Review of District 9 (2009) by David L — 17 Jul 2014

Never considered myself a lover of Sci-Fi but the more I watch, the more I'm becoming a fan! I think for me I confuse the type of film categorised under this genre as meaning star-trek like (which is a series that never appeals), whereas if I thought more along the lines of Star Wars and Alien then one could say I'm its biggest fan! This film would therefore be another example of the genre's like-ability factor, with a concept depicting the battle of two races; humans, and prawns, the latter heavily intending to be acting as a substitute for 'blacks', on the basis of South Africa's history of racism.

Whereas this film could have played more obvious references upon this hard hitting message in its portrayal, to me the focus of the feature remained on it's impressive CGI and eventful storyline. Presented in the style of a documentary, we follow Wikus, an employee at a local government agency who is tasked with evicting the 'prawns' to a more remote location.

With little respect for them, he goes about his way to get his job done until all of a sudden he begins to mutate following exposure to an alien fuel. At this point, Wikus is considered one of 'them' and faces a new battle to save himself and the humanity he previously opposed, from his former government colleagues and family.

It's a very actioned packed film which can be appealing to all given it's openness to interpretation. Some will reflect on its darker meaning, whilst others are simply wowed by the comic style gore and battle scenes.

I enjoyed both aspects but came away with a feeling of compassion towards the alien race in addition to the dislike for the so called 'humanity' of the government - a message I suspect the director would have wanted to get across.

There was a slight annoyance at the ending in the sense that it was left very open, but upon further reflection this could be viewed in two ways; one that it sees racism as very much an open book in today's society, or two, that they might at some point want to make a sequel.

I like the hidden message that the former implies, but now also like the idea of the latter having thoroughly enjoyed this movie.