Clutched by the tentacle

Rating: 7/10 (23 April 2011)

Review Three: District 9
A very original film from Blomkamp, District 9 is the film everyone was talking of in 2009. A brilliant mix of a pseudo-documentary and an alternative action thriller, this slow starting film turns into a spectacular display of both writing ability and directive talent. The first feature length film by Blomkamp based of a short he wrote years earlier does anything but bore its viewer.
Even in our extremely slow opening sequence, it's hard to ignore the charming lead Wikus (Copley) with his entertaining mannerisms and strange behaviors. As unrealistic as he can get, it's hard to deny an emotional connection to this well built character. By the end of this film, you'll explore every emotion with him and the so called 'prawns'. Prawns are ironically, very much the most realistically deep characters.
Visually, little is flawed. While these aliens don't look real, it's easy to accept them, as it's likely due to our contexts which originally denies their appearance as satisfactory. The so called UFO is stunning, as are many of the commonplace effects (explosions and the likes). The few flaws are easily overlooked, such as the aliens not being as blurry as the shots they sometimes appear in front.
Some scenes are harder to watch than others, and you may find yourself laughing one moment and then averting your eyes the next. As a demonstration of human emotion, this film shows how to achieve any.
Despite the movie being spectacular, I can honestly say I have no craving to repeat viewing it any time soon. The film is often hard to watch, often strange and never predictable. Every twist and turn will leave you hanging closer to the edge of the seat.
As a popcorn film, or a film to make one happy, this film scores a low 3/10. If you're willing to let go and admire the well written story, deciphering it as you go, then it easily becomes an 8/10. Hollywood follows formula to make viewers comfortable, but District 9 puts most alien involved films to shame, and through construction of characters, environments and stories, you'll feel uncomfortable with many other alien films from here on in. District 9 has a spark which not many films have. Highly recommended. A SOLID 8/10