Review of District 9 (2009) by Dan — 06 Sep 2009

I was really eager to like this film, but there were some major story problems. E.g., why have the aliens not rebelled in 20 years despite the fact that they have advanced weaponry? Why does the head of the multinational corporation place his son-in-law, a total doofus, in charge of the relocation (and what was the purpose of the relocation anyway)? And would the father-in-law really be so evil that he doesn't stop the grotesque medical experiments on his son-in-law? How come the prawns mysteriously vanish from District 9 only to resurface abruptly at the end? And why are the humans so incredibly stupid and gullible about the corporation's true intentions? Also, why does the film adopt a mockumentary format but repeatedly shift to a more cinematic tone? How do the aliens and the humans communicate, anyway? I could go on, but it was these and other problems that prevented me from taking the film's "message" seriously (well, that and that not-quite-convincing CGI, which makes the aliens seems slightly cartoonish).

Suffice it to say, it's actually something of a relief when the film becomes another stupid action movie in the final act, if only because the movie drops any pretense of being a deep and profound meditation on prejudice and economic inequality.

As an audience, you really just want to see heads explode, which the movie delivers in spades. One final word of advice to the director: it's not necessary to explain via voiceover absolutely everything that we see on the screen.

Thanks, I have a brain and the plot isn't really that complicated.