Movie Review: District 9
First impression: It’s a movie produced by Peter Jackson of the LOTR trilogy fame. It was extended from a short film, with regards to aliens living together with humans.
Why one would watch it: It’s a movie by Peter Jackson. And aliens. And gore.
What to keep an eye out for: Strong violent images, strong language, blood, dismemberment (minor)
District 9
Spoiler alert:
What one should watch it for: On the surface, it sells as a sci-fi movie but halfway through the movie you will discover that it goes deeper than that. Set in Johannesburg, South Africa, this movie by Neil Blomkamp, searches the depths of humanity, of what it is like to be similar on the inside but so wanting to be different on the outside.
The protagonist, a Wikus van der Merwes (played by the very talented Sharlto Copley) is a field operative of MNU (Multinational United), a corporation that seems to deal with the aliens well being. The aliens, being stuck on Earth without any way to return to their home by reasons unknown, are to be relocated from District 9 to District 10; the relocation considered a form of eviction which requires signatory consent by the aliens.
Wikus was sent to lead the teams that will serve the eviction notices, forcing the individual aliens to submit and sign the eviction notices using fire power, intimidation, blackmail (you want me to call child services?) and not hesitating to gun down Prawns (the slang for the aliens) in the process.
However, when Wikus meets with a freak accident related to a form of liquid fuel that has been collected by one of the Prawns, he undergoes an even freakier transition from human to alien. He grows an alien limb which allows him to utilize alien weaponry.
The military government sees this as an opportunity to harness Wikus’ ability to use the alien weapons due to his transition to alien form, and scientists attempt to take Wikus apart (and killing him in the process) to study his transforming body parts.
His escape prompts a rigorous military search for him, whilst news reports of his obsession with the Prawns render him homeless and alienated (how ironic). He finds himself back in the slums of the Prawns with no one to help him… at least no one human.
The second half of the movie shows an alien-human relationship of sorts whereby the Prawn (Christopher Johnson) who was responsible for the alien liquid fuel is stuck with Wikus as they storm the MNU building to bring back the liquid fuel. The fuel is to be used to power up the alien spacecraft, but it is also the only way Wikus can be transformed back to his human self.
Conflict arises when Christopher Johnson finds corpses of fellow prawns in the MNU building, apparently subjected to experiments and left for dead by curious human scientists. He (I assume) is then determined to use the liquid fuel to return to its home planet to gather resources in order to help bring the rest of his species home, away from the clutches of the evil ‘humans’. Wikus would have to wait for his return: a three-Earth-year-trip, before he can return to his wife's arms again. But can he? And does he?
By the end of the movie, you will find this out-of-the-ordinary partnership endearing and provocative enough to make you ask "what is it that makes one human?".
After the movie:
I found it disturbing that the moment Wikus starts transforming into an alien, he is ostracized by his fellow men; whereas, an alien that has been oppressed and tormented by humans (and him) can readily accept, trust and help him when he is still more human than he is alien. Sharlto Copley was that convincing in his role in this film. The level of loneliness and desperation that his character portrayed was to say the least, scary. I also discovered the importance of having really good technology in our grasps. The moment Christopher Johnson got hold of his space vehicle and when Wikus was able to save himself from the clutches of a maniacal army man using alien weaponry, I understood how ‘great’ a race can be when they have the right guns.
Overall, it is a movie worth watching and one that would stick in my mind… at least until the sequel hits the cinemas.
What one should watch it for: On the surface, it sells as a sci-fi movie but halfway through the movie you will discover that it goes deeper than that. Set in Johannesburg, South Africa, this movie by Neil Blomkamp, searches the depths of humanity, of what it is like to be similar on the inside but so wanting to be different on the outside.
The protagonist, a Wikus van der Merwes (played by the very talented Sharlto Copley) is a field operative of MNU (Multinational United), a corporation that seems to deal with the aliens well being. The aliens, being stuck on Earth without any way to return to their home by reasons unknown, are to be relocated from District 9 to District 10; the relocation considered a form of eviction which requires signatory consent by the aliens.
Wikus was sent to lead the teams that will serve the eviction notices, forcing the individual aliens to submit and sign the eviction notices using fire power, intimidation, blackmail (you want me to call child services?) and not hesitating to gun down Prawns (the slang for the aliens) in the process.
However, when Wikus meets with a freak accident related to a form of liquid fuel that has been collected by one of the Prawns, he undergoes an even freakier transition from human to alien. He grows an alien limb which allows him to utilize alien weaponry.
The military government sees this as an opportunity to harness Wikus’ ability to use the alien weapons due to his transition to alien form, and scientists attempt to take Wikus apart (and killing him in the process) to study his transforming body parts.
His escape prompts a rigorous military search for him, whilst news reports of his obsession with the Prawns render him homeless and alienated (how ironic). He finds himself back in the slums of the Prawns with no one to help him… at least no one human.
The second half of the movie shows an alien-human relationship of sorts whereby the Prawn (Christopher Johnson) who was responsible for the alien liquid fuel is stuck with Wikus as they storm the MNU building to bring back the liquid fuel. The fuel is to be used to power up the alien spacecraft, but it is also the only way Wikus can be transformed back to his human self.
Conflict arises when Christopher Johnson finds corpses of fellow prawns in the MNU building, apparently subjected to experiments and left for dead by curious human scientists. He (I assume) is then determined to use the liquid fuel to return to its home planet to gather resources in order to help bring the rest of his species home, away from the clutches of the evil ‘humans’. Wikus would have to wait for his return: a three-Earth-year-trip, before he can return to his wife's arms again. But can he? And does he?
By the end of the movie, you will find this out-of-the-ordinary partnership endearing and provocative enough to make you ask "what is it that makes one human?".
After the movie:
I found it disturbing that the moment Wikus starts transforming into an alien, he is ostracized by his fellow men; whereas, an alien that has been oppressed and tormented by humans (and him) can readily accept, trust and help him when he is still more human than he is alien. Sharlto Copley was that convincing in his role in this film. The level of loneliness and desperation that his character portrayed was to say the least, scary. I also discovered the importance of having really good technology in our grasps. The moment Christopher Johnson got hold of his space vehicle and when Wikus was able to save himself from the clutches of a maniacal army man using alien weaponry, I understood how ‘great’ a race can be when they have the right guns.
Overall, it is a movie worth watching and one that would stick in my mind… at least until the sequel hits the cinemas.
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