REVIEW: District 9 (2009)
District 9
Rated: R
Runtime: 112 minutes
Starring: Sharlto Copley
My rating: 3.5 stars
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District 9 is not a movie; it is a commentary about humanity. It is an eye-opening, honest look at how we, as humans, refuse to accept or even tolerate something different.
Forget that the film is literally about aliens whose ship ran out of fuel over Johannesburg, South Africa. Forget that their ship was invaded by humans after weeks of inactivity. Forget, also, that the humans initially welcomed the aliens to Earth, giving them food and shelter.
Remember this: Humans have always and will always take advantage of the weak. That’s what District 9 is really about.
Once the aliens are taken from the ship, they’re put into small shelters and given food rations until their health is restored. Then, the humans start to feed. They force the aliens to trade weapons technology for food, scavenge the dead ones and perform medical experiments and begin to act out civil rights atrocities. The aliens, meanwhile, are just trying to survive.
This lasts 20 years until the Multi-National United (MNU) organization decides to move the 1.5 million aliens housed in these slums 200 kilometers away from the city. Wikus Van De Merwe (Sharlto Copley) heads the project until he is exposed to alien biotechnology. The accident causes Merwe’s DNA to slowly transition from human to alien.
Then the fun begins as Merwe struggles to fight the humans who are turning on him and the aliens who don’t trust him. His struggle and how his body reacts to his exposure make District 9 one of the most thought-provoking science-fiction films in years.
But there was still something missing, and it comes from writer/director Neill Blompkamp’s reliance on action genre clichés. Gunfights lasted too long with gratuitous gore, like numerous humans exploding with blood splattering on the camera lens. It got old quickly.
District 9 lost its message through the interspecies war, only to try and save it at the end. It started with heart, morphed into an action-thriller and ended with something more.
And that something more comes from Copley, without whom there is no film. He is outstanding in the lead, convincingly arrogant and uncaring at the start to desperately clinging to the life he once knew at the end. The character’s transition showed the hope we all have in ourselves, as a people.
The aliens aren’t aliens at all. They’re any minority, any person that’s different or any person that is trapped and can’t afford to get out. District 9 shows us that things and people can change.
But the film truly breaks ground in its technical achievements, which are nothing short of astounding. Aside from Copley, nearly every other thing is computer-generated. They flawlessly merge with the live-action, making the audience focus on the story and not noticing flaws with the animation.
This will be nominated come Oscar time for numerous technical categories. So far this year, it would win them all. As a story, it’s solid; as a film, it’s decent; as a showcase for the look of science-fiction, it’s raised the bar.
District 9 is a film that entertains and never gets preachy with its profound message of life, humanity and the many injustices in the world. I did enjoy the first viewing and part of my recommendation includes the fact I want to see it again, simply to better comprehend all its layers. 3.5 stars.
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Where it's playing:
Canton/PotsdamSHOWTIMES
Watertown SHOWTIMES
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