DISTRICT 9 (2009)

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"From the ashes of Halo comes District 9. Prawns and humans rejoice."

Spoiler Warning

"Human-A member of the genus Homo and especially of the species H. sapiens."

"Prawn-a derogatory reference to the Parktown prawn, a king cricket species found in South Africa"

"Best film of the summer-District 9"

District 9 rose from the ashes of the Halo film adaptation. When that died, it was reincarnated as an expanded film version of Neil Blomkamp's "Alive In Joburg." As basically a "sorry that other huge blockbuster didn't work out for you" gift from Peter Jackson, Blomkamp perfected his short film for the big screen.

Part Oscar contender, part summer blockbuster, District 9 serves as one big metaphor for the apartheid system in South Africa from the late 40s to the early 90s. It takes place in an alternate Johannesburg. Over 20 years ago, an alien mothership stopped abruptly over the South African city. After three months of anticipation, we were finally able to cut through and discovered an alien species we harshly referred to as "prawns." The prawns were located to a government camp called District 9, and over the course of the film, are being forced into a second installation away from Johannesburg called District 10.

The film starts out slow, but it's a build up for the spectacle that is to come. It perfectly sets up how these aliens got here and what we did through a series of interviews and documentary styled shots. In fact, most of the film is shot documentary style, but it's nothing like hand-held camera POV flicks like Quarantine or Cloverfield. It combines documentary filming with traditional to make a highly original masterpiece. Wikus van der Merwe(Sharlto Copley) is an MNU officer who's given the job of leading the operation to relocate the aliens. After Wikus is exposed to their alien technology, the film really starts to pick up.

Themes-D9 focuses on an ensemble of different themes. It delivers a compelling message while never being too preachy:

Intolerance: The film brings to the forefront people's intolerance of others. In one of the interviews, a human resident says "If they were from another country, I could understand, but they're not even from this planet," an amusing exclamation since the majority of people in the world can't tolerate their own people.

Human rights: D9's analogies for human rights are quite ironic since the prawns aren't "human." Civil rights groups protest outside of D9 as the government evicts the aliens. It's a simple look at how we treat each other through a science fiction metaphor, but it also goes deeper than to just ask "who is qualified to have human rights?" It asks "what makes someone human?" because by the end of the film, I found the prawns to be more human than any of us.

Experimentation: It's discovered that the government has been viciously experimenting on the prawns to discover how to use their alien weaponry. Wikus even finds himself at scientific mercy once he's exposed. It shows our disregard for others' emotions in the name of science and research.

Self-discovery: Wikus is forced to reevaluate his look on the aliens when he begins transforming into one of them. It takes the saying "walk a mile in someone else's shoes" to a whole new level. Wikus realizes what the government has been doing to the aliens, and finds himself on the run. It's a journey of self-discovery as he must come to terms with not only losing his wife but also losing his "humanity" in order to give someone else a fighting chance.

Favorite moment: Prawns to the rescue-Just as Wikus is about to get killed by a nasty MNU mercenary, a group of prawns surround him and literally tear him apart, feasting on his body parts. Runner-up: Wikus as an alien(final scene).

VIS's Verdict: D9 isn't revolutionary, but it's proof that an original sci-fi tale can still thrive in cinema today. The visuals are highly impressive. You'll believe the aliens are actually there with the humans. You may scream, you may laugh, you may cray, but just don't forget the message that the film is trying to convey.

Sequel predictions: D9 leaves room open for a sequel, and there probably will be one. However, I'd just prefer it D9 remained a stand alone classic. Since Hollywood rarely believes in those anymore, the sequel could most likely be called District 10, taking place 3 years after the events of the first movie. Christopher comes back to Earth to revert Wikus back to his human form and the events during those 3 years can be told through interviews, just as the backstory of this film was.