One part of a great sci-fi year

Rating: 7/10 (16 August 2009)

I just got back from seeing this and thought it was good - as in a solid 7 out of 10 good. There are a lot of perfect ratings, which I think has to do with people not expecting much going into it. The previews do a great job of not giving the drama away. To me a 9 or a 10 would be ALIEN, ALIENS or the first two TERMINATOR flicks.
I like my eye candy, even if it's only a tracking shot of a desolate ROAD WARRIOR landscape. My main DISTRICT 9 criticism is the shaky cam, washed out, docu-style shooting. Considering the setting is a slum, this approach looks even worse. I would have preferred smooth photography and shadowy lighting. Now, that doesn't keep me from enjoying BLAIR WITCH or CLOVERFIELD, but I think of how much more I would enjoy these movies without that docu-style gimmick. Granted, this camera work is nowhere near as disorienting as those two, but I can't say that I want to eagerly revisit this world of shaky slum shots. The movie is like SLUM DOG ALIEN MILLIONAIRE!
Some people are in awe of this being "only" a 30 million dollar movie. Did you expect Peter Jackson to ratchet up the WETA bill on his own production, or go with the low bid? There are no 20 million dollar actors in this. The aliens and effects are the stars of the movie, supported by a cast of unknowns. That's a good thing, because if the lead character was played by Tom Cruise, you would have certain anticipations. With the character of Wikus Van De Merwe, you don't know what to expect and that's the way it should be.
What worked best about this movie was how the storytelling would paint the main character into a corner and arc him out of it. It's a classic polar transformation. What is equally impressive is the morphing of the aliens into something we ultimately care about.
I like a lot of sci-fi and horror, so where does DISTRICT 9 sit for the year? I have to admit that I enjoyed STAR TREK a lot more. I would put this one in the mix with TERMINATOR: SALVATION and OUTLANDER. I really enjoyed those, more than probably most people. (I wouldn't ever expect McG to direct to the level of James Cameron, so no disappointment on my end.) Those movies are all easy on the eyes, whereas DISTRICT 9's superior characterization is counterbalanced by ugly backgrounds and photography. (I don't care how intentional that is, it made me enjoy it less than its potential.) TRANSFORMERS 2 was shallow fun, but sits near the bottom of my list. I still have to see WOLVERINE, but am not expecting much from it. EDEN LOG was just okay and if I had to pick on a movie, it would be DANTE 01, which was beautiful to look at, but bored me to tears. I haven't seen MUTANT CHRONICLES and some others.
I'm anxiously awaiting PANDORUM, SURROGATES, DAYBREAKERS and the year end biggie,...James Cameron's AVATAR. Cameron's movies are what most modern sci-fi is compared to, so I'm anxious to see if he can live up to the hype after his long hiatus. I think DISTRICT 9 will probably end up as one of my favorite top 3 or 4 sci-fi movies for 2009, which is a good showing.