District 9 (2009)

DISTRICT 9

My very first reaction to this movie? amazing. visually pleasing, phenomenal acting, basic, yet intriguing plot.

Although it's graphic, quite a bit of cursing and violence, it doesn't detract from the storyline of the movie. The dozens of exploding humans and 'prawns', along with the tearing of a human limb from limb, the f-bomb being thrown out there every other sentence, didn't make me think, "this movie is extremely action packed". This movie was so much more than an action, it was a drama, a sci-fi, and an all-around incredible movie.
The plot is simplistic, however incredibly grasping. it pulled me in from the first few minutes, and kept me intrigued and entertained for the duration of the movie.
The first twenty minutes or so of the movie is almost boring, if you were looking for an action movie. very documentary-esque, and almost sloppily edited, it was what i called a very "Cloverfield styled" shooting style. (i use 'Cloverfield' (2008) as an example, because this was the very first movie i have seen that uses the style of shooting that makes you think you're the guy with the camera, running around new york while trying to avoid the american godzilla.) The slow start to this movie isn't bad, it really reels you in, gives you an amazing background of what happened.

They reach a point where it switches from mock-documentary to what i'd call a normal movie. It follows Wikus Van De Merwe and his exposure to alien technology, his attempts to hide from the South African Government and hired military groups, and his helping of the alien race.

The acting of this movie is what i got the most out of it. Sharlto Copley, something of a no-name actor, did a phenomenal job. His character, De Merwe, was absolutely gripping. His turnaround from MNU agent and head of alien eviction, to almost savior like role to the alien race, was second to none. Once exposed to an alien infection, he slowly transforms from human to 'prawn' throughout the movie. After being almost dissected and used as an MNU science fair project, he escapes the MNU headquarters and becomes disillusioned about the MNU's biological research program and helps the aliens escape their prison on earth.

David James plays colonel Koobus Venter (what a silly name), the main antagonist and villain of the movie. He plays his role perfectly, the role of a ruthless, 'prawn' hating mercenary. He is sent to capture De Merwe, and throughout the movie i thought to myself, "i really hate this guy. when is he going to get killed?".

So, to recap, i loved it. My personal opinion is it was the best movie of 2009. (yes, it topped avatar. i have my reasons, i'll post a review about avatar and my problems with it at a later date.) The acting was the best i've seen in a movie for a long time, and the plot was very... abnormal. The whole idea of the movie is strange, but this is the first time i have seen a movie with such a simple plot and still not hated the fact that the plot was as simplistic as it was.

Total Rating: 8.3 out of 10.0

Categories: "Intelligent man", "Wow that's violent", and "Action movie you still have to think about"