In the year of some of the best films in history, District 9 stands out as one of the most creative and well done films in recent memory. With a very reasonable run time (you feel like you got just enough out of it) and the great creative approach to establishing the real problems in South Africa.
District 9 tells the story (in a docu-sci-fi-drama fashion) of Wikus Van De Merwe (Sharlto Copley) as he leads a team of government officials to evict aliens from a segment of South Africa (called District 9). The aliens came from a spaceship that mysteriously stopped and hovered over Johannesburg, South Africa. When people went into the spaceship to find what was in it they discovered many aliens in it and they were integrated into society with the people.
Best Aspects: Great writing, directing and acting (though it was a tiny bit cheesy at times) and the weaponry was stellar in creation. The visions of Neill Blomkamp certainly shine through in this film, from the effects to the general plot that is deeply political and calls for peace.
Bottom Line: A+. Probably the 3rd or 4th best film of 2010 (since I think that Inglourious Basterds, The Messenger and ESPECIALLY Moon were better).
Ok, you and I have agreed on a good number of films so far. Some I disagree on, but the vast praise that this film has gotten so far that I keep seeing from everyone has forced me to retort. I really don’t think this movie was that good. I think it was ok, mildly entertaining at best only because of the action scenes late in the story. The documentary route that was taken at the beginning was a good start but lasted way too long and that’s where I started to lose interest. I do agree with you on the creativity of showing real life problems occuring in South Africa today and the Apartheid era that it had to endure in the past but other than those aspects it falls short with me especially the way it leaves you hanging at the end. In addition, you probably won’t agree, but I felt the CGI (namely the aliens themselves) looked kind of stick figuary to me and didn’t mesh with the life action shots very well like other films have. Just me though, so to each their own.
I agree with you on the aspect that the CGI made the aliens look a little bit like the cardboard cutout that you use to take the carpool lane, but with $30 million it is hard to do anything too impressive. The documentary section to me was awesome because it made it feel like it was real, just like how I loved the way Blomkamp filmed it, the angles were amazing and the shots were often times breathtaking. The ending, I thought, was good, because Blomkamp plans to make a District 10 by 2012, so the film ended well, saying that Wikus was still there and that the alien would come back and that everything could be okay. I think that a trilogy could be made from this idea, since his short film Alive in Joburg touched on more than was introduced in the first film. Point being, this film is hit or miss. It is either amazing because of how kick-ass it is, or it is looked down upon because it is just cheesy at times and isn’t as enthralling as you hoped it would be. So I agree with you a little bit, like we normally do, Franchise, and I respect your opinion deeply, and I thank you for putting forth the effort to voice your opinion and not just say “yeah, that movie was cool” because everyone else is.
The one thing that really made this movie stick out for me was that, it is not like any other movie. It had a creative plotline and I thought it was well put together. Although it wasn’t on my list of favorites, I definately enjoyed it. District 9 gave a new look to alien sci-fi. It was interesting how the aliens (prawns) were intergrated into society instead of the usual alien vs. Human all out war. Overrall I was satisfied but would not watch it more than once.