District 9

Rating: Null/10 (30 December 2009)

In recent times, an original idea for a science-fiction movie is a rare thing. With little more than the endless rehashes of the classics and outrageous, over-elaborate nature-docs courtesy of M. Night Shyamalan to quieten our inner geek in 2008, it seemed the genre could be beginning to die out, leaving the comic-book hero sub-genre to hit its stride and take the helm for a while. However, with the throwback to classic sci-fi in the form of Moon, a brand new Star Trek movie, and the success of District 9 having since emerged, 2009 looks set to see an unprecedented resurgence in the genre.
In 1982, an alien spaceship arrived over Johannesberg, bringing one million alien lifeforms to earth with it. Leaderless and malnourished, the aliens were initially offered asylum, but were quickly overpowered and crowded into District 9, a segregated and highly-policed slum. After receiving public pressure, the Multi-National United Corporation are forced to relocate the aliens – dubbed 'prawns' due to their similar appearance – to a new camp further afield and we follow Wikus (Sharlto Copley) as he enters the town to hand out eviction notices. After encountering a mysterious black liquid in one of the shacks, he discovers his superiors' desire to examine him for use of alien technology and is forced to become a fugitive, befriending prawn Christopher Johnson along the way.
At first glance, District 9 is a straight-forward man on the run film, an updated version of North by Northwest or a hybrid form of Alien Nation/The Fly. On closer inspection however, it attempts to form an allegory for the events of 1970s Africa, combining the events of apartheid with an otherworldly spin for a modern western audience. When the visuals are good, they are outstanding. The state of the art special effects are simply beautiful, effortlessly merging the real with the unreal, and rooting the story within a world that will seem as real to a post-reality TV audience as anything you'll see in a documentary; posing the unsettling idea that this could all too likely happen. Its unique visual style is fast-paced and exciting, taking us along for the ride and delicately crafting every scene to enhance the story. Protagonist Wikus is a wonderful concoction of flawed personality and skewed moral judgement, with a driving force of panic and desperation still managing to capture the audience along with him.
While the film achieves in many areas, the first time director's success seems hit and miss at times. An engrossing documentary set-up introduces the film, only to be abandoned and picked up at various points, creating a jarring effect and hence losing a great sense of the realism it so painstakingly strives for. Thrilling, thought-provoking and oh so much fun, District 9 is nonetheless destined to become a sci-fi cult classic and, judging by Blomkamp's recent comments, a long and successful franchise. Although a flawed film in many ways, its sheer ambition cannot be faulted and the director seems to be one to watch in the future. The game has changed, playing with our expectations in an unwavering dedication to real world issues, and leaving us with the feeling that, in times of panic in the face of the unknown, we may just revert back to the mistakes of our past.