DISTRICT 9- REVIEW
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Director: Neil Blomkanp
Cast: Sharlto Copley,Jason Cope,Nathalie Boltt,John Summer
Rating: 3.5/5
District 9 may well be a sleeper hit. It could also become a cult classic. There are elements about this movie that are innovative and certainly it re-invents the alien genre.
Whilst this reviewer felt engaged and excited by the prospect of the narrative, ultimately in its climactic scenes the Hollywood vehicle was on full throttle and some of the shine faded from this otherwise captivating caper.
Wikus van der merwe our willing hero, has a lot to be thankful for. He has married an angel, and his boss has promoted him to head of field operations, in charge of relocating or alien friends from their current slums, to a more appropriate location.
1.8 million prawns descended on Johannesburg some 20 years ago and travelled to Earth, taking up residence in District 9. Their standards of living and general refusal to abide by South African law have resulted in the Government and International entity Multi-National United (MNU) joining forces to run these creatures out of their shanties and move them out of town.
When Wikus gets too close for comfort with the prawns he is affected enough by them to change his attitude towards the unwelcome visitors and ultimately ends up with an understanding forming between himself and one particular alienated friend Chrstopher Johnson
Clearly the decision to place the action is troubled political hotbed South Africa was a calculated decision. Given the inspiration for the feature stemmed from the Blomkamp short film Alive in Johberg, it is pleasing to see that the location was kept the same in translation from short to feature.
This was a pleasant aspect of the film as a whole as so many alien epics are set in America. This such complaint was highlighted in the animation [I] Monsters Vs. Aliens[/] as it noted the US was the only place aliens ever seem to land in.
This reviewer felt somewhat disengaged with or hero Vikus at the start of the narrative however as his character arc progressed I became more aligned to his cause.
This may also reflect the general feeling I have regarding this film. It may grow on me and perhaps in some months I may rate it higher though I think it fell victim to hype and was not all it was cracked up to be.
A top quality prawn on a lukewarm barbie.
Rotten Tomatoes.com rated this 89/100%
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Nice to hear from you again ... Have you read my review of Adam ?!
-CR.