Not as insightful or intelligent as some claim but makes for an entertaining summer blockbuster

Rating: Null/10 (15 September 2009)

There is a tendency for critics to do things to extremes. If you watch enough films you will find that, like most things, there is a massive quality bell-curve with the vast majority falling into the middle "it was OK" section of that curve. When big blockbuster films shift one way or the other in that spectrum critics take the opportunity to put the boot into it or lavish it with praise depending on which side it is on, making it seem like it is further to the end of the scale than it is. This should be kept in mind when coming to District 9 because while it is a very good film indeed, it is still a blockbuster sci-fi with all the action, plot holes and noise that they come with.
It is built on an interesting idea though, with political parallels and a setting that is for once not a major US city with landmarks and it does make it more intriguing and interesting than the obvious comparison of the summer which is the pointless Transformers 2. However this is not the same as saying it is as insightful or intelligent as some have claimed. Like the short film that I watched a few years ago, the metaphor is not really worked with as a subject but rather used as a base. There is nothing wrong with this but let's not pretend that the film is this wonderfully clever allegory that makes for the most intelligent subtext and discussion that we have ever seen – it most certainly does not.
What it does do though is provide more in the way of involvement in the focused story that makes up the film. This is the story of Wikus joining with one of the Prawns to try to save himself and, along the way, seeing them on a moral level for the first time. It is not earth-shatteringly insightful but it is smart and it makes of a good base for a thriller/action plot that delivers for everyone. Amazingly made for $30 million this film has a great look and everything looks "real" like it is really in the shot - unlike the technically impressive effects of Transformers. Like Empire Magazine said, Michael Bay has dreams that cost more than $30million! There isn't really a bit "money shot" here and indeed it is easy not to be impressed by the effects simply because they don't feel like CGI in the way too many action films these days impress technically but don't grip. It is surprisingly graphic for the rating but it is not unpleasantly violent because the characters are engaging enough and the action thrilling enough for you to be carried along rather than focus on the gore.
The film is delivered in a range of ways. It starts out as a documentary looking back but then starts to throw in dramatic scenes where no camera would have been there, before giving up on the idea and going dramatic with only bits of news footage etc thrown in to provide another camera angle and add to the realism of the scene (the action sequences at the end). This is not as jarring as some would suggest and, while it does feel a bit odd, it does mostly work because I don't think it has to be "one thing" throughout the film. What works particularly well are the performances – or rather the lead one. Copley is not an actor but yet he is able to improvise a character that is convincing as a dorky bureaucrat and as a man fighting for survival. He isn't dropping one-liners and he doesn't have a total change from his "anti-prawn" views during the majority of the film but yet he feels very real and not like someone giving a good performance. Likewise the Prawns feel real on the screen and the effects are more than good enough to allow convincing interaction with the human actors and also make them be characters rather than effects. This doesn't extend much further than that though and the head of MNU, the head mercenary and the head gangster are all fairly obvious pantomime villains – although to be fair this is what is required of them and they produce the thriller aspect. Speaking of the gangsters I will say that, while not a massive problem, it is a shame that Nigerians are portrayed 100% as they are in this film – it would have been just as easy to have a criminal gang in the role of criminal gang, there is no narrative reason for them being Nigerian in particular.
District 9 is a great summer blockbuster. Like the short film it builds on a base of an interesting idea to deliver effects and thrills that are amazing considering the (comparative) shoestring budget. It isn't as smart or as insightful as some have said but the film never claims to be and it is just the critics and those expecting something that isn't there that have said this. Engaging and thrilling with an engagingly interesting idea at its core, this is well worth seeing and I hope that the sequel will be as good (which will surely happen as the numbers more than make sense – which is normally all that matters).