Directed by:
Neill BlomkampCinematography:
Trent OpalochComposer:
Clinton ShorterCast:
Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, David James, Vanessa Haywood, Mandla Gaduka, Kenneth Nkosi, Eugene Khumbanyiwa, Louis Minnaar, William Allen Young, Robert Hobbs (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
With stunning special effects and gritty realism, the film plunges us into a world where the aliens have landed... only to be exiled to a slum on the fringes of Johannesburg. Now, one lone human discovers the mysterious secret of the extraterrestrial weapon technology. Hunted and hounded through the bizarre back alleys of an alien shantytown, he will discover what it means to be the ultimate outsider on your own planet. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (16)
Definitely the surprise of the year. I really didn’t expect D9 to be this good. The original approach of the guy who I’d almost written off during the test shots for Halo blew my mind. Blomkamp knows his stuff. He’s good at provoking mixed feelings, where you don’t know whether to laugh or be disgusted. The whole movie is supported by an amazing performance from the unknown Sharlto Copley and his Wikus is everything but a good-guy main lead. Regardless everything he does at the beginning, the viewer still can be on board with him. Most of the people and the prawns, are bastards anyway. When I think about it, the only actual good guy was Chris. :-) It’s the best sci-fi so far this year (but this will probably be beaten by Avatar which comes out December 17th). This year’s Terminator can go take a walk. - Should I shoot the little bastard? - , you can’t shoot it now, it’s illegal to do that.
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In a word: Amazing. In more words: The way that District 9 rubs shoulders with all the recent sci-fi "sensations" like Transformers, Terminator Salvation and, ultimately, Avatar is astounding. I haven't seen such an original film, full of fresh ideas, engagingly shot and, as far as the main character is concerned, superbly acted in a long, long time. It takes more than ordinary talent to make a sci-fi action spectacle that also contains a deep, topical and a very pressing idea. And Neill Blomkamp seems to have plenty of it (Jackson knows who to put his money into). To all this I add the exotic South African setting, the music, the flawlessly made aliens and the documentary style that really draws you into the story... This amounts to five honest, 100% stars.
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A documentary insight spoiled by senseless perspectives from "outside", a bizarre exaggeration of side storylines, and glaring logical absurdities. Plus one solid action scene. This script simply hit a wall after ten minutes, as it unfolded into pig soldiers, insane scientists, and ritualistic Nigerians. Additionally, the only likable character is the sidelined alien Christopher, who outshines the selfish Wikus in almost everything. Every battle clash must be accompanied by some bloody effect, prostitutes sleep with aliens (??), and Neill Blomkamp clearly resonates with the taste of the audience and critical majority, who applaud him for the gritty atmosphere. But for me not at all, so for those few solid (although quickly drowned) ideas, this is the best he'll get.
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Yeah, it is original, but I couldn't get rid of the feeling that the director, in an attempt to kick the audience's ass as much as possible, sometimes overplays his hand, which was especially evident in the insanely action-packed and over-the-top ending. On the other hand, the main idea is really good, the narration in a light documentary style is quite brisk and the depiction of the aliens as despised scum of society feeding on garbage is a really unprecedented touch of diversity, on which everyone has to make their own opinion. I definitely highly recommend watching the film, it’s a shining example of the fact that even with a little you can make quality and suspenseful science fiction that doesn't play games and serves what the viewers expect. That said, I would never call it a cult-classic. 75%
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I’ll say up front that it's a better 4 stars, because I'm still a bit bleary eyed. It was there, what people are like. There was action. There were powerful weapons. There were interesting aliens. It was cool X-D I'm so freaked out about it. It's definitely worth a movie ticket. It really was beautifully believable, the documentary style didn't hurt it, at all. Watch it again? Why not. Well, the best part was the use of the "dusting" gun anyway. I guess I'm a weirdo for liking it... In short: I have such a hard-to-describe feeling about this movie, but my cheeks are burning, which means it was good and that I paid maximum attention.
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