District 9 Review

Personal expectations and hopes for District 9 were notably higher than any other movie considering the current disappointing wave of Sci-Fi cinema. Looking back on the trailers, I already had a basic idea of the major themes that would be explored in the story. It was easy picking up on the whole concept of the "separation of humans and aliens" and how the aliens were stationed in a run-down and terribly conditioned camp. This mass area (known as District 9) had all the physical aspects of what many would call “slums”, “ghetto”, or poor low-income neighborhoods. Gun riots covering the streets, illegal weapons secretly stored in homes; it’s all one big mess and conspiracy. The aliens inhabited this life alongside a sector of South Africans in poverty all in one community district. What I wasn't prepared for however is how this visually profound science fiction parallel to our real world's societal and economical conflicts sets the stage for a gripping character journey of survival and change.

Getting the more surface level stuff out of the way, I would be remiss if I didn't shine a spotlight on the realistic look of the aliens and overall detailed aesthetics of this world. For a movie that’s known to have had a lower budget than your traditional Hollywood released sci-fi blockbuster, the CGI looked exceptional on the aliens. I also really dug the alien weaponry shown off in nice sample size teases throughout the movie with all of the various capabilities that they possessed. These exotic guns certainly lead to some highly entertaining action scenes (and as a bonus satisfied my inner gamer nerd). And with my love of iconic sci-fi cinema imagery, there’s this realistic looking alien ship shown hovering over the city throughout that I just couldn't shake out of my mind after I watched the movie.

I just liked the idea of this huge spaceship remaining silent and dormant in the same spot for 20 years over this one specific city on our planet. There’s a sort of eerie feeling that came whenever the craft was shown off due to me imagining how crazy of a situation that would be for the people living below or traveling by for years. When the spaceship finally moves making a loud glass shattering sound during the story’s climactic final act, it was an awe inspiring and epic moment of sheer spectacle and wonder. Aside from the awesome technological aspects of this alien story, there’s also a compelling human story lying at its center. Our central protagonist, Wikus Van De Merwe who worked for the company antagonizing the innocent aliens in their poor living district, was slowly transforming into one of the aliens himself after being infected. There’s some great looking body horror elements inserted adding to the District 9's overall genre appeal.

Now I won’t get into the entire story too much here, but just witnessing this character evolve throughout the movie was deeply moving to see. Wikus starts off as an antagonizing bureaucrat working for a terrible company gearing up to relocate and further exploit these innocent alien beings. After his freak accident with a foreign chemical, he begins to physically transform into the very same creatures that he’s tasked to force out resulting in a drastic perspective change. It’s truly a compelling and emotional ride of a character story to watch unfold. With all the crazy amazing action that follows throughout, it’s really that final shot of the film that tugs hard at the heart strings. It’s a striking image that, upon my second viewing, brought me to tears due to the tragic situation forced upon our unexpected hero. Let’s just say that things don’t exactly play out with a happy ending but instead a “let’s hope for the best in a currently bleak state of things”.

District 9 is one of those films that comes around every now and then that feels like a game changing passion project as opposed to a factory made carbon copy audience pleaser. It explores relatable historical human conflicts such as segregation through a science fiction prism with the clever use of documentary found footage inserts. I think genre fans like myself can really appreciate a fascinating and creative concept for a movie and this delivers on all fronts both on paper and in execution. I highly recommend this one.

Rating: 10/10