District 9

I was a bit skeptical when I thought about watching this picture, considering all I knew about it was that it involved some aliens and it was more of a sci-fi flick than anything else. I am here to tell you that District 9 is much more than your typical human vs. aliens film. This film encompasses huge emotion, action, and cultural aspect of the futuristic concept of aliens living with humans.

In 1982 a mother star ship carried millions of bug-like aliens nicknamed, “Prawns” and landed over Johannesburg, South Africa. At the time, humans were skeptical, but welcomed these peaceful alien folk, as their ship was inoperable and their only option was to remain on earth. Now, in 2010, the initial welcome has faded as the refugee camp where the aliens were housed, District 9, has now turned into a repulsive slum where exploitation and crime are rampant. A military operation, Multi-National United (MNU), is hired to forcibly evict the Prawns from the only home they know on earth and move them to a separate location Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley) is in charge of the eviction operation.

During his mission, he is exposed to an unknown alien chemical and undergoes a strange transformation. Wikus slowly transforms into a Prawn-like form and becomes a torturous science experiment for MNU. Wikus finally escapes MNU, but has no where to turn to as any human would gladly turn him in. Wikus returns to District 9 and befriends one of the smarter Prawns, Christopher. Wikus learns that this alien chemical he was exposed to is fluid to help Christopher charge up the massive ship and return home. The chemical can also help transform him back into a human. The two team up and raid MNU, find the alien chemical, and fight their way back to the ship. I think I’ll stop right there! The ending is quite emotionally unique and I wouldn’t want to spoil the entire movie for you!

Director, Neill Blomkamp, deserves credit for this great film and how much he was able to capture with this idea. The beginning of the movie is staged as a documentary, giving the audience plenty of information and opinion about the Prawns being here on earth. I loved that District 9 portrayed cultural aspects of how an alien population would effect the African people and the world. Visually, this film was flawless. Wikus’ transformation, both emotionally and visually, from human to Prawn was impeccable and truly believable. My favorite part of District 9 was the emotion that Blomkamp was able to capture. I understand it would be difficult to have an emotional tie to the grub-like Prawns, but by the end of the film, I was rooting for the aliens! Excellent acting, immaculate visuals, and a great story line- that’s five stars in my book! District 9 came out on DVD/Blu Ray last week. This is definitely a good one to own or for sure rent!