District 9

I was quite skeptical about watching District 9 at first, but now that I have watched it, I can honestly tell you, ‘WOW! It took me by storm!’.

I mean, I watched the trailer beforehand, and I couldn’t really tell what the movie was about except its about aliens and another sci-fi movie. One thing caught my attention though, it was produced by Peter Jackson. Here’s the trailer for you to find out more about it.

Apparently District 9 is a big hit in the US, moving it past G.I. Joe and topping the US box office, so I guess there gotta be some truth in that. True enough, with only a budget of $30 Million, totally unknown actors and actresses, the movie turned out surprisingly good!

Storyline wise, I’m giving it two thumbs up. From the start as to how the movie build up till the end, my attention was deeply captured by the plot, which is ever so intriguing. I’m gonna diss Transformers 2 here again, it once again beats Transformers 2 storyline hands down. I mean, this movie only took $30M, and Transformers 2 took like what? $200M??

Okay, this movie.. can be a bit violent. Wait, scratch that, its gore is excessive! To be honest, the Malaysian Censorship Board took out none of those (except the part showing some alien feast). So yea, for guys, typically, be rest assured, you’re gonna go ‘OOOooooooohh shieeeettttttt!’ at many scenes. Since it is rated as 18-SG, parents might wanna take note what you might expose your children to.

This film kinda gives a very fresh feeling to alien movies once again, as I believe the alien movie plots were never once done like how District 9 portrayed it. Go watch it, and you will understand what I’m talking here. Can’t be revealing spoilers, can I? =D

Oh yea, thirst for alien weaponry? Name it, you’ve got it! Played Half Life before? Go figure. =D

Main actor, Sharlto Copley (Wikus): “I can haz Big Fat Alien Gunzz??”

All in all, I was pretty satisfied with it. I mean, having zero expectation on the movie, since I only decided to watch it because class ended at 11am and I didn’t want to go home that early, it really really surprised me. Peter Jackson can make wonders! I’m giving it a personal rating of 4.5/5.0!

Here’s the plot of the movie from Wikipedia. [SPOILERS ALERT!]

The film opens with a documentary-style series of interviews that explain events that occurred twenty years prior when an alien ship settled above Johannesburg, South Africa. After three months of speculation as to the ship’s purpose, humans cut their way in, discovering a large group of sick and malnourished non-humans. These beings were later assessed as being “workers”, with their leadership mysteriously missing. A command module later fell to Earth, although it was never found. The creatures, primarily referred to as “prawns”—a derogatory reference to the Parktown prawn, a king cricket species found in South Africa—were ultimately housed in a government camp inside Johannesburg. Overcrowding and militarization eventually turned the area into a slum known as District 9, and a massive black market was established between the aliens and a group of Nigerians. A private company known as Multi-National United (MNU), which specializes in weapons-use, eventually became in charge of the situation in District 9.

In present day, an MNU field operative named Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley) is assigned the task of relocating the 1.8 million aliens to a new “District 10″ camp located 240 km from Johannesburg, with help from private security forces working for MNU. While inspecting a suspicious alien residence, Wikus handles an alien device which sprays a dark liquid into his face. After confiscating the device as evidence, he soon becomes very sick; a doctor at a local hospital discovers his left arm has mutated into an alien appendage. Wikus is then taken into custody by MNU, and a series of tests are performed on him, revealing that his now-alien DNA allows him to operate alien weapons, which are useless to humans due to their integration with alien biology. The scientists intend to harvest Wikus’ DNA so as to replicate it to allow other humans to operate alien technology, but Wikus overpowers his captors and escapes.

Wikus seeks refuge in District 9, where he meets an alien given the name Christopher Johnson, who is the same alien who engineered the device that infected Wikus. This device is revealed to contain fuel that Christopher had scavenged from various alien artifacts scattered around District 9. Although initially hostile towards Wikus, Christopher eventually agrees to help him reverse the genetic transformation if Wikus will retrieve the fuel from MNU labs. Christopher promises to undo the mutation by getting Wikus aboard the mother ship, and shows Wikus the ship’s missing command module, which has been hidden under his shack.

While attempting to buy some alien weaponry from the Nigerian gang, Wikus is seized by the paralysed Obesandjo’s henchmen in an attempt to gain Wikus’ ability to work the weapons. He escapes taking some alien weaponry with him, and with Christopher’s help, breaks into MNU and successfully retrieves the fuel sample. Wikus and Christopher fight their way back to District 9 and Christopher begins preparations to leave. Christopher then tells Wikus that he must first return to his home world to seek help for his people before he can cure Wikus, a process that would take about three years. Frustrated, Wikus knocks Christopher unconscious and powers up the command module with the help of Christopher’s young son. Shortly after Wikus lifts off, the MNU mercenaries destroy one of the command module’s engines with a rocket, causing it to crash land back into District 9.

Wikus is then captured by MNU and a battle between the MNU mercenaries and Obesandjo’s gang breaks out. After a protracted firefight, the Nigerians capture Wikus and prepare to remove his arm. Before they are able to, Christopher’s son activates the mother ship, as well as a mechanized battle suit which autonomously slaughters Obesandjo and his men. After entering the alien battle suit, Wikus rescues Christopher from being killed by MNU mercenaries. In the following battle, overwhelmed by the MNU, Wikus talks Christopher into returning to the ship without him while he creates a diversion. Christopher promises Wikus that he will return in three years to repair his body. Christopher then boards the command module and activates a tractor beam which returns the command module to the mother ship. Heavily wounded, Wikus is ejected from the damaged suit and is quickly caught by the leader (and sole survivor) of the MNU squad. Before he can be killed, however, aliens burst out of the surrounding slums and dismember the mercenary.

The mother ship leaves Johannesburg’s sky for the first time in two decades, and the townspeople cheer in response. The film concludes with another series of interviews and news broadcasts, providing human opinions on the events that unfolded. The aliens are successfully moved to District 10, which is said to have a population of 2.5 million and growing. One of Wikus’ coworkers hacks MNU’s database and publicly exposes their illegal genetic experiments. People theorize about Wikus’ fate; some believe that he left on the mother ship, while others believe he is in hiding, or perhaps captured by the government. It is also hypothesized that the aliens might return and declare war on humanity. A scene with Wikus’ wife reveals that a small metal flower was left on her doorstep, which she muses may have been a gift from Wikus, who had a penchant for handmade gifts. In the final scene, an alien with a bandaged left arm is shown in a junk yard fashioning a flower out of scrap metal.

Now if you trust my opinion, go ahead and indulge in District 9!

Last 5 posts by Nicholas

• Friendships - June 11th, 2011
• Friends. - November 24th, 2010
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