of all the action. It certainly gives a clear moral to the story and it is one that everyone should be familiar with.
The basis of this flick centers around apartheid. And no, it is not a coincidence that this takes place in Johannesburg. But it is also multi-layered. There is an arms race throughout and of course we get a glimpse of the human condition. The lead role Wikus played by Sharlto Copley, portrays the human condition quite well. Some might think he is selfish, or an outright prick but I have to disagree. I'm almost positive if anyone were in his position they would act the same fucking way. Essentially, he can not see the bigger picture which, the audience gets to view. Not many people can really step out of a situation and view it objectively so I really do think his behavior is warranted. He starts out working for Multi-National United. A company trying to better the situation by moving the prawns out of district 9 into the new district 10. Along the way we meet a prawn named Christopher who is not one of the fellow "worker" prawns, but a true leader and genius. I love that his name is Christopher, too. Then we reach the ultimate conflict and see disaster unravel.
If you think this movie is about a clear cut antagonist and protagonist, it really doesn't work that way on the individual basis. Although, you kind of wish you weren't a human, or at least I did. You feel pretty guilty about the wretched-ness of the situation. Another great point of this film is how much you want to sympathize with the aliens. They are derogatorily referred to as prawns which makes sense by their appearance. I really got the feeling that even though these prawns are helpless and vulnerable, they could fuck shit up if they wanted to. But for the most part, they remain in their ghetto and eat cat food, while their weaponry (that is literally out of this world) is simultaneously taken by the government and a gang living within their ghetto. The thing is, they just want to survive. And who can't identify with that? On top of all this craziness, the government is conducting research on the prawns and their weaponry. This only adds to the already salted wounds.
District 9 starts out in documentary style and sometimes reverts back during the film. I liked this though because it added to the possibility of this being reality-like. By the way, I don't think this is out of the realm of actually happening. Some of you might disagree completely but that's fine. They did so many great things with this film on a relatively low budget. Just goes to show what someone can muster up with their imagination. One thing I'm not happy about is that they may have set it up for a sequel. And for the sake of being anti-hollywood I hope they don't, because I don't know if they can execute it without taking away from this glorious film. District 9 is thought-provoking, heartbreaking, intense and completely out of the box.
This film is a perfect example of why science fiction films are so fucking amazing. It gives a fresh new look on serious moral questions that really delve deeper into the imagination. Films like these can really capture you and take you somewhere so foreign and yet so familiar. I don't really remember what my expectations were for this film. Regardless, it blew me out of the water. I can not wait for Neill Blomkamp to direct another film. So ingenious, original, and brilliant. This will be hands down the best film of the year, in my opinion. I hope you feel as strongly about it as I. This may be blasphemy, but upon rewatch, District 9 might be as phenomenal as The Matrix. Which is saying a lot, because The Matrix for me is comparable to the best sex I've ever had...
A+
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