I watched District 9 at the midnight showing last night and it was pretty fantastic, and has become my 2^nd favorite movie of the year next to Moon.  The main story in it is much different than what they show you in the trailers and TV spots, but since I saw the extended trailer at Comic Con, I knew what it was actually about.  The concept of the movie was inspired by a short film that the director Neil Blomkamp did several years ago called “Alive In Joburg”.

The movie is helmed by first time feature director Neil Blomkamp, and is shot in faux documentary style with interviews, news footage, and a lot of handheld sequences.  For the most part this style worked for the film, however I wish they had cut back on the interviews in the middle of the story.

The beginning half of the movie is all set up and shows the backstory of how the aliens landed on Earth (Johannesburg, South Africa) through these interviews and “news” footage.  It also shows you how they have been living and are treated and viewed by the human race.  The term “prawn” is used as a derogatory name for the aliens, an obvious reference to racist names people use to describe black people.  Sharlto Copley plays Wikus van der Merwe, who is the lead character in the movie and does an amazing job especially considering Copley’s main background is not in acting but in directing and producing.

Wikus is an MNU worker whose job is to help “relocate” and police the aliens that are living in District 9. He starts off as a goofy, kind of annoying “in over his head” character and as the movie goes on, he morphs into something much more “human” and relatable.

The action in 2^nd half of the movie is exciting and the best I’ve seen in awhile, it blows away any action sequences you’ve seen this year.  The weapons used are really cool and if you’ve played games like Half Life or Halo you’ll love seeing these things in action.  Also the mech suit used in the ending action sequence is bad ass and is a great example of how to use robots in fighting scenes. The story does take a more typical story route at the end, but it “earns” it through all the setup and development from the rest of the movie.

The CG work is amazing in District 9, especially that of the aliens.  Aside from the moving eyes and face, the rest of the alien bodies look realistic and more akin to puppets/animatronics than CG.  The way the light is captured and reflected on their skin looks very real and for the purposes of this movie is entirely necessary in order for you to form an emotional connection to them.

The weaknesses in the movie come from a few places, the main being the story doesn’t delve deeper into the aliens on a personal level, and also the “villains” seem to lack any depth to them either.  There are a few plot holes that appear once in awhile as well. Also towards the end, there is some repetition of plot and the inclusion of the African “gangsters” storyline is more of a plot device than actual story or character development.  Luckily these flaws only slightly detract from the experience and don’t ruin the movie.

Great acting by the lead main actor Sharlto Copley who plays Wikus

Fantastic Action in the 2^nd Half of the movie

The “villains” could have been more multilayered

The African “gangster” characters are unnecessary and used only as plot device

The film itself is an amazing feat considering it was directed by a first time feature director, acted brilliantly by a “non-actor”, and was made for only $30 million considering the scope and amount of CG used in the movie. In comparison to other movies, you wonder if the hefty actors’ salaries and other budget drainers are entirely necessary when you look at how this $30 million looks easily like a $100 million film and yet the final product is way better than the big budget blockbusters (*cough* Transformers 2).

The world created by Neil Blomkamp is engaging and also filled with much detail and interesting back story.  I highly recommend seeing District 9, as it’s a fantastic and exciting mix of story, action, and drama that while has a few flaws, does not detract greatly from the movie.  Like Moon, this another example of what Sci-Fi storytelling can be and should be – intelligent, engaging, and entertaining.

BTW – Watch out for me and Roth’s video review coming soon!

I give District 9 a: