District 9
R
1 hour, 51 minutes
Starring: Sharlto Copley
Aliens are here! Not in the way you may think. District 9 paints us a picture of a world where Aliens have come to Earth, somehow trapped themselves, and are now living in a slum that separates themselves from the human population. The story follows Wikus Van De Merwe, an MNU agent who goes into the slum to help with the Alien relocation.
I’m just going to come flat out and say it, District 9 is one of the best movies of the year. No point in doing a song and dance on this. It’s great. The use of storytelling is magnificent. It leaves you completely on the edge of your seat. Not only is this film heart pounding, there are certain moments that are down right heart warming. Not to mention the social commentary that explores issues of racism against an Alien/South African backdrop is absolutely astounding.
It’s hard not to fall completely in love with Wikus Van De Merwe, played by Sharlto Copley. Where did Copely come from?! This is his first film EVER. He’s absolutely amazing to watch. I feel that his character is destined to become a cinematic classic. Something tells me we’ll be seeing a lot more of him in the next couple of years.
The action scenes are amazing. If you don’t gasp several times during the film I doubt you have a heart in your chest.
Yes, the trailers that advertised this movie were pretty vague and that’s sort of the beauty of it all. Go see this movie. For the first time in a long time, filmmakers have allowed you to explore the film as the events unfold without having spoon fed you everything in the trailer.
5 out of 5
I unfortunately must disagree. I was really looking forward to it, and after seeing all the positive press the film has been getting thus far I was definitely looking forward to the movie. And I really was digging for the first twenty minutes or so. The problem with the movie is that it is much more compelling when it is played as a straight documentary. When the film switches to a regular narrative film, the emotional resonance, as well as almost everything that is actually compelling about the film is lost. The film then becomes just another sci-fi action film, and don’t get me wrong, the action is good, but none of it lives up to the first twenty minutes. The movie is also unfortunately hamstrung by the plot device of the black liquid, which is absolutely central to the plot, and is able to do two completely different things, with no explanation as to the mechanism that allows it to do both. District 9 is an entertaining, but unfortunately disposable film.