Recent years have seen quite the horrific drought in decent science fiction films. In an age where the rape of childhood IP's like the big screen adaptation tripe of Transformers and G.I.Joe: The Rise of Cobra (okay, okay, they both always sucked) top the box office, my assumption is that genre fans, both core and peripheral moviegoers have simply given up on quality, content to feed their complacency with a large popcorn and coo coo the abundance of soulless, computer animated special effects. EXPWOSIONS FTW!From what I read of its origins, and saw through the trailer and viral marketing, District 9 promised something a little different. Perhaps a more visceral Alien Nation. Or perhaps another abortion of a documentary-style sci-fi flick like Cloverfield. I wound up impressed with many of the elements and decisions made for this film, but overall I was somewhat underwhelmed.
*SPOILER DISTRICT*
The film is essentially a fleshed out feature length modification of Blomkamp's Alive in Joburg short from a few years back. Alien refugees (I assume) have found their way into Earth's atmosphere, over Johannesburg, and have been kenneled off into a slum for both their own protection and that of humanity. The first 15 or so minutes of the film are told through a series of newsclips and interviews that hustle us into the story of Wikus Van De Merwe, an employee of MNU (Multi-National United, the 'evil corporation of the story'...insert eyerolls here) who becomes an important figure when something goes wrong during an attempt to evict the aliens to a new campsite.
The aliens, referred to as 'prawn' for their dirty habits of 'bottom feeding' and collecting garbage and food (they look like a hybrid of upright locust and squid), are interesting. They speak like droids in Star Wars, they eat rubber and cats' food, and have very little sense for personal property (putting them at odds with humanity). They are both vulnerable and dangerous, susceptible to anything that kills a human, but their chitinous limbs can detach a person's arm or head easily enough. The 'prawn' have been designed well, with fluid, consistent animation and plenty of character.
Unfortunately, the documentary-style newsreel tone to the film is soon abandoned in favor of a fairly by-the-numbers sci-fi action film. There is a lot of gun porn here, it seems Neill Blomkamp and Peter Jackson's involvement in the Halo franchise has translated into all manner of alien weaponry you'd find in the latest FPS. The violence is visceral and power packed, lots of exploding peoples, and they saw fit to throw in some fan service to all the mech fans in the audience, with a powered armor suit that puts all of Michael Bay's nonsense to shame. The film moves quickly and the charisma of its lead Sharlto Copley was enough to keep me entertained until the finale, but I can't help but feel disappointed by what this COULD have been: a full fledged science fiction mockumentary with impressive special effects that fully immerse the viewer.
As soon as the film transformed into The Fugitive with aliens, I found myself mindlessly awaiting the next big explosion and not caring about the characters. The film has numerous McGuffins and science fiction cliches which probably could have been avoided. Tractors beams, miracle elixirs that can both power up a starship and transform DNA, and the aforementioned gun porn do little to advance the story of social alien interaction and the broader rammifications on the population of Earth to know we are not alone in the universe. Seriously...this could have been much more than 'evil corporation wants to experiment and steal bio-technology to change the course of warfare for the highest bidder'. We've seen this plot a thousand fucking times. Even the Alien films had this plot when you think about Bishop, etc. The evil soulless corporations are getting a little tired. It's a shame District 9 had to go there.
Despite my disappointment at taking the easy way out, there are still numerous positive qualities to District 9 that should be noted. Though the placement of the story draws an obvious parallel to apartheid, it's never shoved down your throat. There are villains of all colors in this film. In addition to the generic 'blah blah' evil white men with shaved heads, you have the Nigerian vodoun criminals who think they can devour the aliens to gain their powers. Even the aliens themselves seems shady as they keep numerous facts from the humans (one of which, had they brought it up earlier, might have spared all the conflict and had them sent packing a decade or so before the events of the film). The special effects here were simply amazing, I never felt they went overboard or became so blurred that I couldn't follow the action on screen. The alien mothership was ominous and incredible, the alien weaponry (though very video game) was fulfilling when discharged, the score was passable, and the sound effects bombastic. Blomkamp was wise to use a South African cast for the film, it lent an authenticity that would have been immediately lost through the use of big name Hollywood stars.
District 9 was an enjoyable film for a single serving, but it's not one I will return to, as there is nothing interesting enough for me to want to see again. The mech suit was slick, but not much fun against stupid mercenaries who employ standard ordnance and motor vehicles instead of running in the face of obviously superior firepower (which they would have done in any realistic situation, and since this film's strength was its realistic take on the alien quarantine...yeah, what the hell). Though older, dated and often a bit cheesy, Alien Nation had a stronger storyline and offered a better glimpse into the cohabitation of humans and alien refugees. Still, this film was one of the best of its genre to release in some time. I hope Blomkamp's competence and special effects can be applied to a more interesting story in the future.
Verdict: Win [7/10]
http://www.d-9.com/
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