The new D9 trailer!

You may have heard the news online that a new DISTRICT 9 trailer would be in theaters and online next week. Well I can say that I was lucky enough to get an early look at the trailer before the big debut next week!

I don’t have anything to show you from the trailer but I took some notes and I’ll do my best to relate what I saw. It’s much more action-packed than the original teaser but action still does not seem to be the primary focus of this movie.

The trailer runs about 2:20 and starts off somewhat similar to what we saw in ShoWest. Whereas the giant alien ship was a big reveal during the middle of the teaser, the trailer starts off with a shot of the ship from the POV of a truck driving on the ground and then from a military helicopter flying nearby in the sky.

As you see a closeup of the ship looming over the skyline you get title cards that read, “They Came Here 28 Years Ago,” “Coexistence Has Never Been Easy” and “Why Won’t We Let Them Leave?” Interspersed are some shots from the original teaser including the woman who complains they’re spending so much money to keep the aliens here.

After the unedited shot from the end of the first teaser (with the alien in the interrogation room), we see a reporter just outside the alien refugee camp. A news caption on the bottom states that “District 9 Evictions” have begun. There is a caravan of trucks heading inside. We’re inside a truck with some soldiers and possibly bureaucrats. One of them (a suit and tie guy) is putting on a bulletproof vest while another says “I thought I was getting a vest?” “Don’t worry about the vest, you’ll be fine.”

Those same people are seen going around to the different houses. “MNU Agents, open up please!” They’re searching the areas when the same suit and tie guy from before finds a small metal tube and shows it to the camera. He says there are certain markings that indicate it’s definitely alien. As he’s fiddling with it, it deploys a burst of vapor in his face. He starts choking and gagging and slams the camera out of his face.

More newsreel footage of “heavily armed forces” heading into the District 9 area. A quick shot of an aliens feet running by. “Nobody knew what this place was.” It’s nighttime and agents appear to be tracking down an alien on the run. One agent with a flashlight finds something and dusts it off.

This is when the action and quick shots begin so bear with me…

– A human inside some kind of robotic suit. Kind of like IRON MAN meets Ripley’s Power Loader from ALIENS.
– Alien slaps a clipboard out of two government workers hands.
– An alien throws a government worker against some trash cans.
– That same suit and tie guy (SATG) thrashing on a medical table while some military guys try to hold him down.
– The robotic suit (it’s unclear if it’s a robot or human in the suit) makes a huge jump.
– “Find that freak.”
– SATG strapped upright to a table in what looks to be a helicopter. He has electrode pads all over his chest and head. He’s screaming. A close-up of his clenched fist (something metal attached to his wrist. While not said, it seems implied he might be in the middle of some kind of transformation.)

– That giant robot suit looking menacing.
– A pick-up truck smashes full speed into the robot suit.
– More action between robot suit, military forces and some cars. Robot suit is jumping and shooting. Big explosion.
– A soldier fires a rocket at an alien ship in the distance. Robot suit reaches up and deflects it.
– SATG lying in a decontainment bag looking sickly.
– “It’s gonna be quick”
– An alien making a giant leap as soldiers try to track him.
– “it’s gonna be clean”
– SATG holding on to what seems to be an alien weapon, fires it at a human soldier. Looks like more of a pulse weapon than anything ballistic.
– An explosion at a government building
– “it’s gonna be quiet.”

Last shot is another wide shot of the alien ship with helicopters approaching with a voiceover, “There’s a lot of secrets in District 9.”

All in all, I liked this trailer a lot better than the teaser and even better than the footage I saw in ShoWest. I don’t know if it was a deliberate attempt to jack up the action or if this is representative of the movie at all. We still don’t have much of a plot to go by but I think that’s a good thing. We see glimpses of what goes down but we’re not exactly sure where that’s gonna take us. In a world where I felt like I saw all of STAR TREK before I actually saw it, that’s pretty refreshing…