By Ryan Casey
There are certain movies that come along and genuinely excite me. Neill Blomkamp’s science fiction blockbuster District 9 is one those movies. Set in modern day Johannesburg, and consisting of a relatively unknown cast District 9 hinted at offering something entirely fresh to the realm of science fiction cinema.
PLOT SYNOPSIS
In 1982, a gigantic UFO took stationary residents over the city of Johannesburg. The craft was inhabited by an alien species labelled the derogatory term ‘prawns’. Twenty-eight years have passed and the prawns now live in a vast refugee camp called District 9 on the outskirts of the city. As local residents now tire of their intergalactic neighbours, tensions begin to flare and it is demand that the ‘Prawns’ are moved on to a new location.
This task is undertaken by a the international munitions corporation Multi-National United (MNU), and is fronted by Wikus Van Der Merwe (Sharlto Copley). Wikus is an awkward, underwhelming man and has his own racial prejudices with the ‘Prawn’ race.
Wikus is subsequently thrust into an unpredictable environment that holds certain sinister secrets, to which transforms his simple mission of re-location into a desperate battle for survival. Humanities disregard for the alien species appears misplaced as there is more to the ‘Prawns’ than meets the eye.
The entire vision of District 9 is expertly crafted. Everything from the alien’s appearance and their ‘Prawn’ nickname through too their addiction to cat food creates a thoroughly believable picture of an intergalactic race. Sharlto Copley gives a harrowingly thought provoking performance as Wikus. His shift from being a moderate working class man to his eventual stance as the figure at the centre of the conflict between humanity and the Prawns is achieved with a raw desperation and emotion that really drives the narrative forward.
The rest of the cast all put in solid performances. One of note coming from Robert Hobbs as the Prawn hating commando Ross Pienaar, whose destructive, fierce and loathsome personality really questions whose side you should really be on in the movie.
The style of District 9 is somewhat unique. It is a blend of gritty documentary filmmaking combined with classic swashbuckling action Hollywood cinema. These wholly different genres complement each other nicely to the films narrative as the subject matter is given a personal twist, whilst the thirst to see grand battle scenes is satisfyingly quenched.
RATING
I have not been able to stop myself doing a South African accent since seeing this movie. It was everything I hoped it would be, and more. District 9 has breathed fresh life into the science-fiction genre, which in recent years has been void of fresh ideas. 4.5 Stars out of 5.
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