Director: Neill Blomkamp
Cast: Sharlto Copley, William Allen Young, Robert Hobbs, Jason Cope
I managed to catch "District 9" last weekend and I absolutely loved it. The film puts a new twist to the alien invasion genre and is definitely a breath of fresh air that puts all the recent mindless big budget blockbusters to shame.
Twenty years ago in Johannesburg, South Africa, an alien spaceship suddenly appeared. A large group of sick and malnourished aliens were discovered in the alien ship and they were eventually housed in a temporary camp called District 9. Twenty years later in the present day, District 9 has an alien population of 1.8 million. The human residents of Johannesburg can no longer tolerate the aliens, and demand for them to be relocated. Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley) is assigned to head an operation to evict and relocate the aliens to "District 10", a new camp located 240 km from Johannesburg. During the eviction process, Wikus is exposed to a dark liquid and slowly mutates into an alien. Hunted by the humans and out of options, he must find help from the species he previously disregard.
Twenty years ago in Johannesburg, South Africa, an alien spaceship suddenly appeared. A large group of sick and malnourished aliens were discovered in the alien ship and they were eventually housed in a temporary camp called District 9. Twenty years later in the present day, District 9 has an alien population of 1.8 million. The human residents of Johannesburg can no longer tolerate the aliens, and demand for them to be relocated. Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley) is assigned to head an operation to evict and relocate the aliens to "District 10", a new camp located 240 km from Johannesburg. During the eviction process, Wikus is exposed to a dark liquid and slowly mutates into an alien. Hunted by the humans and out of options, he must find help from the species he previously disregard.
The film is a reference to the apartheid policy enforced by the South African government between 1960's and early 1980's when residential areas were segregated by means of forced eviction. During that period, hundreds of thousands of people were evicted from their homes just because of their skin colour. "District 9" carries a message of not to disregard others until we walk a mile in their shoes. Deep stuff.
The visual effects in the film are brilliant as the CGI blends seamlessly with the real. The scene with the alien ship hovering above Johannesburg during sunset is simply breathtaking. Another scene worth mentioning is the one with Wikus in a mechanised battle suit, which is totally bad-ass.
Overall, "District 9" is an intelligent science fiction film which shows us the negativity of human flaws and teaches us racial (species?) tolerance. This film is destined to be a cult classic. Please Mr. Blomkamp, bring on "District 10".
Score: 8.5/10
Related post: Movie Trailer: "District 9"
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