Login
[Link removed - login to see] at [Link removed - login to see]
Review:
Peter Jackson - better known as the mastermind not only behind the magnificent Lord of the Rings trilogy but a string of genre pictures appearing through out the 90's - produced this thrilling science-fiction film about an extraterrestrial concentration camp in Africa. District 9 also marks the directorial debut of South African director Neill Blomkamp. Taking a traditional sci/fi approach, Blomkamp examines contemporary society through a new perspective.
It's better off the less you know about this film before viewing it the better. In this case, the easiest way to clarify it would be to label it a sci-fi fueled indictment of man's inhumanity to oneself, be it against another race or an entire different species, in this case a species not even from this planet. The biggest difference depicted here that sets this film apart from any other alien invasion film is that the beings - dubbed here as 'prawns' due to their uncanny resemblance to insects - are not the invaders, yet nor are they peaceful visitors to our planet. Their refuges in a trash filled ghetto. Their mother ship isn't a glorious spectacle hovering over a city, it's a rust bucket. And that city isn't Manhattan or Los Angeles or any other glorious Metropolis , it's the slums of Johannesburg, Africa. The aliens are treated offal by the humans. I hope the inhabitants of Earth never come in contact with over worldly beings because the reality of how we interact with them may be similar to what's depicted here, which is a grim thought.
As a directorial debut, District 9 is a well crafted sci-fi thrill ride that deserves to be remembered for years to come not only for it's unique approach to the genre, but the message sent here. Not that this is a fable with an inner meaning to it, but it'll leave a deeper emotional impact on you than other brain numbing summer blockbusters about giant robots and action heros. This movie doesn't reach the tip of perfection one bit, but delivers more brainpower than your average apocalyptic fantasy. Not to mention a first time for lead actor Sharlto Copley, specifically hand picked by director Blompkamp and personally approved by Jackson. You'll be wowed by Copley. His heart-rending tour de force deserves comparison to Jeff Goldblum's in The Fly. And to me, that's high praise. District 9, with a chump-change budget of $30 million, soars on the imagination of its creators. This baby has the stuff to end the movie summer on a note of dazzle and distinction...
8/10
