Review of District 9 (2009) by Eric J — 15 Aug 2013

In 2009, Neil Blomkamp made his feature film debut with District 9, a film that I found to be quite stunning after my first viewing. Not only is District 9 visually incredible but it also has a lot of substance; the characters are very believable and the story is also very unique.

Blomkamp co-wrote this film along with Terri Tatchell and their script was just fascinating. One of the many things that made District 9 a breath of fresh air was the script. Normally movies that feature aliens usually has some type of war between humans and aliens; but, in this movie we see what would happened if an alien craft broke down over Johannesburg and if we took them hostage and I really loved that.

I thought the story was pretty amazing because it was something that hasn't been done before and in my eyes it was done perfectly. One of the reasons why I was so invested to the story was because of how well written the main character, Wikus, was.

He had enough background and you got to know who this person was so as the movie goes on you start to care more and more for him because of this situation he is in. I also loved the fact that he changed so much throughout the film and no matter what you still care for him.

Even though this is a very serious movie it still has it's spots of humor and I thought some of the stuff in this movie was pretty funny. Blomkamp's direction for this film was just spectacular, his style was unique and he is brilliant when it comes to effects.

One thing that makes District 9 interesting is the style of the film, parts of it are made as if it's a documentary and other parts are made as if it's made like a normal movie. Speaking of the style I thought the camera work was great, the documentary feel and sometimes the shakiness added to the intensity in my opinion.

I don't need to say this but I will, the special effects and visual effects in this movie are fabulous. Everything looks so incredible from the Prawns, the technology, even the setting that were used.

The action sequences for this film are incredibly shot and look fantastic, so entertaining! Last week I saw Blomkamp's latest film Elysium and one thing that impressed me was Sharlto Copley, the dude is a magnificent actor! He is used best when he is with Blomkamp and this movie is no exception, he just captures his character perfectly! In the end District 9 is an incredible film and in my opinion one of the best Sci-Fi films ever made, definitely check this one out!