dismally unoriginal

Rating: 8/10 (16 August 2009)

One of the first sci-fi films I ever saw was a story of a space craft that lands just outside a small, country town in England. When it is discovered, the town's people, who are very superstitious, eventually greet their visitor (a very old, human-like alien) and then proceed to beat it to death. . . the end. That film's premise is the gist of District 9.
English subscripts for alien-speak reminded me of Star Wars. Star Wars didn't try to be provocative. District 9 did, but failed. It is too common for film makers today to treat their audiences as immature. Such gimmicks remind me I'm watching a movie and that the film maker took the easy way in story telling. Communication of ideas can be achieved with imagery alone. The alien mentioned above never said a word, but we understood him nonetheless.
(Have since actually seen the film. Much better than I blindly conceived it to be. And I understand the productions logic for using subtitles. Much more original than I believed it to be.)