District 9

To be honest, things have been going downhill for the sci-fi genre for a long time, at least since the famous Star Wars films by Lucas. Too often, both viewers and creators confuse it with the popular fantasy genre, which is much easier due to its fairy tale themes. Pure sci-fi films are rare and are often made according to a certain template, for safety reasons. Blomkamp's District 9 is a very pleasant innovation and a combination of several subgenres into one spectacular and satisfying spectacle. In its essence, it is a simple story in the style of a straightforward adventure, interwoven with many action elements of classic sci-fi, spiced up by a documentary introduction and an interesting anti-hero in the lead role. Sharlto Copley does not look or act like a positive character for most of the runtime; instead, he acts like a cynical opportunist (the scene of the "abortion" of an alien newborn) who is primarily trying to save his own skin. The main motif of District 9 is the racial segregation of different ethnicities and cultures - it is no coincidence that the director placed his story in South Africa... In addition to the cramped environment of South African slums, there are dynamic camera shots that capture action scenes without the viewer losing track for even a moment, unfamiliar actors who are trying their best, a range of directorial ideas, raw dialogue, and overall creativity, which make District 9 look more attractive and visually impressive than many genre counterparts with much higher budgets. The fast pace and tension allow the viewer to overlook certain logical errors (one can only envy Wikus for how quickly he learns to control the combat robot with alien technology) and shortcomings. Although District 9 may not be at the absolute peak of the genre, it is still my nicest cinematic surprise of this year... Overall impression: 85% (09/20/2009)

Documentary preview spoiled by senseless perspectives "outside", bizarre exaggeration of side lines and glaring logical absurdities. Plus one solid action scene. This script simply hit a wall after ten minutes, as it unfolded into pig soldiers, insane scientists, and ritual-thinking Nigerians. Additionally, the only likable character is the backgrounded alien Christopher, who outshines the selfish Wikus in almost everything. Every battle clash must be accompanied by some bloody effect, prostitutes sleep with aliens (??), and Blomkamp clearly hits the taste of the audience and critical majority, who applaud him for the gritty atmosphere. But it does nothing for me, so for those few solid (although quickly drowned) ideas, just like this. (11/06/2009)

I’ll say up front that it's a better 4 stars, because I'm still a bit bleary eyed. It was there, what people are like. There was action. There were powerful weapons. There were interesting aliens. It was cool X-D I'm so freaked out about it. It's definitely worth a movie ticket. It really was beautifully believable, the documentary style didn't hurt it, at all. Watch it again? Why not. Well, the best part was the use of the "dusting" gun anyway. I guess I'm a weirdo for liking it... In short: I have such a hard-to-describe feeling about this movie, but my cheeks are burning, which means it was good and that I paid maximum attention. (09/16/2009)

I resisted the seductive call of the DVDrip so I could watch this film for the first time in the cinema, and now I can say that I would have been furious with myself if I had missed it. Neil Blomkamp delivers a great science fiction film, the best in recent years (and what’s nice is that this isn’t the first time this year that I say this, and maybe not even the last, re: Moon and Avatar). I respect the radical style change between the first and second halves, but I loved the first half better because it’s something incredible and never seen before in the genre and in this form. Rather than to Cloverfield, District 9 is more similar to the unknown Japanese horror film Noroi the Curse, which keeps the documentary format uninterrupted for its entire runtime. The events of the second half could not be captured as a “documentary”, that was very clear to me. Even though it reaches its “WOW” peak somewhere at the beginning, the rest of film is so striking and breathtaking that it was a joy to watch. The occasional lapses in the script are easy to ignore – they aren’t as big as I’ve read in some reviews. I recommend it. Edit: The second viewing brings the rating down to four. (09/17/2009)

Definitely the surprise of the year. I really didn’t expect D9 to be this good. The original approach of the guy who I’d almost written off during the test shots for Halo blew my mind. Blomkamp knows his stuff. He’s good at provoking mixed feelings, where you don’t know whether to laugh or be disgusted. The whole movie is supported by an amazing performance from the unknown Sharlto Copley and his Wikus is everything but a good-guy main lead. Regardless everything he does at the beginning, the viewer still can be on board with him. Most of the people and the prawns, are bastards anyway. When I think about it, the only actual good guy was Chris. :-) It’s the best sci-fi so far this year (but this will probably be beaten by Avatar which comes out December 17th). This year’s Terminator can go take a walk. - Should I shoot the little bastard? - , you can’t shoot it now, it’s illegal to do that. (11/14/2009)