District 9

Awesome, but ever so slightly flawed. Does that even make sense?

Neill Blomkamp has seen a few alien films in his time, and this is a tribute to them all. But then, it is also something completely new and fresh. An exhilarating ride that had me riveted from the start until the credits rolled.

Told using fly on the wall techniques, as well as spliced in security camera footage, District 9 tells the story of genuine ‘illegal’ aliens, stranded in a city and a country that does not want them.

Set in South Africa any one on a number of parallel could be drawn, yet the film does not go down that path. A cast of unknowns, who I believe ad-libbed most of the dialogue, and the style of filming make this a beautiful piece of cinema.

There are special effects aplenty, although at only $30million this was an extremely cheap film by today’s standards, but it is all done so well you don’t even notice, it just belnds as if this was real. For 90 odd minutes you believe it is.

The central story is of Wikus, a bureaucrat  working for a corrupt agency, who while acting out his orders of clearing out District 9  to move the aliens to a ‘better’ home, is accidently infected with alien DNA.

This sparks off both a physical and emotional metamorphosis as the man transforms from a horrible cold blooded enemy of the aliens into an almost freedom fighter for his once antagonist, or resistance leader as it were.

The set pieces are spectacular.  I could go into detail, but you need to see it for yourself. If you have seen Bad Taste (Peter Jackson produced this) or the Fly, you kind of know what sort of thing to expect.

My only gripe and it is not that big, but still lingers in the air is this. The film is all handy cam, like news footage you see every day from war zones or other places in plight. Interspersed with this is surveillance cam footage, obviously filling in the blanks were the ‘documentary’ team could not go. However sometimes there are just other filmed scenes where there is no explanation. There should be no camera there but we see what is going on. As I said, not a biggy, but does jar slightly when watching.

In conclusion, one of the most refreshing sci-fi films I have seen in a long time. Think I have to go and see it again now.

Meh! Rating: 9/10