Screen Reviews - District 9

As an avid movie-goer, I decided to catch a little movie that's been making quite a buzz titled District 9. Since my skepticism level is moderately high, I wasn't really keen on watching this movie but some good reviews and The Lord of The Rings trilogy director Peter Jackson being the producer, I decided to catch this South African flick. Yes, it is a South African movie. The director, the actors, the setting is all South African, trust me.


So the movie is made in a mockumentary-style movie to give it a more gritty, realistic feel but the movie developed from a documentary for the Discovery Channel to a Transformers meets Alien film. The plot begins with an alien ship landing on Johannesburg during the 1980's. Then, the aliens, known as 'prawns' sought refuge which angered the humans there. So, the
South African government created an area for the aliens known as District 9 in order to segregate the aliens from the humans.


So, the protagonist of the movie, a nerdy, cowardish MNU agent named Wikus van der Merwe was sent to evict the aliens out of District 9. But when he was there, Wikus
was accidentally exposed himself to an alien device containing an unknown fluid which had some serious side effects. Due to the exposure, Wikus slowly mutated into an alien an became a governmental experiment. Knowing that he was betrayed by the people he worked with, Wikus became a fugitive and befriended the aliens who just wanted to go home. Unfortunately, the humans aren't just gonna allow them...


After watching this movie, I was impressed. Not bad for a South African movie...using unknown actors to create a real environment. How the movie potrayed the aliens was realistic enough and the CGI was well used, especially during the final battle sequence which is filled with hardcore violence where everyone gets blown to pieces...


Overall, this is quite a surprising hit, no doubt about it. If you are a Halo fan, there will be similarities to the game's elements beacuse this WAS supposed to be a Halo movie....





Cheers,
-Tim-