Hey everyone,
I just got back from the theatre, and as the title suggests, I saw District 9, the new sci-fi flick from Peter Jackson and Neil Blomkhamp.
If you don't know what this movie is about, here's an outline of the plot:
30 years ago, an alien ship appeared over Johannesburg, South Africa. The aliens did not go on the attack, nor did they extend their hands/claws in friendship. In fact, they were refugees, fleeing their homeworld for reasons unknown. The South African government placed the aliens in a temporary refugee camp called District 9, but the sheer numbers of them (1.8 million, to be exact), coupled with the inability to harness thier amazing technology, caused the government to lose patience with the aliens (derrisively called "Prawns" by the humans) and turn over responsibility for them to a giant corperation known as Multi-National United, or MNU.
I'm a huge sci-fi fan, so I was excited to see this on general principles, and the reversal on the aliens VS. humans story was icing on the cake. However, I was worried that the aliens would be portrayed as completely innocent and persecuted, while the humans would be painted as evil and cruel.
Fortunately, this was not the case. Although the aliens are the "good guys", and I use that term VERY loosely, neither species is portrayed as either irredeemable or angelic.
What I especially loved was how it toyed with a very old concept: that of "the monster".
The aliens themselves are hideous, insectoid abonminations that look like they crawled out of Hell. Thier huge claws, hanging tendrils, unintelligible clicking language, and quick, anamalistic movments disavow them of any significant human qualities, and thier mryiad illegal activites and hostile attitude towards humans make them hard to root for, even though they are they victims of oppression.
The humans who police District 9 aren't any better, and may be even worse. They constantly call the aliens "Prawns", after a bottom-feeding parasite, ignore the plight of the aliens, and some seem to enjoy inflicting punisment on them, even when that punishment is of the completely innocent (more on that later).
But what most twisted the aforementioned idea was the (literal) transformation of the protaganist, Wikus van der Wewe. In the movie's opening minutes, Wikus demonstrates his contempt for the aliens, constantly using the slur Prawns, easily losing his temper, and frequently lacing his speech toward the aliens with profanity and sarcasm. In fact, when Wikus finds an illegal incubator housing unhatched eggs i.e., unborn alien babies, he calmly detatches the feeding tubes and orders the place torched. As the building burns, the eggs burst with a cacauphony of pops, which Wikus similingly comments "sounds just like popcorn".
Later, however, Wikus is exposed to a virus that slowly changes his generics to that of the aliens.
And there is where the concept of "the monster", which has seemingly been hotwired into our brains since the start of civilization, is completely turned on its head. Wikus' actions are deplorable, and some do warrent the title of "monster". And yet, the only way he achieves redemption is by helping the very creatures he has helped persecute, whose mere appearance can be called monsterous, this brought on by his slow transformation into one of them.
In other words, Wikus' attempts to right the actions that made him a monster are a result of his slow transformation into what he always percieved as a monster.
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As nice as it is for movies to have subtle philosophy, that's no good if the movie isn't entertaining to watch, and District 9 definitely fits that description. Though there aren't any real fight scenes until somewhat late in the movie, but the trek through the titular camp has a good number of suspenseful moments, and does ans excellent job of introducing the principle characters.
The titular camp is perhaps the most visually-striking thing in the movie. It is filthy, crowded, and reeking of desparations, ths effect made all the stronger by the contrast between the camp and the bustling, lively streets of Johanessburg.
The action scenes, though they occur late in the movie are worth the wait. They are visceral and exciting without being overblown.
Now for some warnings:
There are a great number of distubing scenes in the movie, such as the aforementioned burning of the incubator, and a terrifying scene in which a Wikus is tortured with electricity to make him test alien weaponry.
This movie is rated 'R' for a reason. Limbs are ripped from bodies, characters explode in a red mist when hit by alien weaponry, and profanity is abundant. This movie is NOT for the faint of heart.
*Phew!* That was a long post. What did you guys think of District 9?
The ONLY 'holes' in the plot are figments of the [lack of] imagination of the viewer.
This wasn't a typical Hollywood 'thing' aimed at the lowest common denominator...a male, teen-something white kid from middle America.... it actually require a wee bit of intelligence.
God help us all if something as 'odd' as 2001 were to have come along now.....there'd be screams of "WTF!!!!" even heard way past Jupiter somewhere....
Yeah, I really don't understand what plot holes people are talking about. When the protagonist stole the spacecraft he flew it poorly and was desperate, convinced that he had no chance of surviving for three years. The alien technology wasn't so complicated that it couldn't be used badly, it just required alien DNA to function. When the alien who actually knew what he was doing took command he clearly understood and used the technology much better.
The hero's erratic or counterproductive actions seemed like more of an intentional personality flaw than a plot hole to me.
Quoting a friend of mine whose opinion I respect in these matters...
"Very well done FX, but riddled with beginner's 101 plot holes and illogical narrative constructions.
Ultimately, a stupid movie that pretended it was a smart movie."
I don't think that Stanley Kubrick would appreciate the comparison, even if no direct association is implied. I cannot see how District 9 can compare in brilliance to other sci-fi movies (2001) or other internment camp films (Schindler's List). Distrcit 9 is neither as emotionally gripping or as groundbreaking as such films.
My biggest problem with this film is not the film itself, but the praise it is receiving from various fans. This film does not compare to the classics. Please stop pretending that it does.
Yes, this movie isnt all that great...
A teen thats going to school should have no problem getting this movie, even if you are from the US of A.And I know, i went to highschool in florida, im from sweden, although world history is lacking much in your schoolsystem, this movie isnt directly philosophical and pretty straight forward.
Uhh, I -am- a male teen-something white kid from the US
Wow...and you admit it? ...
Just kidding....I'm sure there are at least one or two of you who don't move their lips when they read...
Never occurred to me to check if I do that--but you never really would know would you? The moment you tried to find it out, your lips would stop moving. Oh the paradox!
LOL ....it's a bit like that at times...
Ditto...
Saw it last night. I have one question. Why did the aliens come to Earth in the first place? Or did I miss something?
But this brings up another consideration: did no-one wonder why these aliens brought so much military technology with them? I mean, some weaponry for self-defense would be reasonable considering that they would be exploring a new planet, but stuff like that exosuit doesn't really look like it would have any use except to kill lots of creatures.... creatures that would try to fight back.
Well it's pretty much flat-out stated that the aliens were dying (whether more from disease or starvation isn't exactly clear), and that they were desperate to find a world -- *any* world -- that might offer some sort of safe harbor where they could get help. It was simply their misfortune that Earth happened to be the nearest one which qualified.
It's implied that a lot of their weapons -- including that exo-suit -- were secretly manufactured by the aliens *after* they landed. Some weapons were for self-defense, while others (like the exo-suit) were built to be used as trade commodities for food and other goods.
Yes, what Martok said...
I had the impression that something had gone wrong with the ship, and thus they couldn't get out, exhausted supplies, and started to die. But perhaps I misheard.
thats not the way i read (actually saw) it. i think they shut it down because they had no fuel to keep it running. as a matter of fact, we don't even know that it was shut down. just because humans couldnt use it doesnt mean it was off. however, there clearly was some issue, since they ran out of fuel and had to scavenge for it. which begs the question, what would be in garbage dumps that contained the alien fluid?
i take offense to that! i consider myself semi-educated! (thanks to a couple really great teachers and other friends from different countries). in fact, i'm going to go ahead and do some light reading - of Green Eggs and Ham
As I understood it, most of the aliens were actually quite stupid, more like worker drones not capable of anything sophisticated. I find it funny though that interstellar voyagers like them would bring a crapload of guns onboard... such a thing is logically impossible.
The weapon effects were cool, of course... its just that what could be a sobering reminder of human primitivism turns into a melange of primitivism from both sides (aliens are not much better than humans when it comes to ripping someone to shreds, and clearly have a violent, hence primitive, nature, given the amount of weaponry they brought along) with a spattering of action sequences near the end which, while they look cool in the "I'm-gonna-kick-your-ass-with-my-alien-robot-boots", serve no actual purpose beyong being a cheap emotional release in the form of gory revenge.
So what's the point of the movie? That humans are evil, aliens are evil, and aliens have better guns. Didn't see that one coming at all.
I merely remarked on the fact that most Prawns *were* actually quite stupid. You can see that from the way they behave, most notably with CJ's friend who, unlike his intelligent counterpart, is hard pressed to even understand what he is doing, much less to cope with the situation (he clearly is bewildered and doesn't understand what the humans want from him, which eventually escalates into him becoming violent, another sign of intellectual inadequacy as his violence stems from fear, not reason). The fact that they trade their technology for canned cat food is another sign that they don't really know what they're doing.
Hm. Here we have a species which has enough technological expertize to bridge the gap between the stars, a feat which requires so much raw power you could easily boil a planet or two with it, bringing guns along because they fear - what? They could just grab Mars and drag it into the green belt if Earthlings don't want to play.
The biggest plot hole of the movie is that it tries to anthropomorfize a race whose very presence on Earth suggests a level of sophistication so far beyond that of the human race any comparison would be pointless. A race which evolved to the point of mastering technology necessary for FTL travel is by that very definition so advanced humans wouldn't able to even present a disturbance, much less a serious threat requiring weaponry.
The sole redeeming point could be that most aliens are in fact, dumb worker drones, with only a few intelligent "commanders" present. But even then - why guns? They can bend the "immutable" laws of the universe. They can travel faster than light, manipulate gravity... do they really need something as crude as a hand-held weapon?
Do we need miniguns to deal with ants?
They needed weapons that they could carry with them, very much like our old explorers. Despite having cannons availible, they brought muskets with them for personal safety.
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