Movie Review -- District 9

Well, that movie that everyone has been secretly talking about, District 9, is here. Was it worth all of the hype it has received? Yes -- this movie was incredible. Congratulations Neill Blomkamp, you have created a movie that Michael Bay & Stephen Sommers should both be forced to watch over and over again in filmaking 101 in hopes that they learn a valuable lesson: special effects should support the story, not be the story.

District 9 is a very special movie in one very important sense: it's original. The film might actually be the most original movie you will see all summer, if not for the next couple of years. For one, the classic 'alien comes to Earth' story has been flipped on its head. Blomkamp does not portray these strange creatures as powerful aliens, but instead, they come across as a weak and ugly race -- at least through the eyes of the humans. The aliens, otherwise known as the "prawn," have crash landed on Earth, and the humans have found them hiding in their massive ship, both malnourished and very close to death. Thus, what do the humans do? They throw the aliens into a camp, fence off the area, call it District 9, and become extremely interested in their weapons.

District 9 is a movie about human greed and ignorance, no doubt. Blomkamp drives those two themes home mercilessly. However, the film is also about how, when push comes to shove, we can learn to live together. The main character, played by Sharlto Copley, who by the way delivered an amazing performance, is assigned to a task force that must serve eviction notices to the prawn. The plan: take the aliens, and move them into even smaller homes, which are disconnected from human society. During the mission, Copley comes across an alien container, gets sprayed by some black goo, and before he knows it, something starts happening to him whether he likes it or not. The rest of the film follows him and his incredible journey into the heart of District 9, the only place that he can take shelter in due to his rare new condition, where he makes an unlikely friend called Christopher. Throughout the film, Copley turns into the most unlikely hero since Bruce Campbell in The Evil Dead.

The aliens in this movie are not pretty. Think of tall black ugly lobsters who eat cat food, meat, and rubber, and that's what you'll get. The conditions they live in are disgraceful, and of course, where there are slums, there is violence. This movie is very violent at times, but the violence is never overdone. If anything, the violence is needed in order to make the story as effective as it is. District 9 is what it is, and it isn't trying to be anything else. The film is savage, and it doesn't give a shit if you agree with that or not.

Some of the special effects in this movie are just jaw dropping. I could not believe this movie was created on a budget of 30 million. To me, being able to create such an epic movie on such a low budget is THE true mark of a genius filmmaker. Let's name some other directors who have been able to accomplish that very same task in the past: Steven Spielberg (Jaws), James Cameron (The Terminator), Sam Raimi (Evil Dead), and Peter Jackson (Dead Alive, Heavenly Creatures, The Lord of the Rings, the list goes on with this one). Blomkamp (District 9), I think you are on the right track.

In my G.I. Joe review, I stated that the new G.I. Joe film reminded me of Street Fighter. Well, District 9 does not remind me of Street Fighter, it reminds me of The Terminator. District 9 is insanely original on to many levels to count, and I feel comfortable in making some predictions here. This film will be the sleeper hit of the summer, just as The Terminator was back in 1984, and it will also go down as a science fiction classic, the same way that The Terminator is considered one today. As for Blomkamp, I have no fear in stating that he will one day be a very important director, if he isn't considered one already.

Recommendation: If you see one movie this summer, it should be this one.


Rating: 3.5/4