District 9
Plot
Twenty years ago, an alien spacecraft began hovering over Johannesburg South Africa, and stopped. When humans went in to see what was inside, they found an alien race near death – and decided to house them in camps, in an area outside the city called District9. Now the government wants its land back have decided to evict aliens, or ‘prawns’ to another facility.
During the eviction proceedings, top agent of the MNU (Mulit National United) Wikus van de Merwe, is accidentally sprayed with an alien goo, and has begun to morph into one of the ‘prawns’ . Now, with the help of a rogue alien ‘Christopher Johnson’ – he must try to find a cure to get home to his wife.
Direction
In Neill Blomkamp’s directorial debut, he delivers one of the more original sci fi films, which play homage to real life events such as the South African Apartheid.
With a shoestring budget of just $30m, it is clear each and every dollar was well spent – with both the third world look and feel of District 9 – where the aliens/prawns are housed – along with the futuristic weapons that they use.
There are some outstanding action sequences, especially of the MNU, and the CGI work is practically flawless considering most of the aliens/prawns are computer generated.
Cast/Characters
Sharlto Copley plays Wikus, the unlucky protagonist in the film. Considering this was his film debut – his range of emotions displayed are simply extraordinary. He is first introduced, as an almost aloof office worker, but quickly holds his own – especially during some of the almost comical evictions.
Once his ‘predicament’ begins – that is when he gets to really show his talent as Wikus practically loses everything along his journey.
Screenplay/Setting/Themes
As director Blomkamp is of South African heritage, it made sense to film in his home country. Adapted from Blomkamp’s short film Alive in Joburg, and co-written by his wife Terri Tatchell.
The primary theme is a clear resemblance racism, and discrimination etc, with the aliens/prawns being the ‘third class’ – and district 9 has a concentration camp like look and feel towards it. This is obviously a reference to the countries own history in regards to the Apartheid, but many other countries have their own history too.
Overall
As someone who isn’t the biggest fan of Science Fiction, I really enjoyed this one. The human element that they brought into the screenplay, and a great performance by Copley (who I’ve reviewed in other works by Blomkamp and other directors).
Fairly violent at times, especially during some of the attacks between humans and the prawns – such as the 3rd act while Wikus is in the alien robot.
If you haven’t seen this one yet, give it a red hot go.
4.5/5
If you’re able to, please “buy me a coffee”