District 9

[Lazy Boy]

http://www.latinoreview.com/images/user/district9poster.jpg

Directed by Neill Blomkamp

Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell

Genre: Sci-fi

Plot: An extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth suddenly find a kindred spirit in a government agent.

Starring: Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope

Rated R for bloody violence and pervasive language.

Runtime: 112 minutes

Great viral marketing scheme (similar to Cloverfield in keeping things mostly hidden til the opening), but unlike that film, I think this might have a lot more weight to it.

I sent an e-mail to AICN, they're supposed to have a screening at the Arclight on Tuesday. Hopefully I'll get in, but I can wait three more days.

[ilovemovies]

This is the movie I'm most excited about in the month of August. Yeah, that's right, even more so than Inglorious Basterds. It looks truly awesome!

[Highspeed]

I'm pretty pumped for this...

[Bourne101]

While this is certainly no Inglourious Basterds for me in terms of anticipation level, I am fucking stoked to see District 9. It looks really good.

[Strider]

While this is certainly no Inglourious Basterds for me in terms of anticipation level, I am fucking stoked to see District 9. It looks really good.

Despite the fact that I've seen Inglourious Basterds already, I couldn't agree with you more, Bourne. So...ditto. :D

District 9 looks fucking AWESOME!

Strider

[MisterTwister]

Screw Inglourious Basterds! This looks 1,000,000 better. Can't wait for it.

[athf1980]

this movie looks interesting in a good way

[SkullBat308]

This looks like it's gonna rock!!!!! Can't wait to see it.

[Jig Saw 123]

"There are a lot of secrets in District 9."

I will be there opening night. Movie looks amazing and the most original thing this summer.

[razgriz21]

I'm sold for this movie.

Next week cannot come soon enough.

[echo_bravo]

I heard the budget was 30 million...is that true?

If so, thats fuckin impressive!

I will be seeing this on opening day for sure.

[labialover]

I'm really looking forward to this. It has an original story, and it's gonna be violent. So far all the reviews for it have been positive. I think it's safe to say this movie will make it's profit back immediately.

[dellamorte dellamore]

Screw Inglourious Basterds! This looks 1,000,000 better. Can't wait for it.

I agree , IB looks like yet another Tarantino masturbation fest , give me some " low budget " foreign sci fi action drama, alien " invasion " Jackson produced , first time director thingy , fekk IB

[dellamorte dellamore]

I heard the budget was 30 million...is that true?

If so, thats fuckin impressive!

I will be seeing this on opening day for sure.

It cost more to make movies stateside , especially if you hire primaddona actors :)

[Mr.HyDe807]

This and Inglorious Basterds make me hope that it will end this pretty well rounded crop of summer movies on a high note.

It looks great, and the positive reviews that I've been reading only make me more excited.

[Bahs]

ah, this is my last big appetizer before Inglorious Basterds.

no but really, this looks great and im stoked to see it. Last issue of Entertainment Weekly just raved on it like no other, saying it is completely original, violent, believable, and just mixes everything really well.

also, i have a date for it :D

[Badbird]

Ha ha. Awesome IMDB thread:

Do I need to see District 1-8 before seeing District 9? (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1136608/board/nest/144807067?p=1)

[Mr.HyDe807]

Ha ha. Awesome IMDB thread:

Do I need to see District 1-8 before seeing District 9? (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1136608/board/nest/144807067?p=1)

They just keep going with it, awesome!:p

[Abbie Normal]

Entertainment Weekly did a nice story on this movie this week.

[AspectRatio1986]

Haha awesome IMDB thread...I can't wait to catch this either friday or saturday, it looks great.

[FireCaptain4]

Final Trailer (http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/17037) for District 9. Looking more spiffy by the second.

[MidnightAngel]

It's 100% right now at Rottentomatoes.com

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/district_9/

Man this film is a must see this weekend!

[Bahs]

Final Trailer (http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/17037) for District 9. Looking more spiffy by the second.

Wow! every new bit i hear/see on this it just makes it seem even better.

[PR0J3KT M]

cant wait for this...straight to the theatre right after school.

[-sgtf-]

A friend of mine got to see it a week ago at a pre-screening (it's opening day is August the 24th in my country) and didn't tell me much about it. He did enjoy it (gave it a nine out of ten) and also commented on how gross the movie occasionally is.

By the way, there is also a short film called "Alive in Joburg" (sorry if this has been already mentioned somewhere) that is sort of a prequel to "District 9" and you can check it out here: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1185812222812358837.

[FireCaptain4]

By the way, there is also a short film called "Alive in Joburg" (sorry if this has been already mentioned somewhere) that is sort of a prequel to "District 9" and you can check it out here: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1185812222812358837.

The man at about 3:30-ish in "Alive in Joburg", is that the same actor from the District 9 trailer that gets a whiff of the alien canister?

[ericdraven]

Cannot wait for it, looks like a blast.

[dfd3657]

A friend of mine got to see it a week ago at a pre-screening (it's opening day is August the 24th in my country) and didn't tell me much about it. He did enjoy it (gave it a nine out of ten) and also commented on how gross the movie occasionally is.

By the way, there is also a short film called "Alive in Joburg" (sorry if this has been already mentioned somewhere) that is sort of a prequel to "District 9" and you can check it out here: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1185812222812358837.

Yeah, a friend of mine also went to a pre-screening and he said it was fucking fantastic. With this and Ponyo this weekend...WOO!

[Bourne101]

I don't think I need to say who gave it the first negative review, I'm pretty sure after reading this post you will all know who it is.

[someguy]

It was me guys, I'm sorry but I just didn't like it!

[Smarmy Douche]

I love Armond White.

[Powerslave]

Good old Armond, ever-reliable.

This looks fantastic, and I can't wait to see it. The reviews have been far more laudatory than I ever expected them to be, aside from Armond of course, and it seems now like we could really be in for something special with this. My expectations just keep getting higher the more reviews roll in.
I hope there's a theater that's playing this around where I'm going for vacation this Friday. I don't want to have to wait to see this any longer than I have to.

[APzombie]

found out the art theater i work at is getting this, will be checking it out tomorrow. Really looking forward to it.

[dfd3657]

I don't think I need to say who gave it the first negative review, I'm pretty sure after reading this post you will all know who it is.

You know, I've never really looked at his other reviews before, but I did just now...what the fuck? It seems like he hates everything that most critics love, and likes everything that most other critics hate. I mean, a critic's a critic and they're entitled to their opinion but Jeebus.

*edit*

I just read the blurb from his surprisingly positive Coraline review. "An animated film that might be too good for children. It arrives in time to expose the atrocious Wall-E."

O_O

[Jig Saw 123]

I don't think I need to say who gave it the first negative review, I'm pretty sure after reading this post you will all know who it is.

He gave G.I. Joe and Transformers good reviews, but Public Enemies a bad one. I know what to expect from someone like this now.

[Bourne101]

Here's a little blurb from his G.I. Joe review...

G.I. Joe must be understood as an authentic measurement of our cultural values. Its appeal to the pop-commercial synapses also demonstrates livelier filmmaking than such utter banality as Iron Man and Star Trek and Harry Potter’s Half-Blooded Chintz.

Anyways, that basically sums up Armond White. Now, back to talking District 9. I'm seeing it Friday night. Can't wait.

[Mr.HyDe807]

I'm finally gonna see Half Blood Prince in the early afternoon, and pick up tickets for me, my brother, and 2 friends for the midnight showing.

These glowing reviews have got me very excited.

[Strider]

According to Chris Bumbray, who posted his District 9 review on the site today, there will be a national midnight screening of the film tonight. Does anyone know anything about this? I've already checked the showtimes for my local theaters, and there's no midnight screening for District 9 tonight. I think Bumbray made an error -- he probably meant tomorrow night.

Strider

[Weapon X]

I have passes to a Thursday night screening in Milwaukee. That's all I've heard as far as public advance showings.

[MidnightAngel]

It's 100% right now at Rottentomatoes.com

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/district_9/

Man this film is a must see this weekend!
Now it dropped to 97% but i'm unterested to watch it.

[drc5145]

District 9 represents the sloppiest and dopiest pop cinema -- the kind that comes from a second-rate film culture.

So am I reading this wrong or did he slam South African cinema?

[outsyder]

Yep. He's still the only one who doesn't have a fresh rating for it on RT.

[someguy]

So am I reading this wrong or did he slam South African cinema?

This is not a South African movie so no he didn't slam South African cinema.

[echo_bravo]

Harry Knowles has seen District 9 three times already. He is rubbing it in everyone's face:mad:

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn262/braddybradz/HarryKnowles.jpg

Friday cant get here sooner.

[Frosty_86]

That mother fucker


God I cant wait much longer. Im probably not even going to get to see it until sometime next week

[FireCaptain4]

Knowles can be an asshole, but he's also a lucky asshole. Plus, he has that rockin' ginger beard.

A snippet of Ebert's 3/4 Stars Review:

I suppose there’s no reason the first alien race to reach the Earth shouldn’t look like what the cat threw up. After all, they love to eat cat food. The alien beings in “District 9,” nicknamed “prawns” because they look like a cross between lobsters and grasshoppers, arrive in a space ship that hovers over Johannesburg. Found inside, huddled together and starving to death, are the aliens, who benefit from a humanitarian impulse to relocate them to a location on the ground.

The full review should be up soon.

[FireCaptain4]

Ebert speaketh:

I suppose there’s no reason the first alien race to reach the Earth shouldn’t look like what the cat threw up. After all, they love to eat cat food. The alien beings in “District 9,” nicknamed “prawns” because they look like a cross between lobsters and grasshoppers, arrive in a space ship that hovers over Johannesburg. Found inside, huddled together and starving to death, are the aliens, who benefit from a humanitarian impulse to relocate them to a location on the ground.

Here they become not welcomed but feared, and their camp turns into a prison. Fearing alien attacks, humans demand they be resettled far from town, and a clueless bureaucrat named Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley) is placed in charge of this task. The creatures are not eager to move. A private security force, headed by van der Merwe, moves in with armored vehicles and flame-throwers to encourage them, and van der Merwe cheerfully destroys houses full of their young.


Who are these aliens? Where did they come from? How did their ship apparently run out of power (except what’s necessary to levitate its massive tonnage?). No one asks: They’re here, we don’t like them, get them out of town. There doesn’t seem to be a lot to like. In appearance, they’re loathsome, in behavior disgusting and evoke so little sympathy that killing one is like — why, like dropping a 7-foot lobster into boiling water.


This science-fiction fable, directed by newcomer Neill Blomkamp and produced by Peter (“The Lord of the Rings”) Jackson, takes the form of a mockumentary about van der Merwe’s relocation campaign, his infection by an alien virus, his own refuge in District 9 and his partnership with the only alien who behaves intelligently and reveals, dare we say, human emotions. This alien, named Christopher Johnson — yes, Christopher Johnson — has a secret workspace where he prepares to return to the mothership and help his people.


Much of the plot involves the obsession of the private security firm in learning the secret of the alien weapons, which humans cannot operate. Curiously, none of these weapons seem superior to those of the humans and aren’t used to much effect by the aliens in their own defense. Never mind. After van der Merwe grows a lobster claw in place of a hand, he can operate the weapons, and thus becomes the quarry of both the security company and the Nigerian gangsters, who exploit the aliens by selling them cat food. All of this is presented very seriously.


The film’s South African setting brings up inescapable parallels with its now-defunct apartheid system of racial segregation. Many of them are obvious, such as the action to move a race out of the city and to a remote location. Others will be more pointed in South Africa. The title “District 9” evokes Cape Town’s historic District 6, where Cape Coloureds (as they were called then) owned homes and businesses for many years before being bulldozed out and relocated. The hero’s name, van der Merwe, is not only a common name for Afrikaners, the white South Africans of Dutch descent, but also the name of the protagonist of van der Merwe jokes, of which the point is that the hero is stupid. Nor would it escape a South African ear that the alien language incorporates clicking sounds, just as Bantu, the language of a large group of African apartheid targets.


Certainly this van der Merwe isn’t the brightest bulb on the tree. Wearing a sweater vest over a short-sleeve shirt, he walks up to alien shanties and asks them to sign a relocation consent form. He has little sense of caution, which is why he finds himself in his eventual predicament. What Neill Blomkamp somehow does is make Christopher Johnson and his son, Little CJ, sympathetic despite appearances. This is achieved by giving them, but no other aliens, human body language, and little CJ even gets big wet eyes, like E.T.


“District 9” does a lot of things right, including giving us aliens to remind us not everyone who comes in a spaceship need be angelic, octopod or stainless steel. They are certainly alien, all right. It is also a seamless merger of the mockumentary and special effects (the aliens are CGI). And there’s a harsh parable here about the alienation and treatment of refugees.


But the third act is disappointing, involving standard shoot-out action. No attempt is made to resolve the situation, and if that’s a happy ending, I’ve seen happier. Despite its creativity, the movie remains space opera and avoids the higher realms of science-fiction.


I’ll be interested to see if general audiences go for these aliens. I said they’re loathsome and disgusting, and I don’t think that’s just me. The movie mentions Nigerian prostitutes servicing the aliens, but wisely refrains from entertaining us with this spectacle.

[SuperMarcey]

I saw the film this after noon and I thought it was great. I am surprised by the hype though, I think you're better off going in with zero expectations. It certainly is a unique film, and I truly hated the humans in this.

[kobe8byrant]

The prawns were no better than the humans - vile and sadistic. It's however the unlikeliest of people/specie that happens to show the most character.

[Mr.HyDe807]

I got my 3 midnight showing tickets after seeing Harry Potter, so I'm pretty pumped!

[dfd3657]

The movie mentions Nigerian prostitutes servicing the aliens, but wisely refrains from entertaining us with this spectacle.

Three letters. H-O-T.

:D

[Weapon X]

"District 9" strikes one of those great balances of brains and spectacle that we don't get nearly as often as we should. D9 not only presents a startlingly bleak "what if" scenario of first contact, but provides enough slam-bang visuals to put many a major blockbuster to shame.

The movie is presented at first in a mockumentary style, then dips into a straight narrative, and hops back and forth a few times as events play out. This is the style I hope the eventual "World War Z" film would take, and after seeing it put to such amazing use here, I'd recommend handing the project to Neill Blomkamp and co. Along with newsreel and documentary footage, the action has something of a Paul Greengrass feel while inserting some stylish action shots, including a "gunbarrel POV" steadicam effect that I grew quite fond of.

The action is centered on Wikus (Sharlto Copley), an agent of the MNU assigned to handle the relocation of the residents of District 9, nicknamed "prawns" by the human race (and rightfully so, as they look like distant relatives of Zoidberg). Wikus starts out as a smiling bureaucrat, happily joining in on the humiliation and oppression of the alien refugees. His turnaround starts as he's exposed to a strange chemical that turns him into an enemy of the state, forcing him back to D9 for help. The film is cast entirely with unknowns, making everything that transpires all the easier to accept, as you're focusing on the story rather than the actors, although I bet Copley will be hard-pressed to stay anonymous if this movie makes the big bucks I hope it will. He handles the character with a certain slimy charm and goofiness as the film begins, turning slowly but surely into a believable reluctant hero, while remaining imperfect person; he's first driven by company loyalty, then by selfishness to cure his new-found "condition", resulting in some realistically bad decisions on his part. Only at the very end does he become a truly noble character, and it's here the film slips precariously into cliche and sap, but with all the fireworks going off at the story's climax, you're likely to forgive a misstep or two.

Effects-wise the film also shines. The prawns' CGI is highly-detailed and surprisingly emotive; you never quite get the sense they're really there, but certainly that there's a living on-screen presence, especially in scenes in which no humans are involved. Also of note are the alien weapons, including a hulking cyber-suit that plays a central part in a thunderous shootout. Imagine an upgraded version of Ripley's power loader from "Aliens" and you'll have a good sense of the shit this thing tears up.

The aliens' hand weapons are of importance to the film's subplot, in which government researchers and black market dealers (led by a super-creepy guy in a wheelchair with ambitions of consuming the aliens' power through consumption) collect and test the machinery, though they can only be activated by prawn DNA. Once we see this stuff in action, the film earns its R rating faster than Donald Trump earns your annual salary. There are few greater joys in cinema than a theater full of people reacting in unison to something sick happening on screen, and such was the case as human bodies were literally turned to greasy red smears on the ground and walls.

I love watching shit blow up, and I love movies that can make me think; if I can get the two hand-in-hand, all the better. "District 9" reminded me a great deal of "Children of Men" in its themes and filmmaking style, and in my humble opinion can happily take a place next to it on the list of great 21st-century sci-fi flicks.

P.S. Dear Hollywood: Let Jackson and Blomkamp make "Halo" already.

[overwatch]

Good movie a little uneven between the first and second half and the more important themes of the movie make way for explosions and blood in the second half, but that's not that bad of a thing. Peter Jackson fucking rules for giving this man a chance at movie making. Go see this instead of GI Joe.

[Mr.HyDe807]

I need to get some sleep so I'll expand on this tomorrow....but yeah, I thought this movie was amazing. 2nd favorite movie of the summer next to Up.

10/10

[drc5145]

Just got back from an impromptu midnight screening and it was awesome. I loved the ideas of the movie and themes it explored. It's funny that in the end, it's the humans (on 2 different fronts) were the most barbaric of all as the movie progresses. I do agree that the last act is pretty action heavy but it's some pretty damn well made action I'll say. My 2nd favorite movie of the summer as well, in between Up and Harry Potter. Neill Blomkamp is going to be a big director after this movie.

9/10

[Silverload]

Just got back from the midnight screening. I had a good time. This is a very enjoyable flick, though far from the masterpiece fanboy hype says it is. D9 is certainly one of the better flicks of this weak summer lineup.

8/10

Side Note: D9 really reminded me A LOT of Avatar.

[Jon Lyrik]

Ten tons of fun. The smartest, most exciting film of the year so far.

[Cosimo]

ah man! it's out in the usa already

[Mr.HyDe807]

The crop of sci-fi action movies this summer have ranged from the highly entertaining (Star Trek), the average but enjoyable (Terminator Salvation), and the over bloated for it's own good (Transformers). Yet, while these movies are more pronounced with letting their presence known throughout the summer season, there is one film that just slides itself in gracefully with the rest of the big boys. So, when it is time to show what it's got, you notice that it could be good, but you're not sure how good until you see the whole thing for yourself. That's what District 9 does for itself in terms of marketing, showing some but not going overboard in laying the goods. Then, when it was shown at a screening at Comic-con and was receiving praise, it got me even more excited. Yet, i wanted to be kept in the dark like the marketing was doing, so I didn't have anything spoiled for me in terms of the reviews. Well, I'm glad I did, because this is probably my favorite summer movie next to UP.

I don't want to go into any details, just because i want you guys to be surprised and enjoy this movie like I did. It's one of those science fiction movies that doesn't hold your hand throughout the movie and just coasts you into the next big action spectacle, it's more well rounded in supplying the story, drama, action, as well as humor excellently. It even has the time throughout all of this to convey a message of Apartheid through the mistreatment of the aliens by the world, which was apparent to where the film was shot, South Africa.Hell, I'm not even going lie, I almost got a little choked up at parts, and I think the lady next to me was actually crying at certain scenes, though I don't know, I was too busy paying attention to the movie.

The digital effects are amazing, with the digital aliens (known as Prawns) having the same impact as Gollum did in The Lord of the Rings, you don't really look at the aliens and just go "Oh, that's Cgi", as they blend pretty nicely in the movie and feel like they are there. We get an amazing leading man in the guise of South African Sharito Copley as Wikus Van De Merwe. He is absolutely amazing in this movie as the lead, and goes through all the emotional notes so well that it just seems effortless. That's another big thing about this movie, there are probably no big name stars in this flick, yet everyone is excellent in it and leaves an impact in the film.

Director Niel Blokamp will defintiely be the one to watch as time goes on, as he was able to make this small 30 million film feel like it was on a massive scale. I really don't know what more i could say....Well, i could say more, but then i would just not be giving you, the reader, the satisfaction in seeing this movie almost as cold as i did. Simply put, one of my favorite movies of the summer, one of my favorite sci-fi films in a while, and something that should definitely not be missed!

To quote Jack Nicholson from The Shining..."GO CHECK IT OUT!"

10/10

[MidnightAngel]

. Go see this instead of GI Joe.

Amen to that. I'll try seeing it this saturday or sunday. Saw the short film by Neil Blomkamp and it's fantastic. The aliens look like the Ctulhu creature from the stories by H.P. Lovecraft.

[echo_bravo]

Flat out awesome film. This was a movie geek's wet dream.
It could of easily been laughable and silly but kudos to the director for making it a serious film.

I was surprised at how hardcore this film was. It was definitely rated R for a reason.

9/10

(best film of the year IMO) so far at least.

[Bahs]

glad to see all the shmoe's good reviews coming in! seeing this in about two hours so i will edit this to a review when i get back!

[sbunn10]

glad to see all the shmoe's good reviews coming in! seeing this in about two hours so i will edit this to a review when i get back!

me too. Can't wait. I knew that this was getting good responses, but GEEZ, all the schmoes have been praising the hell out of it. I'm pumped.

[Brendan M.]

Wow, I lost track of how many times people were incinerated into bloody little pieces. Such a sweet movie. I couldn't believe it was over by the time the credits started to roll. It went by so fast.

[magicwizguy]

Just like last year's CLOVERFIELD, TriStar Pictures have surprisingly managed to avoid giving away too much of the film in the trailers and TV spots. This is fortunate, because this is one of those films that is better the less you know about it, like ORPHAN, A PERFECT GETAWAY, and KNOWING. To continue this trend, I'll try to give little to no information about the movie in this review. The movie is about an extraterrestrial race being forced to live in slum conditions in District 9. That may give you a very vague idea of what's in this film and that's all I'll reveal.

I must also add that this is nothing like CLOVERFIELD nor BLAIR WITCH PROJECT. The film is shot documentary style for most of the first few minutes of the film, but, overall, it's a straightforward narrative. What makes this such a great film is that it's fresh and original in its approach. It's an effects-heavy flick, yes, but it has a heart and soul. It's not a dumb action flick like TRANSFORMERS 2 or G.I. JOE and, on top of that, it deals with themes like prejudice, apartheid, greed, and several others that is too numerous to list here.

However, if you're not that kind of a person who likes themes or allegory in their action movies, the film can be seen as an entertaining action flick with a plot and characters. Newcomer Sharlto Copley certainly does a swell job playing a quite multi-layered character. He's our protagonist in this film. The visual effects are surprisingly seamless, considering the fact that it has a relatively low budget ($30 million to be exact). I also liked the unique design of the aliens.

The length for this review is shorter than most of my other's because I want you to walk into this movie with a clean slate. This is one of the most inventive movies I've ever seen this year and it's a fresh and unique take with aliens coming to Earth. After all, they didn't land in New York. The film is carried by a strong performance by Copley as well as a fantastic directorial debut by Neill Blomkamp. It also deals with some heavy subject matter, unusual for a summer flick, but it also has all the action that will satisfy your needs. 9/10

[Brendan M.]

Just like last year's CLOVERFIELD,

I thought Cloverfield was the year before:confused:

[ilovemovies]

No. Cloverfield came out in January 2008.


Seeing this tomorrow. Can't wait.

[jbar1026]

district 9 - 9/10

a great scifi movie that does everything right! see this movie you wont be disapointed.

[Shinigami]

***

I had some problems with the pacing in the second act, but it's bookended by an interesting start and an exciting finale. Worth the price. Bring you friends. Spread the word. District 9 is a great summer movie. It's not a costumed caper for comic fans or a cgi fuckfest for anyone with a sweet pupil for eye candy, but it's smarter- if not always so exciting- as either.

Oh right. It also unleashes badass mecha live action. How awesome is that?

[adamjohnson]

Harry Knowles has seen District 9 three times already. He is rubbing it in everyone's face:mad:

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn262/braddybradz/HarryKnowles.jpg

Friday cant get here sooner.

On the other hand, he's going to choke to death on his own neck fat one day. So at least we got that going for us.

[AspectRatio1986]

Just got back from a showing...easily the best movie of the year so far IMO. I can't remember the last sci-fi film that I loved this much.

[Bahs]

WOW!
*MINOR SPOILERS*
this is the most fun i have had at the theater all YEAR.
Not only is this an allegory on human nature, but also a well executed mix of action, CGI, some humor, suspense, interesting subplots, drama, you name it. All with a budget of i think about 30 mil.
The first half of the movie is done in a gritty mockumentary style, that immediately paints a picture of the tension between humans and 'The Prawns'.
The second half evolves into a gory fun-filled fest of action, and this is badass action works because of two reasons actually. First, you know whats going on and it makes the action seem important, tense, and understandable. Secondly, the action is just flat out, balls-to the wall awesome. Im talking flying limbs, exploding bodies, ripped off heads, and a robot-mecha that wrecks total detestation. Its not like Transformers 2, where you dont know what the fuck is happening and why. Its not like G.I. Joe, where i just was not invested in it at all. Its how action should be done, believable and gritty.
Why the action works so well here is because the plot is so good that they complement each other. Not only the main plot about the protagonists transformation into an alien, but the subplots are really interesting: MNU trying to steal the aliens technology, South African gangs eating alien meat for medicinal and spiritual purposes, a perfect romance torn apart by everything happening. And the subtleties are astounding in the fact that it paints a perfect, believable world where aliens REALLY did invade.
There is discrimination, there is gross out moments, there are aliens in bras, there is a robot launching a pig at someone, there is cat food, there is everything that entertains.
Fuck Yeah.



10/10 yeah, that was awesome
i can see this turning into one of my favorite movies.

[poopontheshoes7]

Great fucking movie. Relentlessly exciting, thought provoking, and darkly comical in some areas (to me at least).

I loved the early documentary-esque stuff and the action towards to end was stand-up-and-cheer awesome.

Newcomer Sharlto Copley was damn good and his characters transformation (literally and figuratively) was perfect.

9/10

[Bahs]

i would also like to add i would like a sequel (witch it is set up for)
made with a budget of 200 mil. and directed by Micheal Bay!


...just kidding....


but bring on District 10

[Rukas]

I have one complaint that didnt sit well with me while watching it.

SPOILERS....


During the last act when our two "heros" were fighting everyone, where were the other aliens? Where did they disappear to? I know they "help" at the end, but why not earlier? I was hoping for and expecting a rush of aliens saving one of the situations but they never came until the very end. And even if they were too scared to help, District 9 seemed so heavily populated I was expecting some alien casualties of even shots of them running away. Its like they are rubbed into our faces in the first half and then just disappear leaving the one and his son and then they are back again...

[FireCaptain4]

Prelude: What follows is a combination of a review and a plot/theme analysis of the 2009 Neill Blomkamp picture, District 9. Though effort was taken not to ruin events in the later half of the film, there are spoilers ahead. For those who have not yet seen the film, you may want to approach with caution.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

District 9 (2009)

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk202/TheDeadMayTasteBad/district9poster.jpg

Directed by Neill Blomkamp
Written by Neill Blomkamp and Teri Tatchell
Runtime: 112 minutes (1 hr. 52 min.)


The arrival of Blomkamp’s “District 9” should shake the foundations of the sci-fi genre and remind enthusiasts of the fresh ingenuity and excitement when Ridley Scott’s “Alien” or James Cameron’s “The Terminator” first hit the screen. District 9 is, without a doubt, the arrival of something exceptional.

While a dystopic film, there’s no World War Terminus in District 9. Their dystopia is our dystopia and the very real world we live in now. Unlike most films, the aliens here are whom we are meant to sympathize with and the war they do face is the war between prejudice and tolerance underneath the surface of the human mask.

Joburg has been the home for the almost 2 million aliens for two decades in a sealed off compound referred to District 9. We’re not entirely sure how or why their mother ship ended up above Joburg but their presence is felt nonetheless. Responsible for their well-being while present, though wholly uninterested, is the Multi-National United (MNU). The MNU is the second largest supplier of weaponry on Earth, and already we can assume what their intentions are with the alien refugees.

The film picks up with a new mission being put on by the MNU to relocate/evict the alien inhabitants of District 9 to a tenth district. There, supposedly better living environments are present, though it’s more in compliance with the wishes of the Joburg human population by taking the aliens away from Joburg and to a more isolated habitat away from human civilization. One Wikus Van De Merwe (Sharlto Copley, who also starred in Neil blackdamp‘s “Alive in Joburg“) is a head of this mission. He’s the son in law to higher-up in the MNU and is in charge of organizing the movement between the two compounds. On the first day of this debacle. Merwe is shown as being opposed, initially, to as much military involvement as there is. He doesn’t like the amount of ammunition the military is bringing into District 9, though it seems to become somewhat of a necessity as they enter the camps. Merwe proceeds to go from home to home and call out prawns for evictions, manipulate them into signing documents on approval for the evicting, while also aiding the military in investigations into their homes, looking for weapons and any materials/activities that the aliens supposedly don’t have a license for. A new Trail of Tears for the 21st Century.

http://a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465/1d/www.nationalpost.com/arts/1885858.bin?size=404x272

Not all is what is seems in District 9. Even three prawns are working on something secret that needs to avoid detection by human eyes. These prawns are Christopher, his son, and a fellow friend (unnamed) that are gathering fallen parts of their alien ship and collecting a liquid substance inside of them for some unknown reason. The extraction of the fluid takes place at the unnamed prawns house when Merwe and the military escorts arrive there to search the home. Christopher escapes home to his son, but a vile full of the extracted liquid is found by Merwe who, tampering with it, opens it briefly, spills some of it upon himself, and consumes some of the substance by accident. It’s this incident that becomes the instigator of the plot that follows.

There’s also a refreshing presence of unpredictability. The picture evolves quite dramatically from the small diagnosis above, and there are plenty of narrative layers for the moviegoers to peel back. For once, we’re delivered a product as original and intelligent as it exciting and entertaining.

The film tells it’s story in guerrilla fashion. The opening and closing of the film are presented as a documentary while the arc between is seen from our perspective. Blomkamp, however, doesn’t even venture to deep in the frenzy of “shakey-cam” and the action, and audience attention-spans, benefit from it.

http://blog.cleveland.com/sun/intermission_impact/2009/08/large_WE8460813c.jpg

The unsympathetic and cold treatment/torture of the aliens grows quite sickening. They are referred to by some as “demons” and the “prawn” name itself carries around degrading connotations. Signs surround the streets of Joburg warn aliens off from public areas. These “prawns” have no private resource for food or other goods and means of living. Instead, they are fenced in and held captive among the rotting slums of District 9. These intelligent and emotional beings are even more sophisticated and advanced in technology than we are and yet they find themselves dependent in a world that they are foreign in and upon people that don’t view them as equals.

The themes or apartied, intolerance, and racial genocide are quite obvious here and one can even drawn comparisons to the treatment of Native Americans by early English settlers. In Daniel K. Richter’s “Facing East from Indian Country,” we receive insight on the invasion on American soil by English colonists from a pieced together Indian perspective formulated objectively by Richter himself. In the work, we are given a clear picture of Indians marked as a resource and Europeans as a commodity. The same can be said for the relationship between the prawns and the various human organizations at work in District 9.

As disease spread and took it’s toll on Native Americans, war and aggression spiked. Disease and its egregious effects can be seen in District 9. The aliens are living in poor conditions, in weakened states, and thus have grown irritable and aggressive. However, “ethnogenisis” is taking place as the alien/prawn population grows and the population of alien refuges are becoming a more permanent feature of Joburg. As Indians became dependant upon European goods, prawns have become dependant as well. Cat food, in particular, is in demand.

http://movieblog.ugo.com/cm/ugo/images/d-9-3.jpg

Along with a threat for survival comes the instinct to defend oneself. The local Nigerians take advantage of this and weapon dealing becomes an issue inside the district. With no concept of cost, the prawns et themselves get taken advantage of. We see this in a scene in which two prawns give up an advanced piece of machinery for only one hundred cans of cat food, allowing the Nigerians to talk them down from their original asking price for thousands of cans. The overwhelming sense of hopelessness in District 9 squelches all alternatives for the prawn populace. Nigerians are cashing in on the prawn misery, the MNC is corrupt and merciless, and starvation persists throughout the slums. What’s the keep the prawns from escalating to war?

In 1675, “praying town” Indians rose against English colonists after the death of John Sassaman. They attacked 52 colonies and murdered families long the way. This assault lead to a relocation of the Indian populace to Boston Harbor islands where disease and harsh weather conditions still persisted. Death followed nonetheless and no doubt the same would occur in District 10 for the prawns. The difference? The people of Joburg wouldn’t have to face the reality of the dying race every day when they looked outside their windows.

Merwe, throughout the picture, slowly tears away from his prejudice and irrationality and, in one dramatic and rewarding scene, opposes the evil perpetrated by intolerance. Unselfishly, he sacrifices for the survival and perseverance of something greater than himself, a entire civilization not his own.

Thus, we arrive at a question posed to us upon completion of this journey. How would the aliens, upon returning from their seven-mooned planet in three years time, greet us? Would they judge our civilization based on the actions and atrocities committed against their kind inside, and outside, the confines of District 9? Would they declare war on our planet? What price will humanity inevitably pay for it’s inhumanity?

Would first contact result in our final war?

http://movieblog.ugo.com/cm/ugo/images/d-9-1.jpg

[athf1980]

5/5

movie is just good period. kudos to neil & peter for making the best sci-fi movie in years.

[Bourne101]

District 9 - 8/10

What a breath of fresh air. After a summer filled with crappy, mindless action flicks, District 9 comes along and crushes all of them. It manages to take a concept that has been fucked up over and over again and really makes it something special. It's original, it's entertaining, thought-provoking and even with only a $30 million budget it had better and more realistic special effects than the majority of summer action films released this year. The first quarter is composed of documentary-ish footage which shows perspectives on the situation from several different groups. From civilians, to gang members to government workers, among others. This gives us an excellent sense of the situation and makes it seem like a plausible scenario if in fact a similar situation occurred in real life. The rest of the film, I won't give away at all because the previews have not given it away and I was so satisfied in the end when I knew so little going in. I wouldn't want to ruin the experience for anyone else. I'll just say that the final three quarters basically acts like a regular film and the documentary footage is mostly gone, but there is always a sense of realism. Kudos to Neill Blomkamp for directing the hell out of it and making the documentary footage and regular film footage flow together perfectly. I didn't recognize any of the actors, but they all did a fine job, especially Sharlto Copley. Though the basic plot of the film isn't completely original, the film as a whole IS completely original. The plot you assume going in is really just a surface plot with much more detail and originality underneath. A film has never been presented in this manner before, and you really can't guess what will happen next. The ending is also PITCH perfect. I was wondering after the first three quarters whether or not there was an ending that could satisfy the rest of the film and it certainly does. In fact, the ending is probably my favorite part of the film. It's also an incredibly thought-provoking film. Lots of what ifs, and although the ending is pretty clear cut there are still lots of things to think about. Overall, District 9 is one of the best films of the summer. It's original, entertaining, violent, thought-provoking and immensely interesting. Gives you a little something to chew on rather than just completely forgetting about it like a lot of the action films I have seen this summer. I will need to see it again though as it was such a unique experience and I couldn't have possibly taken it all in. I imagine my rating will go up after future re-watches.

BTW, while I imagine it will have a great opening weekend (my theatre was jammed), there were quite a few walkouts in the first 30-45 minutes. A complete shame that some idiots can sit through the entirety of an overlong and boring G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra or Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, but can't even get through the first thirty minutes of a completely engrossing and unique film like District 9. There seemed to be quite a few people in the audience that enjoyed it, but a lot of people seemed to either dislike it or really didn't know what to think. Similar reactions occurred when I saw Cloverfield. Hopefully the word of mouth will be strong, but based on my screening I don't know how long this one will last at the box-office after opening weekend.

[FireCaptain4]

Fantastic reviews guys and I'm glad to see so many loved the movie. However, I must say that I'm not really hoping for a District 10. I can't image a sequel as District 9, I think, was made all that much more powerful by its ending. Then again Neill Blomkamp is incredibly talented and if he pounds out an idea, I'm sure it will be fantastic.

So, do people think Blomkamp is going places? I think he could be a titan filmmaker in the future.

[FireCaptain4]

BTW, while I imagine it will have a great opening weekend (my theatre was jammed), there were quite a few walkouts in the first 30-45 minutes. A complete shame that some idiots can sit through the entirety of an overlong and boring G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra or Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, but can't even get through the first thirty minutes of a completely engrossing and unique film like District 9.

The same thing happened in my theater, Bourne, and I couldn't believe it. It's like all the stories I hear about people walking out on 2001: A Space Odyssey-- it's an amazing film and I can't imagine why people wouldn't want to experience it. Hopefully District makes profit, it deserves far more than it'll get.

[drc5145]

Prelude: What follows is a combination of a review and a plot/theme analysis of the 2009 Neill Blomkamp picture, District 9. Though effort was taken not to ruin events in the later half of the film, there are spoilers ahead. For those who have not yet seen the film, you may want to approach with caution.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

District 9 (2009)

http://i281.photobucket.com/albums/kk202/TheDeadMayTasteBad/district9poster.jpg

Directed by Neill Blomkamp
Written by Neill Blomkamp and Teri Tatchell
Runtime: 112 minutes (1 hr. 52 min.)


The arrival of Blomkamp’s “District 9” should shake the foundations of the sci-fi genre and remind enthusiasts of the fresh ingenuity and excitement when Ridley Scott’s “Alien” or James Cameron’s “The Terminator” first hit the screen. District 9 is, without a doubt, the arrival of something exceptional.

While a dystopia film, there’s no World War Terminus in District 9. They’re dystopia is our dystopia and the very real world we live in now. Unlike most films, the aliens here are whom we are meant to sympathize with and the war they do face is the war between prejudice and tolerance underneath the surface of the human mask.

Joburg has been the home for the almost 2 million aliens for two decades in a sealed off compound referred to District 9. We’re not entirely sure how or why their mother ship ended up above Joburg but their presence is felt nonetheless. Responsible for their well-being while present, though wholly uninterested, is the Multi-National United (MNU). The MNU is the second largest supplier of weaponry on Earth, and already we can assume what their intentions are with the alien refugees.

The film picks up with a new mission being put on by the MNU to relocate/evict the alien inhabitants of District 9 to a tenth district. There, supposedly better living environments are present, though it’s more in compliance with the wishes of the Joburg human population by taking the aliens away from Joburg and to a more isolated habitat away from human civilization. One Wikus Van De Merwe (Sharlto Copley, who also starred in Neil blackdamp‘s “Alive in Joburg“) is a head of this mission. He’s the son in law to higher-up in the MNU and is in charge of organizing the movement between the two compounds. On the first day of this debacle. Merwe is shown as being opposed, initially, to as much military involvement as there is. He doesn’t like the amount of ammunition the military is bringing into District 9, though it seems to become somewhat of a necessity as they enter the camps. Merwe proceeds to go from home to home and call out prawns for evictions, manipulate them into signing documents on approval for the evicting, while also aiding the military in investigations into their homes, looking for weapons and any materials/activities that the aliens supposedly don’t have a license for. A new Trail of Tears for the 21st Century.

http://a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465/1d/www.nationalpost.com/arts/1885858.bin?size=404x272

Not all is what is seems in District 9. Even three prawns are working on something secret that needs to avoid detection by human eyes. These prawns are Christopher, his son, and a fellow friend (unnamed) that are gathering fallen parts of their alien ship and collecting a liquid substance inside of them for some unknown reason. The extraction of the fluid takes place at the unnamed prawns house when Merwe and the military escorts arrive there to search the home. Christopher escapes home to his son, but a vile full of the extracted liquid is found by Merwe who, tampering with it, opens it briefly, spills some of it upon himself, and consumes some of the substance by accident. It’s this incident that becomes the instigator of the plot that follows.

There’s also a refreshing presence of unpredictability. The picture evolves quite dramatically from the small diagnosis above, and there are plenty of narrative layers for the moviegoers to peel back. For once, we’re delivered a product as original and intelligent as it exciting and entertaining.

The film tells it’s story in guerrilla fashion. The opening and closing of the film are presented as a documentary while the arc between is seen from our perspective. Blomkamp, however, doesn’t even venture to deep in the frenzy of “shakey-cam” and the action, and audience attention-spans, benefit from it.

http://blog.cleveland.com/sun/intermission_impact/2009/08/large_WE8460813c.jpg

The unsympathetic and cold treatment/torture of the aliens grows quite sickening. They are referred to by some as “demons” and the “prawn” name itself carries around degrading connotations. Signs surround the streets of Joburg warn aliens off from public areas. These “prawns” have no private resource for food or other goods and means of living. Instead, they are fenced in and held captive among the rotting slums of District 9. These intelligent and emotional beings are even more sophisticated and advanced in technology than we are and yet they find themselves dependent in a world that they are foreign in and upon people that don’t view them as equals.

The themes or apartied, intolerance, and racial genocide are quite obvious here and one can even drawn comparisons to the treatment of Native Americans by early English settlers. In Daniel K. Richter’s “Facing East from Indian Country,” we receive insight on the invasion on American soil by English colonists from a pieced together Indian perspective formulated objectively by Richter himself. In the work, we are given a clear picture of Indians marked as a resource and Europeans as a commodity. The same can be said for the relationship between the prawns and the various human organizations at work in District 9.

As disease spread and took it’s toll on Native Americans, war and aggression spiked. Disease and its egregious effects can be seen in District 9. The aliens are living in poor conditions, in weakened states, and thus have grown irritable and aggressive. However, “ethnogenisis” is taking place as the alien/prawn population grows and the population of alien refuges are becoming a more permanent feature of Joburg. As Indians became dependant upon European goods, prawns have become dependant as well. Cat food, in particular, is in demand.

http://movieblog.ugo.com/cm/ugo/images/d-9-3.jpg

Along with a threat for survival comes the instinct to defend oneself. The local Nigerians take advantage of this and weapon dealing becomes an issue inside the district. With no concept of cost, the prawns et themselves get taken advantage of. We see this in a scene in which two prawns give up an advanced piece of machinery for only one hundred cans of cat food, allowing the Nigerians to talk them down from their original asking price for thousands of cans. The overwhelming sense of hopelessness in District 9 squelches all alternatives for the prawn populace. Nigerians are cashing in on the prawn misery, the MNC is corrupt and merciless, and starvation persists throughout the slums. What’s the keep the prawns from escalating to war?

In 1675, “praying town” Indians rose against English colonists after the death of John Sassaman. They attacked 52 colonies and murdered families long the way. This assault lead to a relocation of the Indian populace to Boston Harbor islands where disease and harsh weather conditions still persisted. Death followed nonetheless and no doubt the same would occur in District 10 for the prawns. The difference? The people of Joburg wouldn’t have to face the reality of the dying race every day when they looked outside their windows.

Merwe, throughout the picture, slowly tears away from his prejudice and irrationality and, in one dramatic and rewarding scene, opposes the evil perpetrated by intolerance. Unselfishly, he sacrifices for the survival and perseverance of something greater than himself, a entire civilization not his own.

Thus, we arrive at a question posed to us upon completion of this journey. How would the aliens, upon returning from their seven-mooned planet in three years time, greet us? Would they judge our civilization based on the actions and atrocities committed against their kind inside, and outside, the confines of District 9? Would they declare war on our planet? What price will humanity inevitably pay for it’s inhumanity?

Would first contact result in our final war?

http://movieblog.ugo.com/cm/ugo/images/d-9-1.jpg

Awesome Review and this is why District 9 was such a great experience.


If I may add, I'm hoping I did some good pushing of my own...

...2 of my female co-workers were talking about seeing G.I. Joe tonight. I told them myself that people I knew said it sucked and told them they should spend their money wisely and see D9 instead. I told them the idea of "apartheid but involving aliens". One girl was pretty open to the switch, since she was iffy on G.I. Jow anyway. The other I'm not sure. I'm seeing them again tomorrow so I'm hoping my word of mouth helped.

[Bourne101]

Hopefully District makes profit, it deserves far more than it'll get.

I'm sure it will do that. Early reports are saying it's going to open around $30 million (which is its budget), but I was hoping it would have some strong holds at the box-office in the coming weeks, but I just don't know if the mainstream will dig it enough to spread the good and true word.

[FireCaptain4]

Awesome Review and this is why District 9 was such a great experience.


If I may add, I'm hoping I did some good pushing of my own...

...2 of my female co-workers were talking about seeing G.I. Joe tonight. I told them myself that people I knew said it sucked and told them they should spend their money wisely and see D9 instead. I told them the idea of "apartheid but involving aliens". One girl was pretty open to the switch, since she was iffy on G.I. Jow anyway. The other I'm not sure. I'm seeing them again tomorrow so I'm hoping my word of mouth helped.

Thanks and great work, man! I'll going to try and spread the word as much as I can, too. It's up to people like us and try and push average moviegoers into giving this a try when critic opinion isn't enough for them.

*** SPOILERS***

I agree with you in your review when you compliment the action. I though the action was deserved (whereas the action in almost all the other blockbusters this summer was just done for the hell of it). The movie delivered the goods with backing of the powerful story behind it and not just to show stuff blowing up. Also, I thought it was one intense climax. I was cheering on Merwe and the prawn father & son the whole way (after Merwe gets in the suite and gets himself together). This is the only new movie this summer that featured villains that made me truly hate them with a passion.


***END SPOILERS***

[drc5145]

Thanks and great work, man! I'll going to try and spread the word as much as I can, too. It's up to people like us and try and push average moviegoers into giving this a try when critic opinion isn't enough for them.

*** SPOILERS***

I agree with you in your review when you compliment the action. I though the action was deserved (whereas the action in almost all the other blockbusters this summer was just done for the hell of it). The movie delivered the goods with backing of the powerful story behind it and not just to show stuff blowing up. Also, I thought it was one intense climax. I was cheering on Merwe and the prawn father & son the whole way (after Merwe gets in the suite and gets himself together). This is the only new movie this summer that featured villains that made me truly hate them with a passion.


***END SPOILERS***

Exactly. District 9 was some damn good filmmaking altogether, which is more than a lot of summer blockbusters can say.

[Brendan M.]

There was a damn good amount of people in my theater too for a noon time matinee. I didn't notice anyone walk out though cause I'm one of those guys who likes to sit real up close to the screen. My guess is maybe not everyone could stomach the film. I mean it was pretty gorey, and even before that Wikus was throwing up vile and losing fingernails like Jeff Goldblum in The Fly.

I would definitely say this and Star Trek are the best two summer blockbuster special effects films of the year. Although this has a lot more depth than Star Trek (as much as I love that film) so I would definitely say District 9 is the better movie.

[Bahs]

District 9 - 8/10

BTW, while I imagine it will have a great opening weekend (my theatre was jammed), there were quite a few walkouts in the first 30-45 minutes. A complete shame that some idiots can sit through the entirety of an overlong and boring G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra or Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, but can't even get through the first thirty minutes of a completely engrossing and unique film like District 9. There seemed to be quite a few people in the audience that enjoyed it, but a lot of people seemed to either dislike it or really didn't know what to think. Similar reactions occurred when I saw Cloverfield. Hopefully the word of mouth will be strong, but based on my screening I don't know how long this one will last at the box-office after opening weekend.
*FEW SPOILERS AGAIN*

Same thing happened here, people were walking out!?!?!!
One guy brought his young son(10 mabye) to the movie, they walked out after the guy lost his head near the start, . It's a pity that he did not know there would be gore and it is very R rated. Some walk outs when he was vomiting and losing his fingernails.
And i always listen to everyone in the theaters comments after the movie, your right, a lot of people didn't know what to think. i heard some bros say: "I dont know man, it wasn't what i was expecting", i heard a soccer mom (who brought her kids, 3 of them, all looking around the age 10 to 12) say "that was terrible violence!" and looked ashamed.
ugh, moviegoers nowadays, i guess no one researches a movie before they go to it.

for me, i was sold after the mecha violently launched a pig at that guy.:D

[outsyder]

The last 45 min are absolutely heart-pounding.

8/10

[overwatch]

Why does the wikipedia entry for District 9 list it under the category of American films? Isn't it New Zealand or South African?

[Common Sense Man]

Well I had to drive 65 miles to get to a theater to see D9 today and man I would have drove twice that uphill in the snow with no shoes on!

I simply cannot fathom walkouts in this movie, except maybe for dumb ass parents that brought under age kids.

It reminds me when my wife and I went to see Braveheart and in front of us were a couple with 3 girls about 5-9 years old. After the hanging scene at the start we just leaned over to them and said that was mild. The Mom left with the kids but the Dad stayed...lol what an ass.

This movie is going to be the sleeper hit of the summer, it might not make as much as T2 simply because there are too many simpleton movie goers out there that will not comprehend the larger message behind the awesome action.

Hopefully people like us that love movies with good plots, great acting, awesome action and content that makes you think will go back a few times and see this puppy.

Totally up for a D10 if they get the same crew back and do it right.

This is the must see movie of the summer.

Out............................................... ...

[Mr.HyDe807]

There was a damn good amount of people in my theater too for a noon time matinee. I didn't notice anyone walk out though cause I'm one of those guys who likes to sit real up close to the screen. My guess is maybe not everyone could stomach the film. I mean it was pretty gorey, and even before that Wikus was throwing up vile and losing fingernails like Jeff Goldblum in The Fly.

I would definitely say this and Star Trek are the best two summer blockbuster special effects films of the year. Although this has a lot more depth than Star Trek (as much as I love that film) so I would definitely say District 9 is the better movie.

This.

I definitely agree with you there Brendan M. Star Trek was pretty close to an amazing movie experience, where as District 9 just fucking hit it out of the park!

[sbunn10]

I really enjoyed the movie, but it lacked the depth and intelligence to become an instant-classic. The action was pretty intense and well-done though, and I look forward to seeing it again.

8/10

[optimusprime24]

Awesome movie.
10/10

[Gilpesh]

I loved District 9. Although I had two issues with it. The first being the continuing Documentary security footage when the movie movie part started up. I think there should have been a much clearer cut off point so it was easier to adjust instead of the jumping in and out of it. And the other one being:

I have one complaint that didnt sit well with me while watching it.

SPOILERS....


During the last act when our two "heros" were fighting everyone, where were the other aliens? Where did they disappear to? I know they "help" at the end, but why not earlier? I was hoping for and expecting a rush of aliens saving one of the situations but they never came until the very end. And even if they were too scared to help, District 9 seemed so heavily populated I was expecting some alien casualties of even shots of them running away. Its like they are rubbed into our faces in the first half and then just disappear leaving the one and his son and then they are back again...

That. It slightly pulled me out of the movie but when they do fight, sorta made up for it.




Easily a 9/10 after seeing it once. May be bumped by watching it again and noticing more.

[jbar1026]

ive seen it twice now and i hate to say it but my score drops from a 9/10 to a 8/10

still a fantastic movie but i felt the lenght this time!


spoilers kinda...






so the one alien chris johnson must have been the capton of the city ship? he did have the drop ship! but what about all the weapons were the prawns making them? and the mechsuit? i want to say the ship must have been a worker transport or even a prison ship. and as for the end i would have rather a new cityship came down instead of the metal flower making scene


end spoilers

[razgriz21]

4.8/5.0

Intelligent, gory, and entertaining. The length is good for this type of movie and I'm thinking additional content was cut before the theatrical release at least that is what I think.

[Nazgul]

9.5/10

I really enjoyed it. It kept me on my seat the whole time. I really like the Prawn "Christopher", you actually feel for him and his son. You can tell they just wanted to go home. And the last scene was just a perfect way to end this movie.

[darkface]

I loved District 9. Although I had two issues with it. The first being the continuing Documentary security footage when the movie movie part started up. I think there should have been a much clearer cut off point so it was easier to adjust instead of the jumping in and out of it.



The only answer I can think of would be the budget constraints. They made this movie with only a $30mil budget. Which is WAY LOW compared to other blockbusters this year. I think if they had a whole alien population battle, it would have cost the movie too much.

I must say though, they did a great job with a $30 million dollar budget.

[Gilpesh]

The only answer I can think of would be the budget constraints. They made this movie with only a $30mil budget. Which is WAY LOW compared to other blockbusters this year. I think if they had a whole alien population battle, it would have cost the movie too much.

I must say though, they did a great job with a $30 million dollar budget.
Exactly. It's such an issue that would take you out of the movie. Realizing that something isn't happening storywise because of the budget. But like I said, them finally having backbone (even if they probably don't have any) somewhat made up for it.

[LordSimen]

Fun movie. Those damn aliens were so darn cute, even if the main character made me wanna punch him in the face every ten minutes. Definitely a contender for best special effects of the year, hands down. 8/10

[Crazy Dud]

District 9

****1/2 out of ***** (9/10)

Now THIS is how you make a good summer blockbuster! District 9 is everything you could want out of a sci-fi action film: great action, suspense, an interesting premise, commentary on society and the state of mankind, and real human (or, in some instances, non-human) drama and concerns. This film is unrelenting and uncompromising in its vision, as well as in its view of mankind as depraved and wicked in every conceivable way. What is perhaps most impressive about this film is that I always felt like, if such an outlandish premise actually came to pass in the real world, this movie illustrates quite realistically what would probably happen. Special effects are also top-notch, and ILM may have even surpassed Gollum and Kong in creating convincing motion-capture CGI characters, which is good, because the best character in this film is such a creation, and it is quite amazing how the film was able to make an ugly-looking, imtimidating-sounding alien into the film's most sympathetic character, and one you can't help but root for every step of his journey. My only real complaint is that the script relies far too heavily on profanity. I don't state this as a moral judgment, but when harsh language become TOO prevalent in a film, it is often being used for a cheap visceral effect, instead of coming up with more creative dialogue. I only docked the film one point for this, however, because, in all other areas, the film is a masterpiece. If you're a sci-fi fan, this one's a no-brainer. See it immediately! If not, I still highly recommend this to anyone who isn't too squeamish toward graphic violence (this is a VERY violent film). Go support this movie with your money and send a message toward Hollywood that we want more ORIGINAL films, and not just sequels, prequels, and remakes!

[Ender]

I'm often amazed and bewildered at how easily movies can make us identify and sympthasize so strongly and passionately with virtually anything; aliens, robots, and any number of things that don't exist, and yet we're chronically incapable of sympathizing to the same degree with real human beings subjected to similar circumstances.

I liked how the aliens are handled in DISTRICT 9. In most movies aliens are either depraved monsters or condescendingly perfect and faultless angels. Very few movies add much nuance to either formula. But the buggers in D9 seemed just like humans; generally sympathetic and peaceable, but also prone to anger, violence, and irrationality. It's amazing that no one until now thought of the simple yet brilliant notion of making aliens as flawed and contradictory as real people.

The script has some holes in it, but only one is really important...



***SPOILERS!!!***


Wtf? The ship just flies away at the end? I thought it was broken? If they could fly away with it the whole time why did they stay here in the first place? Were they fixing it in secret the whole time? Did Christopher have something with him that made it operate again? Did the kid fix it somehow when he sent the signal? The movie's other various inconsistencies I'm willing to overlook, but this needed explaining.

EDIT: Wikipedia says that the shuttle Christopher is hiding is actually the command module that fell away from the mother ship when it arrived. Assuming this is true, that clears up the mystery, but this was in no way clear in the film, not to me at least.


***END SPOILERS!!!***



DISTRICT 9 is certainly a surprise. The script is troubled and it devolves from an intriguing social parable in the first act to a guts and glory action fest in the last (not that there's anything wrong with that mind you), but the emotional resonance was pronounced and powerful. A movie is allowed to fail at some small things if it succeeds at some very extraordinary ones.

[jbar1026]

***SPOILERS!!!***


Wtf? The ship just flies away at the end? I thought it was broken? If they could fly away with it the whole time why did they stay here in the first place? Were they fixing it in secret the whole time? Did Christopher have something with him that made it operate again? Did the kid fix it somehow when he sent the signal? The movie's other various inconsistencies I'm willing to overlook, but this needed explaining.

EDIT: Wikipedia says that the shuttle Christopher is hiding is actually the command module that fell away from the mother ship when it arrived. Assuming this is true, that clears up the mystery, but this was in no way clear in the film, not to me at least.


***END SPOILERS!!!***



possible spoilers

i think that the ships command moduale used a fuel that ran out. and christopher johnson spent 20 years refining the fluid that is apparently in some of their technology to make that fuel. it would be stupid for the ship itself to run out of power IMO because that would cause it to crash into instead of hover over johanasburg. my problem is if the ship was there for 20 years some humans would have been on it studing everything from engines to air recycling systems of the ship! to take the ship apart would be a massive undertaking. but striping it down of everything not keeping it in the air is a different story. i actually like how the movie is sorta vague on the details but you are right it could have a bit more informative in some places!

[anakinsrise]

A giant saucer shaped spaceship,hovers ominously,over Johannesburg South Africa in District 9.This scene ,a constant one in the film , definitely reminded of sci fi flicks like Independence Day,and yes ID was a fun popcorn flick but it comes nowhere near the inventiveness,and intensity of District 9.
For 20 years the ship has been positioned in the sky,the aliens,called 'prawn" have been coralled,into dingy ghettos,and mingled with the people of Johannesburg .At this point the citizens are fed up with the aliens and their ways,and the cost of keeping them corralled. The aliens also have to deal with cruel Nigerian Warlords.These tensions lead to violence so,MNU (Multi-National United) a private company that has been placed in charge of District 9 relocates the aliens to a section further away from Johannesburg.
Enter Wikus Van De Merwe and MNU worker placed in charge of the "move" he's wide eyed and joyful about his new position,but his fate and life will be changed forever as the secrets of District 9 come to light.To say his eyes will be opened is an understatement.
The first half of the film is shot CNN on location style as we follow Wikus ,the second half is all out action,a bit gory and some may find the violence over the top.
District 9 is also a powerful examination of how fascination,and compassion can turn to hate and resentment.You can definitely liken the story to true life stories of repression and internment camps throughout history
I must applaud Peter Jacksons WETA WORKSHOP for seamlessly blending CGI and live action it added so much to the film
It will be very interesting to see if Jackson and Director/Writer Neill Blomkamp decide to continue this tale,if so im in high anticipation.
Scale of 1-10 a 9

[anakinsrise]

Cant believe the budget was only 30 Mil fantastic!!!!

[blknge89]

The D9 review- after what turned out to be a confusing, annoying mess yesterday with writing my review I'll stop and say this.

try my new D9 game, purchase some food, at the theaters or anywhere else and then by the end of the movie see how much you have remaining. Hell then see how much knowledge of the real world you have left or rather how long it takes to get it all back after the film concludes.

Near perfect film
96/100

[rilocay]

This was really well done - especially considering the budget, very cool. But i have on issue with the subject of the film (and not the film itself) - perfect grounds to explore racism and immigration yet it still takes the tired route of an action film. I was hoping it would have explored more of that subject, but atleast it was featured quite nicely. Great to watch - expecially the effects, those aliens are really outstanding work. My rating im putting here is only my enjoyment of the film - not a technical score, which would fair nicely higher.

7.5/10

[gyro_44]

Is there any kind of a score in the film guys?

Can't wait to see this.

[MightyCelestial]

I really liked this film.
Paticularly after a summer season full of "leave-your-brain-at-the-door" type of blockbusters.
And to be honest, I'm tired of movies that expect me to dumb myself down in order to enjoy 'em (TF2....ugh).
My brain enjoys watching special-effects-laden, action-oriented films just as much as the rest of my senses.
While District 9 isn't going to be a classic as far as script intelliegence is concerned,
for me, it is quite a relief to finally be able to enjoy this kind of movie without having to revert to the mind level of a six year old.

[LordSimen]

Is there any kind of a score in the film guys?

Can't wait to see this.

Yes, there is. I remember a lot of it being mostly ambient but I can't remember whether or not the action sequences had something more or not.

[APzombie]

I projected it opening night. I enjoyed it a lot. It feels like a Paul Vorheevan docu-drama alien invasion. I have a few gripes, the third act is a bit too mindless, the corporation putting in all of this effort to get their weaponry also seems incredibly pointless, as the weapons don't seem to be any different from human weapons (albeit more colorful). I mean even the huge robot thing was taken down just as easily as a tank.

either way. i still enjoyed it, had fun, the crowd really responded. I hope it does well, it deserves the accolades.

[Gilpesh]

I mean even the huge robot thing was taken down just as easily as a tank.
Eh. I bet with one of the more experienced warriors of the aliens... it wouldn't have been.

[Ender]

A tank wouldn't have been able to pick off individual targes with that kind of precision, not to mention speed.

I agree, it's unbelievable that this film cost a fraction of the budget of other summer sci-fi flicks but looked light years better in terms of effects and production values. This says to me that most $130 million films wasted about $100 million.

It's funny, computer created characters are so ubiquituous in movies now I scarcely even think about them, but DISTRICT 9's creatures seemed impressively real. Although when they ran or fought they looked much like effects creatures in other movies (ie, pretty fake), but in the bulk of the scenes they appeared very solid and convincing. Their inhuman faces had an impressive amount of depth and expression. My only complaint is that aside from coloration they all tended to look alike, but perhaps that adds to the racial allegory.

[MisterTwister]

I'm so glad I decided to go out and see this because this is by far my favorite film of the summer (Sorry Star Trek) Great cast, excellent CGI and lots of splatter. Those final 40 minutes are jaw dropping.

9/10

[bigred760]

This movie just hooks you from the get go. Starting with documentary-esque interviews about the alien arrival, how tensions arose, and then the story of the main character getting thrown in there. From there you see how the story goes from the main character getting into his little predicament, how it's handled, and eventually how it turns into a pretty kickass action sequence. Everything from the acting, directing, style, special effects, and story are vey well handled.

8/10

[Bahs]

. Go support this movie with your money and send a message toward Hollywood that we want more ORIGINAL films, and not just sequels, prequels, and remakes!

this.

Eh. I bet with one of the more experienced warriors of the aliens... it wouldn't have been.

of course. if he got in it and was automatically an expert at it it wouldnt have seemed as believable. well if Shia Labeouf from Transformers got in it he would have really whomped everyone no doubt!!!

[labialover]

I really enjoyed it. A breath of fresh air, in what seemed to be a dull summer. As soon as it ended I couldn't stop thinking that it only cost $30 million. I hope word of mouth will carry it for a couple weeks.

8.5/10, maybe a 9.

I only had one minor issue.

SPOILERS

When Christopher and Merwe break into MNU. Merwe punches in the password and his print scan still work. I would think with him being a fugitive, MNU would have changed the password or at least taken his info out of the system. It was just a minor issue though.

END SPOILERS

[Shinigami]

^I was more confused as to how Christopher got from district 9 to MNU. But then the movie returned to district 9 and I was distracted by the action packed finale.

[MarcoPolo]

4/10

******SPOILERS*******

I know I'm in the minority on this one. First I think this movie was not fresh. At all. The character device of "they-are-different-from-us-we-hate-them" blah, blah, blah. Needs to stop. New plot please. Realistic? Doesn't matter. Not entertaining.

There are tons of parallels to old 50s sci-fi and cookie-cutter action movies too. The human-turning-into-the-alien. The humans having prejudice against the aliens. The 1-dimensional "evil" characters too. There were at least three 1-D characters in this movie: the father, the drug lord, and the bounty hunter dude. These are bad guys from Walt Disney movies who simplify their bad guys so children can more easily identify them.

I also don't care for this "documentary" feel style. People who are citing Cloverfield or Blair Witch do so rightfully IMO. It doesn't suspend my disbelief. It feels like a movie trying to feel like a documentary. This dovetails into the next problem: the movie tries to feel realistic sometimes, and other times it acts unrealistic and insists you look the other way at the flaws. The magic liquid---I can see the ad now: "Fuels your ship in a jiff! Also doubles as a metamorphosize-a-human-into-a-prawn serum. Only 20 years to ferment! $19.95. Call now." Then the big falling object falling from the mothership. Dang, did anyone see where that landed? Oh, and the weapons on the ship are now in the 'hood. Don't ask how they got down there. Who programmed the big robot suit to respond to the English word "fire" to shoot weapons and how come the main guy can operate all the alien machinery on the first try, no problems? There are plenty of other "plot holes" in forums out there.

Then there's this whole drone/queen bee analogy. This is supposed to, I guess, account for the disparity in intelligence between Christopher, who is smarter than perhaps any human vs. his peers, who are lascivious primal beasts. Is that how drone/queen creatures work? That brings up another flaw. The prawns supposedly represent the oppressed in Africa and how they are shuffled around by the elite who ignore their dignity. Well, if there IS this disparity between smart prawns and utter insects, then where is analogy? Most of them really are primal beasts. The analogy is then lost.

Then...humans can communicate with the aliens. Fine. Did anyone think to ask them how they got here or how we can help them get back? Anyone? This movie is realistic you know. Feels like a documentary. It parallels how humans really act...bigotry and elitism you know. But...none of the most obvious questions are addressed. Don't ask about the science or what the hell these aliens are all about in any way, shape, or form.

Another character flaw was the wife. She was portrayed as genuinely loving the main guy. She threw him parties. He made her little trinkets. Nice couple. Then as explained in the first phone call, she finds out about his arm, she believes he's not a pervert, but still hangs up---she can't do this. Later she calls under duress pretending to want to make it work. So at the end of the movie it's supposed to be sentimental when she finds the flower. No it's not sentimental. You are glad he's gone. Maybe. She's an inconsistent character.

The redeeming qualities would include the visuals---the prawns were well done. They did a good job portraying the media-government machine who would manipulate the news as they saw fit: i.e. they said the guy was a pervert and that the break-in was terrorism.

[labialover]

^I was more confused as to how Christopher got from district 9 to MNU. But then the movie returned to district 9 and I was distracted by the action packed finale.

I forgot about that. The front of the building just explodes, Christopher or Merwe are no where to be seen.

[overwatch]

4/10

******SPOILERS*******Oh, and the weapons on the ship are now in the 'hood. Don't ask how they got down there. Who programmed the big robot suit to respond to the English word "fire" to shoot weapons and how come the main guy can operate all the alien machinery on the first try, no problems? There are plenty of other "plot holes" in forums out there. It's a suit dude, it's not complicated, it's a big humanoid shaped space with guns attached [/quote]

Then...humans can communicate with the aliens. Fine. Did anyone think to ask them how they got here or how we can help them get back? Anyone?


I'd say the reason why the movie is set 20 YEARS AFTER THE LANDING, was so that they didn't have to focus on these mundane details. Where they were from is not what the movie is about. If they had introduced that information and ignored it, it'd be a much larger script problem. I think it's safe to assume that because the majority of the aliens were stupid they didn't know in what direction they were from and perhaps the smarter ones such as Christopher, thought it was foolish to divulge that information to such a "trustworthy" people. The explanations can go on and one, either way it's not important.

[Venus Venusia]

I am absolutely in love with this movie. Considering I have only known about it for a week, I didn't know what the big deal is. (I don't have tv, so I wasn't aware of the previews or anything.) Then I started reading all these awesome reviews and getting into the hype. So yesterday, my boyfriend and I decided to walk 4 miles (we don't have a car) in 105 degrees Texas heat just to get to a theater. Was it worth it? YOU BET!

I'm not going to go into full review mode, but this film certainly grabs your attention from the start. I had no idea what was going to happen and was just rolling with it. I was laughing at some of the situations and when the first close-up of one of the Prawns came on, I was in disbelief. Talk about beautiful detail! And then...this film got ugly. I actually started getting angry at what was going on. Anger at mankind. Anger at our quickness to turn on each other. And some of the scenes made me feel incredible sadness.

Little did I know that D9 would get even more intense from there. My heart was in my throat for the last half of the movie. I had nooo idea what would happen and when it seemed like everything was going wrong for the ones I was rooting for, I became frustrated. Talk about being emotionally invested! And wow, fantastic character development. Some of the shots were so in your face that you felt as if you were in the middle of the action. Just when I thought the movie would be dwindling down it continued to throw more at us. I was in tears by the end of the movie. This was a very intense and thought-provoking experience. And the final shot was so touching and bittersweet that it has become one of my favorite endings to a movie.

10/10

[dellamorte dellamore]

4 miles ( both ways i assume ) in a 104 degree heat , now that's dedication :)

[Venus Venusia]

It was actually 8 miles total. (To and from). =)))

[dellamorte dellamore]

It was actually 8 miles total. (To and from). =)))

At least you got an idea of the oppressive heat the characters in the movie experienced

[Venus Venusia]

Pahahahahahahahaha!!! Right you are!

[Shinigami]

The 1-dimensional "evil" characters too. There were at least three 1-D characters in this movie: the father, the drug lord, and the bounty hunter dude. These are bad guys from Walt Disney movies who simplify their bad guys so children can more easily identify them.

Walt Disney bad guys don't shoot enemies in the head or eat their enemies or enslave their enemies. Hyperbole aside, I've not come across one praise for this movie that mentioned how dimensional its villains were. This is an old fashioned sci fi movie that settles its theme first and foremost. Approaching the film by how "developed" this character is or that character is misses the point.
Also, this is a summer movie. The reviews might trick people into believing it's something else, but District 9 is just a very good summer movie, with a lot of the summer movie conventions played throughout.

Who programmed the big robot suit to respond to the English word "fire" to shoot weapons and how come the main guy can operate all the alien machinery on the first try, no problems?

Standard action convention. Also mecha conventions, and that's the most important point- all the cords and feelers that went into his face and body presumably synched him up with the mecha's workings so he could move it more intuitively. This is very familiar for people who have read or seen other mechas in movies, books, and television.

This is supposed to, I guess, account for the disparity in intelligence between Christopher, who is smarter than perhaps any human vs. his peers, who are lascivious primal beasts. Is that how drone/queen creatures work? That brings up another flaw. The prawns supposedly represent the oppressed in Africa and how they are shuffled around by the elite who ignore their dignity. Well, if there IS this disparity between smart prawns and utter insects, then where is analogy? Most of them really are primal beasts. The analogy is then lost.

Nothing I remember suggested this analogy, or that Christopher was smarter than the others. It's a standard formula that a mob looks like a mob, so the movie delves deeper into the lives of one among them so we as the audience can see an individual. An individual is smart, groups are stupid. That's the angle through which the prawns are slanted in district 9. imo

Then as explained in the first phone call, she finds out about his arm, she believes he's not a pervert, but still hangs up---she can't do this. Later she calls under duress pretending to want to make it work. So at the end of the movie it's supposed to be sentimental when she finds the flower. No it's not sentimental. You are glad he's gone. Maybe. She's an inconsistent character.


Like anyone in a crisis. I don't remember whether or not, at the time, she knew the stories about him were false. I don't believe she did. All the same, she was just a device. This is a science fiction movie whose most important push was its theme, was its idea. Everyone else were more or less gods in the machine making this idea happen in an entertaining, relatable, immersive way. That's how I saw it.

[the_sneaker]

Three words: Holy fucking shit!

Unlike Cloverfield - where I had knowledge of the film far in advance and followed to viral marketing like it were heroin - District 9 came completely out of left field for me. I had read the name occasioinally here on the web, but that was about it. About two weeks ago, I was hanging out on Digg and was finally introduced to the trailer. Like most of you, I was pretty surprised by it and could not wait to see it.

Well, I just got back...and was blown away. District 9 is the kind of film where you think you have expecations for it...and then those expectations are not me...because anything you expected to happen doesn't. What does happen, though, is your mind is basically blown away by the sheer awesomeness of the film.

I loved that they didn't bury the lead with the aliens in this movie. They put it right on front street that the aliens were there, how we think they came to be there, and what has been going on those past twenty years. In less than five minutes, the film makers managed to bring us up to speed on the back story...and then proceeded to go above and beyond anyhting I could have ever expected from a sci-fi film.

District 9 is original, suspenseful, thoughtful...I could keep going. It has easily become my favorite film of 2009. 8.5/10

[jbar1026]

4/10

******SPOILERS*******

I know I'm in the minority on this one. First I think this movie was not fresh. At all. The character device of "they-are-different-from-us-we-hate-them" blah, blah, blah. Needs to stop. New plot please. Realistic? Doesn't matter. Not entertaining.

There are tons of parallels to old 50s sci-fi and cookie-cutter action movies too. The human-turning-into-the-alien. The humans having prejudice against the aliens. The 1-dimensional "evil" characters too. There were at least three 1-D characters in this movie: the father, the drug lord, and the bounty hunter dude. These are bad guys from Walt Disney movies who simplify their bad guys so children can more easily identify them.

I also don't care for this "documentary" feel style. People who are citing Cloverfield or Blair Witch do so rightfully IMO. It doesn't suspend my disbelief. It feels like a movie trying to feel like a documentary. This dovetails into the next problem: the movie tries to feel realistic sometimes, and other times it acts unrealistic and insists you look the other way at the flaws. The magic liquid---I can see the ad now: "Fuels your ship in a jiff! Also doubles as a metamorphosize-a-human-into-a-prawn serum. Only 20 years to ferment! $19.95. Call now." Then the big falling object falling from the mothership. Dang, did anyone see where that landed? Oh, and the weapons on the ship are now in the 'hood. Don't ask how they got down there. Who programmed the big robot suit to respond to the English word "fire" to shoot weapons and how come the main guy can operate all the alien machinery on the first try, no problems? There are plenty of other "plot holes" in forums out there.

Then there's this whole drone/queen bee analogy. This is supposed to, I guess, account for the disparity in intelligence between Christopher, who is smarter than perhaps any human vs. his peers, who are lascivious primal beasts. Is that how drone/queen creatures work? That brings up another flaw. The prawns supposedly represent the oppressed in Africa and how they are shuffled around by the elite who ignore their dignity. Well, if there IS this disparity between smart prawns and utter insects, then where is analogy? Most of them really are primal beasts. The analogy is then lost.

Then...humans can communicate with the aliens. Fine. Did anyone think to ask them how they got here or how we can help them get back? Anyone? This movie is realistic you know. Feels like a documentary. It parallels how humans really act...bigotry and elitism you know. But...none of the most obvious questions are addressed. Don't ask about the science or what the hell these aliens are all about in any way, shape, or form.

Another character flaw was the wife. She was portrayed as genuinely loving the main guy. She threw him parties. He made her little trinkets. Nice couple. Then as explained in the first phone call, she finds out about his arm, she believes he's not a pervert, but still hangs up---she can't do this. Later she calls under duress pretending to want to make it work. So at the end of the movie it's supposed to be sentimental when she finds the flower. No it's not sentimental. You are glad he's gone. Maybe. She's an inconsistent character.

The redeeming qualities would include the visuals---the prawns were well done. They did a good job portraying the media-government machine who would manipulate the news as they saw fit: i.e. they said the guy was a pervert and that the break-in was terrorism.

all i can assume from this review is you are not a fan of scifi movies. first off the alien ship is more than likely some sort of worker transport. when asked what the problem with the ship was most 90% or better would have no idea how all the machines work. christopher was the captain/commander whatever. thats why he is smarter than the rest and aslo why he had the dropship hidden. as for the liquid serving the purpose of fuel and changing him to a prawn. easy everything the prawns use is geneticly coded and they all have this fluid. connected i would think so!

no the movie isnt perfect. but most of the things you mention as plot holes and detracters are just vague so that you can think about it.

[QUENTIN]

District 9 -a very generous 5/10

So fucking boring. It starts with an interesting enough premise, then does absolutely nothing with it, devolving in under 20 minutes into a completely standard, cliched, run-of-the-mill, stupid Hollywood action movie for the rest of its running length. I didn't give a shit about anyone because there were no real characters, the villains are cardboard cut-outs, the aliens stock characters and the lead an annoying, whiny Michael Scott type who suddenly turns into a competent Rambo-esque badass? Yeah, okay. I didn't give a shit about what happened because it was just blatant and inelegant exposition contrasted with poorly shot and pedestrian firefights. The plot can be described by recycling the tagline from half of Bruckheimer's collection, while occasionally inserting the word "Alien" or "South Africa" and the movie couldn't even decide on a style, as it seemed to want to be a mockumentary with a presumed camera crew shooting the footage ala Cloverfield/Blair Witch or just a regular non-diegetically shot bad action movie ala Bad Boys 2 depending on the scene at hand and switching back and forth randomly. It also has no ending. I enjoy ambiguity and open-endedness a lot when done right, this movie just didn't have a fucking ending, no satisfaction or resolution. I had trouble staying awake during the last 45 minutes of the movie and it was a midday screening. A little sprinkling of obvious and trite socio-political commentary is not enough to save an otherwise completely hackneyed and uninvolving shoot-em-up. Racism is bad and humans can be awful, especially multinational corporatations? Yeah, duh, I fail to see how this is any more probing or insightful than the similar and similarly crappy Doomsday of last year.

Oh, and I love sci-fi movies. 2001 and Children of Men are both in my all-time top ten.

[Digifruitella]

dazzling and immersive film from the very beginning to the very end. Truly refreshing piece of filmmaking. The cinematography techniques added greatly to the grittiness of the film and the atmosphere. Reminded me a lot of how James Cameron used the POV cam footage of the soldiers when they go into the colony complex. That film grain/slow shutter effect.

VFX of the mothership are mindboggling. Sharlto Copley's unprofessional acting resume is absolutely awe-inspiring. Wow.

8/10. But I have a strong feeling on repeat viewings, it'll go to a 9.

[JumpSpider]

Saw it tonight and it wasn't magnificent but not awful either. It had a good set up but didn't follow through. A third of the way through it's just another generic action movie and the ending was a mess, I didn't buy into it at all. But, stuff blew up, gore flew, the aliens were neat and ultimately I didn't fall asleep so what's that, like a 6 on a ten-scale? (6/10)

I can kind of see the Cloverfield comparisons that keep cropping up... I hated that movie.

[Lazy Boy]

5/10

Disappointing. There is a noticeable fall off from the first half, which intriguingly sets up this allegory that could be perceived as real, a cry against apartheid, blah blah, all that interesting stuff, and then the director had to get his first-person video jollies off and turn the film into a shoot-'em-up. Really boring seeing a whole lot CGI red in that final act -- shouldn't all the momentum have led to something thrilling? So it pains me to think that all this talk of intelligent sci-fi is looking at the wrong film, and filmmaker.

For all the cheap tries at forced emotion (the slow motion, the wailing woman on the soundtrack) and the flat ending (maybe they should've added more money to the budget in order to not rush out the ol' title card to explain everything), Blomkamp squanders the good stuff in the first half. I expect PJ had a hand in the producing aspect of said slow motion scenes (which feel anticlimactic) and the gross out aspect is culled directly from Jackson's work on Dead Alive (which the birthday sequence feels cribbed from). Not everything can be original, but I felt like I was watching moments from far better movies, and indeed, the prawn design does bring back memories of Cronenberg's brutally emotional The Fly, a better film.

It's also kind of bizarrely racist in a way, what with it's gangland leader and the whole voodoo aspect, played in broad, ugly strokes, crooked yellow teeth and all.

Quentin's thoughts are symbiotic with my own -- didn't buy the transition from the pseudo documentary Office dweeb character turning into a pumped up, enraged Robert Carlyle/Daniel Day Lewis impersonator (though I will say that Copley is pretty good for not having any credits as an actor).

[gyro_44]

I found this film unique, exciting, and even moving at times toward the end. I'm still thinking about it a day later.

Superb effects... I could really see the humanity in the eyes of Christopher. Flawed, but I was involved almost all of the way through and walked out feeling like I had seen something a little special

8/10 (could easily go up on further viewings)

[dellamorte dellamore]

Uh oh , the hype has died down already , oh well , i decided not to see this today because of some of the things i was hearing from people that saw it and things i've read on here . Too many cliches and sledgehammer messages without a unique exploration into the alien world .

I seriously wanted them to make the secret something like we are descendants of Aliens or something , these directors have to seriously start thinking outside of the lens .

I still want to see it and i'm not trying to discourage anyone from watching it , nor am i disparaging the people who enjoyed it , it's just starting to feel like the film has been elevated to must see because Terminator and T2 were so disappointing , we were desperate for anything to take the bad taste out of our mouths when it came to recent sci fi summer offerings ( ST , it was a disappointment to me , so i was still searching after those three )

I'm waiting for Blu Ray , and will post no more in this thread until i see it .

[bigred760]

Uh oh , the hype has died down already , oh well , i decided not to see this today because of some of the things i was hearing from people that saw it and things i've read on here.

The hype has died down?

Too many cliches and sledgehammer messages without a unique exploration into the alien world.

This movie is a lot of things . . . cliche isn't one of them.

I seriously wanted them to make the secret something like we are descendants of Aliens or something , these directors have to seriously start thinking outside of the lens.

What secret? There is no secret. The movie is pretty straight forward in its story, message, and characters.

I still want to see it and i'm not trying to discourage anyone from watching it , nor am i disparaging the people who enjoyed it , it's just starting to feel like the film has been elevated to must see because Terminator and T2 were so disappointing , we were desperate for anything to take the bad taste out of our mouths when it came to recent sci fi summer offerings ( ST , it was a disappointment to me , so i was still searching after those three )


I don't know about "must-see," but it was a fun, unique sci-fi action movie.

[MarcoPolo]

tandard, cliched, run-of-the-mill, stupid Hollywood action movie for the rest of its running length. I didn't give a shit about anyone because there were no real characters, the villains are cardboard cut-outs.......trite socio-political commentary.

I'm with you there.

[bigred760]

District 9 a completely standard, cliched, run-of-the-mill, stupid Hollywood action movie for the rest of its running length.

I'm with you there.

What did you guys think was so cliche about it?

[MarcoPolo]

What did you guys think was so cliche about it?

I gave it a longer review earlier in the thread, but basically I'm spent on the "they are different from us, we hate them" theme, the 1-D villans, and it dovetails from there.

[MarcoPolo]

It's also kind of bizarrely racist in a way, what with it's gangland leader and the whole voodoo aspect, played in broad, ugly strokes, crooked yellow teeth and all.

I would have to disagree with this example...there isn't a single redeeming white character in the movie either:

Main guy: totally selfish
The dad: Blackheart
The bounty hunter: Cold murderer--big cliche character
The wife: Not devoted

All of the white characters look down on someone, whether it be on other characters or the aliens...they are elitists.

The only decent human portrayed in the movie I can remember is the black guy who didn't get a bulletproof vest.

But I can agree with a lot of the rest of your post. :D

[bigred760]

I would have to disagree with this example...there isn't a single redeeming white character in the movie either:

Main guy: totally selfish


I don't quite see how he's selfish. He's running for his life through most of the movie. And before that he comes off as something of a goober. And even if he is racist towards the aliens, he's definitely not as bad as most of the other characters. He's definitely the most sympathetic of the human characters in the movie. Plus, he does end up helping Chris at the end, even though it doesn't help him in any way.

And how is the wife not devoted. She shunned him in one scene in the movie, then a few minutes later calls him back and tells him how she wants everything to be normal again. I think the end of the movie, where she's holding the delivered flower in her hand, showed her devotion too.

[fooknasty]

And how is the wife not devoted. She shunned him in one scene in the movie, then a few minutes later calls him back and tells him how she wants everything to be normal again. I think the end of the movie, where she's holding the delivered flower in her hand, showed her devotion too.

Initially I thought the wife called so that MNU could track the phone call.

[gyro_44]

Uh oh , the hype has died down already , oh well , i decided not to see this today because of some of the things i was hearing from people that saw it and things i've read on here . Too many cliches and sledgehammer messages without a unique exploration into the alien world .
I'm no fan of emoticons but if I was, this one seems appropriate here....

:rolleyes:

Good lord.

[corran horn]

I'm no fan of emoticons but if I was, this one seems appropriate here....

:rolleyes:

Good lord.

Just ignore him. DD seldom has anything good to say about anything.

[jbar1026]

District 9 -a very generous 5/10

It also has no ending. I enjoy ambiguity and open-endedness a lot when done right, this movie just didn't have a fucking ending

i have to ask what happened in the last 5-10 min of the movie. the movie i saw had an ending. now you could drive a truck thru how open ended the end is but it definately had one.

spoilers

what i saw was
we find out what happens to wikus
we see chris on his way to his home planet
we find out that MNUs experiments on the prawn have been made public

[someguy]

I'm more in line with Quentin and Lazy Boy's thoughts on this, but I liked it a bit more (I'd give it a 6 probably). I think that it squandered a neat concept and by the end I was actually hoping that they would have stuck with the mockumentary aspect. The shifts between the documentary and cinematic styles are too jarring, the tacking on of the docu part at the end after the slew of big action sequences is probably the best example of how weird clashing the two together was. Once the documentary aspect completely went away it ended up being a pretty generic and boring action movie, right down to the typical 'go on without me!' exchange.

On the plus side I liked the concept, Sharlto Copley did a great job for a unprofessional actor, the sfx were really impressive for the small budget and there were a few howlers with various people being zapped by the alien weaponry. Pretty disappointing movie though.

[the_sneaker]

The shifts between the documentary and cinematic styles are too jarring

I can understand where you're coming from, someguy...but personally, I found it almost invigorating, if that's the right word to use. I really felt that the two different styles were blended together very well, giving the audience a nice mixture of very opposing movie motifs.

Sharlto Copley did a great job for a unprofessional actor

Absolutely. After watching it a second time, I was still surprised to see the transition that Copley pulled off with the character of Wikus from the very beginning to the end.

[LordSimen]

The shifts between the documentary and cinematic styles are too jarring, the tacking on of the docu part at the end after the slew of big action sequences is probably the best example of how weird clashing the two together was.

This is actually my second biggest complaint with the movie. I loved the heck out of it, but the mixing of the documentary and live actoin just didn't work well at all. One minute you're to believe you're watching a documentary, then next minute you're inside a shack where no cameras exist with no real transition between them... Then you're back outside in Documentary mode. Just didn't mesh.

[DaMovieMan]

I'm totally torn about whether i need to see this in cinemas or not. Most people love it but the two people I have very similar tastes to give it completely average ratings.

Shite.

[MisterTwister]

I understand not liking the film but calling it boring? Come on now:rolleyes:

[FireCaptain4]

DaMovieMan, I'd encourage you to see it if you find the time simply because it's an original sci-fi film. I've noticed our tastes are rather different (there's some really campy ans cheesy fluff out there I dig-- Invasion of the Saucer Men, Zardoz, Barbarella... enough said), but how often do we recieve completely (or mostly) fresh sci-fi flicks?

I personally think it's a masterpiece and the best film of '08 thus far, though Coraline and Up are great too.

[ericdraven]

i have to ask what happened in the last 5-10 min of the movie. the movie i saw had an ending. now you could drive a truck thru how open ended the end is but it definately had one.

spoilers

what i saw was
we find out what happens to wikus
we see chris on his way to his home planet
we find out that MNUs experiments on the prawn have been made public

They never really say what happens to Wikus. People assume he died. I just think he turned into a full alien/prawn.

[Gilpesh]

They never really say what happens to Wikus. People assume he died. I just think he turned into a full alien/prawn.
They sort of flat out said what happened to Wikus. :confused:

[ericdraven]

They sort of flat out said what happened to Wikus. :confused:

Not really, they just show a alien making a flower out of metal, and we assume it's Wikus because his old hobby was doing that.

[Gilpesh]

Not really, they just show a alien making a flower out of metal, and we assume it's Wikus because his old hobby was doing that.
It's WIKUS! DON'T SAY DIFFERENT! :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: [/doesn't want hopes dashed]


But seriously. I don't think that DNA switch would kill Wikus (in the movie world of District 9). I mean, it may indirectly kill him if an MNU employee just offed him like he was another alien. And I doubt Chris would be such a bastard to say to Wikus that he would be fine, when he really wasn't going to be.

[bigred760]

Initially I thought the wife called so that MNU could track the phone call.

To be honest, so did I. But that changed for me at the ending and considering that her father was not with her when she made the call, but with the military guy.

[LordSimen]

****SPOILERS****

Not really, they just show a alien making a flower out of metal, and we assume it's Wikus because his old hobby was doing that.

Given that there was no other alien character introduced that would be around for that ending that could possibly be the "flower builder," I'm pretty sure it's safe to say they flat out told us. We knew the entire film he was turning into one of them, and the only way that scene would make any coherent sense is if it's him. Otherwise there would be no real reason for the alien flower builder to even exist, and it'd be just a random moment with no logic behind it.

[jbar1026]

spoilers

They never really say what happens to Wikus. People assume he died. I just think he turned into a full alien/prawn.

spoilers
he did turn into an alien! he used to make things for his wife. his wife finds a metal flower. one of the aliens is making metal flowers. all of this points to the fact that the film maker wanted us to beleive that he is alive and is an alien.

[jbar1026]

To be honest, so did I. But that changed for me at the ending and considering that her father was not with her when she made the call, but with the military guy.

i thought that she was setting him up with both calls. then by the end of the movie the real story had come out about everything including her fathers involment in the torture/experiment on the prawn. so she knew the truth during her final scene and actually missed wikus.

[figo900]

Saw it last night with my wife and brother, absolutely loved it, movie was just amazing to watch, I was enthralled in it from start to finish, as was my wife and brother. 9.5/10.

[JoeChar4321]

4/10

******SPOILERS*******

I know I'm in the minority on this one. First I think this movie was not fresh. At all. The character device of "they-are-different-from-us-we-hate-them" blah, blah, blah. Needs to stop. New plot please. Realistic? Doesn't matter. Not entertaining.

There are tons of parallels to old 50s sci-fi and cookie-cutter action movies too. The human-turning-into-the-alien. The humans having prejudice against the aliens. The 1-dimensional "evil" characters too. There were at least three 1-D characters in this movie: the father, the drug lord, and the bounty hunter dude. These are bad guys from Walt Disney movies who simplify their bad guys so children can more easily identify them.

I also don't care for this "documentary" feel style. People who are citing Cloverfield or Blair Witch do so rightfully IMO. It doesn't suspend my disbelief. It feels like a movie trying to feel like a documentary. This dovetails into the next problem: the movie tries to feel realistic sometimes, and other times it acts unrealistic and insists you look the other way at the flaws. The magic liquid---I can see the ad now: "Fuels your ship in a jiff! Also doubles as a metamorphosize-a-human-into-a-prawn serum. Only 20 years to ferment! $19.95. Call now." Then the big falling object falling from the mothership. Dang, did anyone see where that landed? Oh, and the weapons on the ship are now in the 'hood. Don't ask how they got down there. Who programmed the big robot suit to respond to the English word "fire" to shoot weapons and how come the main guy can operate all the alien machinery on the first try, no problems? There are plenty of other "plot holes" in forums out there.

Then there's this whole drone/queen bee analogy. This is supposed to, I guess, account for the disparity in intelligence between Christopher, who is smarter than perhaps any human vs. his peers, who are lascivious primal beasts. Is that how drone/queen creatures work? That brings up another flaw. The prawns supposedly represent the oppressed in Africa and how they are shuffled around by the elite who ignore their dignity. Well, if there IS this disparity between smart prawns and utter insects, then where is analogy? Most of them really are primal beasts. The analogy is then lost.

Then...humans can communicate with the aliens. Fine. Did anyone think to ask them how they got here or how we can help them get back? Anyone? This movie is realistic you know. Feels like a documentary. It parallels how humans really act...bigotry and elitism you know. But...none of the most obvious questions are addressed. Don't ask about the science or what the hell these aliens are all about in any way, shape, or form.

Another character flaw was the wife. She was portrayed as genuinely loving the main guy. She threw him parties. He made her little trinkets. Nice couple. Then as explained in the first phone call, she finds out about his arm, she believes he's not a pervert, but still hangs up---she can't do this. Later she calls under duress pretending to want to make it work. So at the end of the movie it's supposed to be sentimental when she finds the flower. No it's not sentimental. You are glad he's gone. Maybe. She's an inconsistent character.

The redeeming qualities would include the visuals---the prawns were well done. They did a good job portraying the media-government machine who would manipulate the news as they saw fit: i.e. they said the guy was a pervert and that the break-in was terrorism.

You may be in the minority but I have to say you are 100% right.

I honestly don't understand all the love for this film. I love sci-fi but there’s really nothing of substance here at all. The ridiculous overall notion aside, the story really wasn't told very well. Forget about adding depth or reality, the mix of point of view documentary, live TV coverage and regular film was poorly executed. It just doesn't work when you intermix those presentations throughout a film. The characters themselves were all unsympathetic, even the lead. His physical transformation is tragic (and gross) but every human is portrayed as a major a-hole. The violence was disgusting but I need more from my cinema than exploding humans and funky looking prawn aliens. The Iron Man meets Transformers exo-suit action at the end helps save the film as warped popcorn entertainment but that comes far too late to even care. BTW- There's 1.8 million aliens yet what amounts to two of them takes down the MNU complex? The story doesn't even hold up under its own weight.

4/10

[Sgizzy316]

Don't know what a lot of you all are talking about here. Guess it's just a difference of opinion but I really enjoyed the movie. I loved all of the metaphors referring the Palestinian/Israeli struggle also with the battle for fluid (oil) and weaponry. District 9 was very entertaining to me

8.5/10

[gyro_44]

***** SPOILERS *****



Not really, they just show a alien making a flower out of metal, and we assume it's Wikus because his old hobby was doing that.


Uhhhmmm... I think it's made pretty clear that it is Wikus. Why would any other alien make one of those? And it looked like he was still wearing the same clothes.

It's pretty cut and dry.

[DaMovieMan]

DaMovieMan, I'd encourage you to see it if you find the time simply because it's an original sci-fi film. I've noticed our tastes are rather different (there's some really campy ans cheesy fluff out there I dig-- Invasion of the Saucer Men, Zardoz, Barbarella... enough said), but how often do we recieve completely (or mostly) fresh sci-fi flicks?

I personally think it's a masterpiece and the best film of '08 thus far, though Coraline and Up are great too.

Thanks dude, I saw it and fucking loved it! 8/10

Extremely original take on the whole alien thing, it didn't bother me at all that they switched from a documentary style to feature film simply because the documentary stuff looked as good as the feature film and because the film is shown through various ways including computer monitors, video cameras, etc. So that was fine. The story was great and the ending was fantastic,


SPOILERS




That alien at the end is obviously Wikus (who by the way was played fantastically by the no-name actor).





END OF SPOILERS




Really fun times at the cinema, the graphics were superb too. Now I can't wait for Sunday (Basterd times :D)

[JoeChar4321]

I hate to say it but it seems this movie is geared for a certain crowd. "Regular" movie goers are ignoring it and the offbeat sci-fi and easy to please crowd is flocking to see it. They love what they see and are tainting perceptions. Jaded critics who simply like to see something different for difference sake aside, it's simply not a very good movie on any front.

[drc5145]

I hate to say it but it seems this movie is geared for a certain crowd. "Regular" movie goers are ignoring it and the offbeat sci-fi and easy to please crowd is flocking to see it. They love what they see and are tainting perceptions. Jaded critics who simply like to see something different for difference sake aside, it's simply not a very good movie on any front.

Isn't it simply possible people like it because it's actually a good film? Nothing more, Nothing Less? I don't get that "tainting perceptions" part...explain?

[overwatch]

Isn't it simply possible people like it because it's actually a good film?

OF COURSE NOT. It's obviously been well received because it's a bad movie, understand?

[jbar1026]

I hate to say it but it seems this movie is geared for a certain crowd. "Regular" movie goers are ignoring it and the offbeat sci-fi and easy to please crowd is flocking to see it. They love what they see and are tainting perceptions. Jaded critics who simply like to see something different for difference sake aside, it's simply not a very good movie on any front.

hey! im a "regular" movie goer. and i like all types of scifi. loved star trek, gattica, star wars, the fifth element, serinity and district 9. i can see why people can not like district 9. ive seen it twice and IMO it feels longer than it is. also it could provide a tade more information in certain places instead of giving you just enough information to make you guess.

[chelovek]

Shallow, extremely poorly written, but moderately entertaining. 6.5/10

I'm sometimes tempted to give it a 10/10, simply because of the entertainment value it brings me when people start talking about how it's "smart" it is, or (this is a good one) how it's a "breath of fresh air from all those mindless action movies". The funniest ones are when they seem to have sincerely convinced themselves about how deep it was, how amazing the characters were, how emotional it was, etc. And, of course, all this blubbering praise also comes from the same people who trashed Terminator because of its lack of character development. Great stuff. :D

Ebert's review did shed some light on subtle cultural things I was unaware of, but either way, the movie abandoned its creativity and its potential to be culturally relevant or insightful after about 20 minutes. "Hey look, the aliens in our movie are somewhat comparable to human refugee populations and there's an apartheid parallel. Okay, now we're going to just have a standard, highly-contrived, and sometimes nonsensical thriller. Enjoy!"

[CMAGUS]

I finally saw this last night and I gotta say it was a good movie.I liked how it took on scifi and it didn't have to be all this futuristic glowy green metallic scifi it was just down to earth.

The main actor I thought did a good job he fit the role nicely and I also like how his character evolved throughout the movie personality wise. Good film 8.5/10

[MarcoPolo]

I don't quite see how he's selfish. He's running for his life through most of the movie. And before that he comes off as something of a goober. And even if he is racist towards the aliens, he's definitely not as bad as most of the other characters. He's definitely the most sympathetic of the human characters in the movie. Plus, he does end up helping Chris at the end, even though it doesn't help him in any way.

And how is the wife not devoted. She shunned him in one scene in the movie, then a few minutes later calls him back and tells him how she wants everything to be normal again.****SPOILERS*****
The wife's second phone call was made under duress by MNU to trace Wikus' location. She sold him out.

As to Wikus' selfishness, I think that was the whole premise of his character. He can't wipe the smile off his face when he's appointed the leader of the eviction process. He's on the helicopter and his partner doesn't have a bullet proof vest...Wikus doesn't care as long as he has one. He loves being on camera except when he's embarrassed. When Christopher tells him it will be 3 years before he can get back, he knocks him out and tries to escape on his own...screw Christopher and the aliens! Not until he is getting beat up by the bounty hunters does he help Christopher, because at that point he again sees Christopher as his only hope to no longer be a horrible alien. He is selfish from the start to the finish.

[bigred760]

****SPOILERS*****
The wife's second phone call was made under duress by MNU to trace Wikus' location. She sold him out.

As to Wikus' selfishness, I think that was the whole premise of his character. He can't wipe the smile off his face when he's appointed the leader of the eviction process. He's on the helicopter and his partner doesn't have a bullet proof vest...Wikus doesn't care as long as he has one. He loves being on camera except when he's embarrassed. When Christopher tells him it will be 3 years before he can get back, he knocks him out and tries to escape on his own...screw Christopher and the aliens! Not until he is getting beat up by the bounty hunters does he help Christopher, because at that point he again sees Christopher as his only hope to no longer be a horrible alien. He is selfish from the start to the finish.


All good points. I'm not exactly sold on his wife selling him out, mostly because of the final movie scene, but the rest are very true. He is somewhat of an anti-hero, at least until the very end when he basically accepts what has happened to him.

[Badbird]

I was enjoying the movie, but not really completely sold on it for a while. I was getting a "eh, it's okay" vibe for a good chunk of it, but then the final thirty minutes arrived, and, wow, did this thing skyrocket into greatness.

The only one complaint I really have is that I think they did a little too much exposition through the interviews at the beginning and end. I was like, "Okay, I get it. This is some fucked up shit."

Remarkable film making for such a small budget, but I think people are going a little too ga-ga over the effects. The CGI was great, but not leaps and bounds better than something like Transformers. The CG was just as good as any other big FX movies - meaning there were some utterly photorealistic, completely convincing elements, but there were also plenty of obvious stand out shots that weren't perfect.

That being sad, this has become my favorite movie for this year.

9/10 - which may go up on a second watch.

[Abbie Normal]

I saw this last night and I loved it. I read a few reviews a few minutes ago and all I will say is those of you who did not like the movie are haters. This movie was awesome. Very original. I was interested the entire time. I can't wait for District 10.

It did very much remind me of Israel - Palestine.

I think there are a lot of people in Hollywood ripping off the studios, because the special effects were awesome in this movie and had a super low cost. Had an American studio made it, the cost would have been at least triple. I don't want to ever hear again about costs of making CGI movies.

9/10

[LordSimen]

Few things about the cost of this movie: Known American actors tend to ask for more than unknown foreign actors in terms of their paycheck. It tends to cost much more to shoot in the U.S. than it does in most foreign countries, especially places like South Africa. This combined with multiple other factors are why a movie like Transformers costs the amount it does and District 9 the amount it does.

[Frosty_86]

I finally got to see it today. I agree with pretty much everything Abbie said. I thought it was fantastic, the special effects were excellent. I was interested the entire time, the acting was excellent same with the direction. My only one complaint was I felt like I already knew the ending before I saw it but I still enjoyed every minute of it.

9/10

[jbar1026]

Few things about the cost of this movie: Known American actors tend to ask for more than unknown foreign actors in terms of their paycheck. It tends to cost much more to shoot in the U.S. than it does in most foreign countries, especially places like South Africa. This combined with multiple other factors are why a movie like Transformers costs the amount it does and District 9 the amount it does.

im sure this is true but really 30mil - 180/200mil. thats kind of crazy

[Abbie Normal]

Few things about the cost of this movie: Known American actors tend to ask for more than unknown foreign actors in terms of their paycheck. It tends to cost much more to shoot in the U.S. than it does in most foreign countries, especially places like South Africa. This combined with multiple other factors are why a movie like Transformers costs the amount it does and District 9 the amount it does.

I buy the increased costs of shooting in the United States, but everything else lends itself to the conclusion that people who make movies are making way too much money. It think it has been more than proven that "stars" do not account for as much box office grosses than reported, so they do not deserve the millions of dollars they get. I have neighbors that do various things like cameramen to editing people and they all make a pretty penny. Much more than they really deserve for a few months worth of work.

Perhaps it is high time that what people make to make movies is scaled back a bunch and in turn the cost to see a movie or buy a dvd will go down. Maybe theaters will make a little more profit from the movie itself and lower the costs of popcorn and soda and also cut down on all the fucking commercials I have to see before the trailers start. These are all things we the people who see and buy movies complain about. We are the people who allow all these people in Hollywood to make as much as they do. Maybe it is time we stop supporting Hollywood the way we do until they make some changes.

District 9 (as well as many others) is a movie that was quite inexpensive to make and was still a quality movie with top notch effects. We did not need any stars to act in this movie. I am quite sure South Africa did not have unions bumping up the costs. This movie should serve as an example to Hollywood that they need to shape up.

Hmmm went into quite a rant there. Maybe I should post it there. I think I will.

[jbar1026]

All good points. I'm not exactly sold on his wife selling him out, mostly because of the final movie scene, but the rest are very true. He is somewhat of an anti-hero, at least until the very end when he basically accepts what has happened to him.
spoilers

she did sell him out but only because she didnt have all the facts. her last clip was from an interview after chris left. and you are right he (wikus)was a bit of a bastard but at the very end when he is running toward the drop ship with chris and the mechsuit is damaged he tells chris to go on to his son. he would stay and hold them off.

[overwatch]

I buy the increased costs of shooting in the United States, but everything else lends itself to the conclusion that people who make movies are making way too much money. It think it has been more than proven that "stars" do not account for as much box office grosses than reported, so they do not deserve the millions of dollars they get. I have neighbors that do various things like cameramen to editing people and they all make a pretty penny. Much more than they really deserve for a few months worth of work.
When it comes to movies like Transformers, stuff with $200 million budgets, everyone involved deserves big bucks, because the studios are earning 2-3 times what the movie costs. It's easy investment. Tom Hanks earned like $70 million from the DaVinci Code. And he knew that movie would make a crap load of money, so instead of having a more normal $20 mil salary. He demanded more gross points because he knew the money would just go straight back to the greedy studio heads otherwise. And I'd much rather it go to Tom Hanks than the fuckers that green light shit like Transformers and GI Joe.

[Jig Saw 123]

There comes a sci-fi film that stands above the rest every few years and shows the genre isn't dead. District 9 is truly the best sci-fi film in the past two years. I don't get what everyone is saying about the film is not realistic, of course it isn't as soon as you add the alien factor, being realistic no longer needs to apply. What makes the film so good is not only is wonderful showing of discrimination and desperation, but its ability to show so much and have great actors on such a relatively small budget. I really do look forward to a sequel and its possible potential of being able to go in almost any direction. This is definitely the best film of the summer hands down.

9/10

[corran horn]

In what has to be 2009's best directorial debuts, Neill Blomkamp has made the summer's best live-action film and one of the decade's best sci-fi films. Combining amazingly realistic effects with an effective blend of drama, comedy, and things that go splat, this first-timer has put many other, more experienced directors to shame. I look forward to seeing more from him, whether in the D9 universe or somewhere else.

Credit must also go to Peter Jackson for standing by Blomkamp and helping him make his own film after HALO's plug was pulled.

For a first-time actor, Sharlto Copely gave a better performance than many supposedly "professional actors" could ever hope to give, and I have a feeling his phone is ringing off the hook as we speak. I was also pleased by Jason Cope's work as Christopher Johnson. It isn't easy to make an alien appealing (especially one that resembles seafood), but he pulled it off.

Lastly, a big shout-out to WETA for the effects. Aside from a few glaring exceptions (the pig toss for one), I was truly impressed with how well-done the effects were, especially given the $30M budget.

All in all, an excellent way to close off the summer movie season (along with IB) and proof that sci-fi is still kicking.

9.5/10

[corran horn]

I hate to say it but it seems this movie is geared for a certain crowd. "Regular" movie goers are ignoring it and the offbeat sci-fi and easy to please crowd is flocking to see it. They love what they see and are tainting perceptions. Jaded critics who simply like to see something different for difference sake aside, it's simply not a very good movie on any front.

Oh really? D9 is well on its way to making $100M, impressive for a film without a known actor or director and for a mid-August release. I highly doubt the "offbeat sci-fi crowd" has THAT much box office muscle. Could it be possible that people just think it was good?

[hj2k_x]

So glad this movie was as awesome as everyone hoped it would be. I loved it :)

Great to see South Africa and not New York being the place where first contact occurs as well for once :)

[Heisenberg]

Saw it today, Fcking awesome. !!MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!!


I actually liked the start more than the end. The documentary style was brilliant. I was suprised at how funny this movie was. The f-bombs were hilarious. Especially when he meets Christopher for the first time.

It is a movie where I hated the humans, the Aliens were great. Christopher has to be one of the best movie characters in a long time. His aspirations were great, and him and his son were great together.

It was probably due to my ass ache I had cause of the shitty chairs at the cinema. But I thought the movie dropped off a bit towards the end. I'll have to rewatch it anyways.


Great movie 9/10

[gyro_44]

Oh really? D9 is well on its way to making $100M, impressive for a film without a known actor or director and for a mid-August release. I highly doubt the "offbeat sci-fi crowd" has THAT much box office muscle. Could it be possible that people just think it was good?
I'll second this.

I think the film has generated some pretty good word of mouth. If it was just a hyped-up film only for the "offbeat sci-fi crowd" I'm thinking it would have fell sharply and barely doubled its opening weekend (ala Cloverfield, which opened to $40 million, finished with $80 million).

This opened to $37 million, and will top out around $115-120 million domestically. While D9 is that "different" type of film that usually divides a lot of people, I think the box office shows it at least has people talking, and often saying, "that was good".

Anyway, I just saw it again the other day and was more impressed the second time. A few elements are predictable and the middle of the film isn't my favorite but I was able to appreciate the visuals even more and I think the story, in the end, is fairly resonant. Also...

******** SPOILERS********


I can't believe I almost forgot the scene where the gang members are firing at the Mech Suit and their bullets are suspended in that cluster and then all blown back at them. That was badass.

[ScaryFreak1827]

Saw it today and thought it was great. My eyes were glued to the screen pretty much throughout the entire film's length and I thought the action sequences were spectacular (not just mindless explosions/bloodshed but action that actually drove forward the plot... hear that Transformers?:D)
The documentary style was unique and realistic as well as providing a nice contrast to the second half of the film. The ending left me a little disappointed however yet at the same time it seemed right. It's ET meets Slumdog Millonaire meets The Fly;) Definitely one of the best of the summer.

9/10

[Cosimo]

flawed but good fun

(7)

[Dr.Frankenstein]

An amazing film-top shelf production -thoroughly enjoyed it! **** (outta 5 stars)

[Ratlehed]

I really liked the first 30 mins and the last 30 mins. The middle of the film was really boring to me.

Cool weapons and some cool kills. Really nice special F/X for a lower budget film like this.

I thought the acting was really good.

2.5/4 stars. It was really good at times but really boring at times too. Not much re-watch value for me either.

[Bob Loblaw]

I thought this movie was alright, but it was about as subtle as a flying brick. It tries to shove its heavy handed themes down our throat so hard that it defies logic to make a point. The film is entertaining and the action at end is fun, but the word 'overrated' comes to mind whenever I think back on this film.

2.5/4

[Yggdrasil_Mjötv]

This film IMO is Epic, It truly is original in many ways. During the time of promotion for this film I wasn't around, I was deep into a house with no electricity and no form of transportation, all in all I never heard of it till one day at work a co-worker was talking about it. I decided, hell why not check it out, it sounds very interesting (haven't even seen a preview for it), I walked nearly 5 miles to reach a theater in the Texan heat at the time, ( I had nothing to do haha) and pretty much went in on a whim. I'm the type of guy that went into this film without an idea of what the main drive is and the guy who has not heard one criticism about it, so I had nobodies point of view and there was no hype at all.

By the time the film ended there was nearly tears in my eyes, the film was beautifully acted and the effects were top notch, I related to human and aliens alike and saw the all to familiar "history repeating itself" thing going on. I must say that this film is original, my standards for sci-fi are quite high since I'm a huge junkie for that stuff and this film reached to that point and higher. it was worth the 5 miles walk there and back.

When you see a film in which the only information you see is through a straw before watching it, your opinion in film in general changes.

Onward schmoes.