Rated: R
Cast: Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, Nathalie Boltt
Director: Neil Blomkamp
I went to see District 9 a few weeks ago by myself - which is one of my favorite pastimes. I pay attention differently. The speed of the movie - District 9 is pretty fast - is easier for me to get used to. I don't have to share food ("JOEY DOESN'T SHARE FOOD").
I was thoroughly impressed with District 9. If you don't know, it is a movie about an alien ship that comes to Earth, but not to invade or colonize. The closest approximation I have seen to it is Alien Nation. A human, who is in charge of relocating the Aliens, once the city of Johannesburg (maybe an overly obvious choice - but Blomkamp is from S. Africa) is tired of their proximity, becomes infected with an alien liquid and is forced to live in their shanties. There is more to the movie of course, but I do not want to give it away. Maybe it is about 'isms'. District 9 is certainly about people and their/our darkness. It is about the potential of one man or woman to do the right thing. And, it might be about the consequences of all of those things coming together - quickly. I will say this, instead of 'what will the aliens do to us?', District 9 is about what we might do to them. And, it is a "disturbingly plausible" movie in that regard.
The movement is fast, but you will not lose the story. The acting is superb. District 9 begins as a pseudo-documentary, and moves into full blown Sci-Fi somewhere in the middle. The ending drags a bit, but you soon understand why. And all of us who have seen will eagerly anticipate District 10. Speed: 65 MPH.
What I loved: the acting, the story, the cinematography, the no-apologies approach.
What I did not love: they dragged the end out in a way that didn't seem to flow with the rest of the movie's speed. I understand the amount of movement desired, but it drug out.
4.5/5 stars. That is relative to the genre.
