Forums → Popular Media → District 9 Review (NO SPOILERS)

I've been rather behind on watching movies and I had a four day weekend so I hit up Netflix and started writing my reviews.

District 9
Starring: Sharlto Carpley, Jason Cope, Nathalie Boltt, John Summer, and William Allen Young
Rated: R
Runtime: 112 Minutes
Info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1136608/

Cast: A
I have never heard of ANY of these actors. Granted, most of them are foreign and have pretty think accents, so, I'm sure many Americans hadn't heard of most of these actors. However, that doesn't mean they weren't absolutely amazing. Sharlto Carpley being the most amazing of the bunch, everybody added their own essence to the film.

Characters: A
Even though Peter Jackson did write/direct this movie, you can completely see his touch on it. The characters were incredible and very easy to personify with. Sharlto Carpley plays the main character, Wikus Van De Merwe. Wikus (pronounced Veekus) works for the MNU (Multi-National United) an alien research part of the government. I don't want to give anything away, but, he starts by being a very innocent, kindly young man and he eventually turns into a real man. His growth and his changes are some of the best development I have ever seen in a character from an actor's talent. The rest of the characters are really low key since the story focuses on the aliens.

Plot: A+
A large Mothership appears above Johannesburg, South Africa. The people of Johannesburg decided to fly up to the ship and cut it open after three months of no activity. What they find is a real shock. Inside is thousands upon thousands of these alien creatures that look sick, dying, and malnourished. So, they use government funds to build what is basically a "camp" where these aliens can live. After they get better, the people decide they look like REALLY large prawns, so, they start using it as a derogatory term and continually refer to them as &quotrawns". As the Prawns get better and grow, the camp turns into a real problem. The Prawns start escaping and causing havoc all over the town. They start killing humans, trashing homes, and even burning down buildings. So, the Government decides to evict them and move them to a new place (which is basically a concentration camp). They travel to the present camp, now called District 9, and try to get them sign papers to evict them. We learn that the Prawns need licenses to have kids, they can't certain things in their shacks, and they LOVE cat food. Wikus ends up finding a cylinder with a brown liquid in it that the Prawns say took them 20 years to develop. It squirts in his face and he starts having REALLY weird symptoms. I will stop here and let you watch the rest to figure out what happens (even though you probably already have a good idea what)...

Script/Dialogue/Prawn Language: A
Everything about the movie is amazing and natural when it comes to dialogue. The Prawn language is also difficult to decipher because it all basically sounds the same. It's a bunch of clicking and noises, but, it is very original and cool to listen to. The script is very well written and very original.

Special Effects: A+
You get to see a lot of Prawn technology including a gun that basically just shoots a single Lightning Bolt which will make an entire person explode. There are some cool robotic figures, the Mothership looks amazing, the Prawns are very well developed, and it just overall has some good bloody, gory, explosive effects.

Overall: A
District 9 basically dazzled me. I went by myself to the movie (because nobody else was available to go OR I don't have many friends, whichever you want to believe). The beginning started weird for me because the first 15-20 minutes is shot in a documentary style, BUT, it revealed SO much without boring us with small conversations and relentless conflict. It gave us the story in a very raw and real way. As the movie progresses, it goes off the beaten path of documentary because of what happens to Wikus. Amazing effects, incredible plot, UNBELIEVABLE acting, and overall greatness. District 9 is one of the movies that I would happily watch over and over again without getting tired of it.

I just hope they make a sequel. They left it wide open for one (you'll all get to see what I mean after you watch it). Of course, it would be JUST fine if they kept it ended where it did Smile

"Star Sharlto Copley had not acted before and had no intention of pursuing an acting career. He stumbled into the leading role as Neill Blomkamp placed him on-camera during the short film."

I read this on imdb.com just a moment ago, and I COULD NOT believe it. This film is based off of a short film directed by the same director of this movie. Interesting considering just how good Sharlto was in this movie...