I think part of its genius is how slowly the film starts out. There I was sitting down watching Wikus, a racist, bumbling, South African pencil pusher – whose only achievement in life to date was marring the boss’s daughter – narrate the story. This film was going to suck. Big time. What on earth had everyone else seen in it? Why did we name it Film of the Year? It was going nowhere fast.
But it was all a lure, a tease, here was this classic, calculator carrying wimp, the nerdy no body that is the fodder of many a Hollywood comedy being awarded the prestigious position of leading man. Wikus was, of course, going to have to grow some balls – and he does – because this was the man who was going to affect change, who was going to drive the story and uncover exactly what was going down in District 9.
On the surface, District 9 is a new twist on the alien invasion film. Rather than Independence Day’s fleet of super flying saucers appearing over every major city in the world, we get one, hovering over Johannesburg. And not so much an invasion, rather more of a ran out of fuel and need help kind of thing.
Not knowing what to do with a million or so aliens, the South Africans did what most other countries would have done; set up a refugee camp. 20 years later it’s more of a shantytown slash slum. Most people don’t like the aliens, some of who have turned to crime, but all of who are painted with the same racist brush and referred to as prawns.
Things have come to a head however and due to popular demands, a new refugee camp has been set up, hundreds of miles away, so that they can be forgotten. This is where out pencil pushing hero comes into play. Wikus is promoted to overseeing the task of delivering eviction notices to the inhabitants of District 9, and to cut a long story short, whilst doing so, gets infected with some alien DNA.
Once Wikus starts to mutate, his own boss (and father in law) has him taken back to the lower levels of MNU where he gets to witness first hand, the treatment of these prawns, and how they want to harvest his own vital organs whilst he’s still alive.
Fortunately he grows some rather big balls very quickly and manages to escape, finding the only place he can hide is in District 9, amongst the prawns that he so despises.
The beauty of District 9 is that it pleases on many levels, for one the acting is superb – and with no big Hollywood names, you don’t come with any preconceptions. The story takes many unexpected turns, and though resorts to a little cheese at the very end is a well thought out and paced journey. Whilst you wouldn’t call District 9 an action film, it dose have enough to keep the story clipping along at a nice speed.
The other thing District 9 does well is the special effects. There are a lot of them, but they are done well, almost subtly. And the focus is never on the effects, always on the story. Whilst this might cost District 9 a well-deserved Oscar, it delivers the viewer a much more absorbing experience.
Of course, District 9 wouldn’t be what it is without it’s social commentary, and Neill Blomkamp’s stroke of genius was to have Wikus continue to hold on to his racist feelings toward the prawns, even though he is gradually turning into one, and actively helping their cause. Reviewed by: Jonathan Read Release date: December 16th, 2009 Stars: Sharlto Copley, David James, Jason Cope, Vanessa Haywood, Kenneth Nkosi, Nathalie Boltt, Sylvaine Strike, William Allen Young, John Summer, Nick Blake, Jed Brophy, Louis Minnaar, Marian Hooman, Vittoria Leonardi, Mandla Gaduka, Johan van Schoor, Stella Steenkamp Length (Minutes): 123 Aspect Ratio:1.78 : 1 Languages: English Supported Audio: Dolby Digital Surround 5.1 Director: Blomkamp, Neill Studio: Sony Pictures
yes I agree I gave this an 8 or 9 so maybe we arent so different? Lee
There is something about me..
yes I agree I gave this an 8 or 9 so maybe we arent so different?
Lee