Great idea, poor script.

Rating: 6/10 (17 August 2009)

Summer of ought nine has really disappointed for sci-fi/fantasy movie fans. Harry Potter was long and boring, GI Joe made children cry, but there was hope with the very cool looking District 9. I skipped into the theater and plopped down with my Diet Coke and Taco Bell to enjoy what would certainly be the best movie of the summer. Looking at the movie ratings here you'd think it was, but never underestimate the power of fans who thought they went to see Halo.
Like I said, the film had a great idea. I'm sure the short film was a great preview for the feature, but somewhere in fleshing out the script Neill Blomkamp went horribly wrong. Maybe it's the obsession with trying to be a writer/director that kept him from checking with other writers to see if there were any, I don't know, massive plot holes or something, but it was so ponderous and scattered near the end, I didn't know what I was watching.
The idea: aliens are stranded because they are too dumb to get their ship working again. The plot: guy accidentally starts transforming into an alien, find that two of them happen to know what's going on, but have been sucking goo out of motherboards for 20 years to get enough fuel to get back onto their ship. One gets killed, guy helps for selfish reasons and suddenly becomes compassionate. At least give the guy a son so he can suddenly realize he would do the same for his son...
I could write a companion guide on the plot problems, but here are a few of my favorite: -They can drive out of a building in an armored car, but nobody seems to notice except for that one guard who shot at them (and apparently dropped the ball on telling anybody later). -1 million aliens can be kept at bay with a chain link fence. -(stolen from sikboy21) Should you be infected and slowly changing into a alien creature rest assured that despite never encountering your species before the aliens know how to reverse the process.
Two other trends in film-making were present here as well: 1) Humans are evil. And I mean all of them. There's been anti-American, anti-Russian, anti-whoever, but the anti-the Earth movies have been on the rise. What gives? 2) Shaky cam! I'm tired of it, and it doesn't make sense. When it's documentary style, that's fine. Once you're watching a 3rd person narrative, it needs to stop. My fiancée almost puked because of all the motion.