District 9
Thirty years ago, aliens made first contact with Earth. Humans waited for the hostile attack, or the giant advances in technology. Neither came. Instead, the aliens were refugees, the last survivors of their home world. The creatures were set up in a makeshift home in South Africa’s District 9 as the world’s nations argued over what to do with them. Now, patience over the alien situation has run out. Control over the aliens has been contracted out to Multi-National United (MNU), a private company uninterested in the aliens’ welfare – they will receive tremendous profits if they can make the aliens’ awesome weaponry work. So far, they have failed; activation of the weaponry requires alien DNA. The tension between the aliens and the humans comes to a head when an MNU field operative, Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley), contracts a mysterious virus that begins changing his DNA. Wikus quickly becomes the most hunted man in the world, as well as the most valuable – he is the key to unlocking the secrets of alien technology. Ostracized and friendless, there is only one place left for him to hide: District 9.--©Official Site
4.2 out of 5 based on 13 reviews
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Omniscore:
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| Certificate |
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| Genre |
Sci-Fi / Fantasy |
| Director |
Neill Blomkamp |
| Cast |
David James, Jason Cope, Mandla Gaduka, Vanessa Haywood, Kenneth Nkosi Sharlto Copley |
| Studio |
Sony Pictures UK |
| Release Date |
September 2009 |
| Running Time |
111 minutes |
| |
Thirty years ago, aliens made first contact with Earth. Humans waited for the hostile attack, or the giant advances in technology. Neither came. Instead, the aliens were refugees, the last survivors of their home world. The creatures were set up in a makeshift home in South Africa’s District 9 as the world’s nations argued over what to do with them. Now, patience over the alien situation has run out. Control over the aliens has been contracted out to Multi-National United (MNU), a private company uninterested in the aliens’ welfare – they will receive tremendous profits if they can make the aliens’ awesome weaponry work. So far, they have failed; activation of the weaponry requires alien DNA. The tension between the aliens and the humans comes to a head when an MNU field operative, Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley), contracts a mysterious virus that begins changing his DNA. Wikus quickly becomes the most hunted man in the world, as well as the most valuable – he is the key to unlocking the secrets of alien technology. Ostracized and friendless, there is only one place left for him to hide: District 9.--©Official Site
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Reviews
The Daily Mail
Chris Tookey
“The result is a thinking person's Transformers, with plenty of shootouts and explosions to please undemanding fanboys, but enough of everything else to persuade mature audiences that it's far from stupid.”
03/09/2009
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The Mirror
Mark Adams
“District 9 is one of the very best films of the year - packed with suspense, action, humour and great performances, and directed with real style and panache... brilliant!”
30/08/2009
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The Daily Telegraph
Tim Robey
“What makes Blomfeld’s film so radical is the clarity and force with which it proves that science fiction can tell us as much about the world we live in as any social documentary. It shows too the wealth of epic, extreme and immensely populist stories that exist to be told about the non-Atlantic world.”
03/09/2009
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The Times
Wendy Ide
“As a feature film debut, District 9 is a towering achievement. It’s a thundering blitzkrieg of seat-rattling entertainment with a sociopolitical message; a cerebral sci-fi and apartheid allegory that is as heavily armed with provocative ideas as it is with armour-piercing, tank-splattering torpedoes.”
04/09/2009
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The Los Angeles Times
Betsy Sharkey
“"District 9" is very smart sci-fi, but that's just the beginning; it's also a scathing social satire hidden inside a terrific action thriller teeming with gross aliens and regrettable inter-species conflict. And it's a blast. . . .”
14/08/2009
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Time Out
Tom Huddleston
“With the film’s finale – and Stateside success – leaving the stage set for a potential ‘District 10’, perhaps we’re witnessing a new dawn for politically engaged sci-fi and horror, with Blomkamp as a latter-day George Romero. Either way, this is a stunningly impressive debut.”
03/09/2009
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The New York Times
A. O. Scott
“Not that the metaphorical resonances of “District 9” aren’t rich and thought provoking. But the filmmakers don’t draw them out with a heavy, didactic hand. Instead, in the best B-movie tradition, they embed their ideas in an ingenious, propulsive and suspenseful genre entertainment, one that respects your intelligence even as it makes your eyes pop (and, once in a while, your stomach turn).”
14/08/2009
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The Observer
Philip French
“The film has an impressive surface due to the fine work of the New Zealand designer Philip Ivey, who worked on The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and South African cinematographer Trent Opaloch. The absence of familiar faces contributes to the documentary feel and prevents us guessing who will live or die. District 9 ends on a touching scene that evokes Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, but it's an honest film that repays its debts.”
06/09/2009
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The Financial Times
Peter Aspden
“Director Neill Blomkamp expertly marshals the action, and although the climactic exchanges settle into familiar territory, he provokes genuine moral outrage – and allows plenty of scope for sequels – in the explosive final scenes.”
02/09/2009
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The Independent
Anthony Quinn
“District 9 is a South African sci-fi B movie that punches well above its weight even as it falls back on inspiration from major-league precedents. If David Cronenberg had been handed the script of Starship Troopers and told to keep the budget tight, it might have looked a bit like this.”
04/09/2009
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The Independent on Sunday
Jonathan Romney
“The genre slapdashery wins out over satirical finesse, but still District 9 is a provocative curio: the only film ever to put the "E.T." into "Soweto".”
06/09/2009
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The Guardian
Peter Bradshaw
“The DNA of action-sci-fi merges with a sleek exo-skeleton of satire to create a smart dystopian movie, excitingly shot in a docu-realist style with some stunningly real CGI work. It's a film in the tradition of Planet of the Apes and Godzilla, with hints of serious pictures such as Children of Men and the less serious Cloverfield.”
04/09/2009
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The Sunday Times
Cosmo Landesman
“Alas, the second part of the film turns into just another man-on-the-run/shoot-out caper with plenty of blood and splatter. Wikus not only turns into an alien but an all-action hero. That said, the first part of the film is an entertaining and touching tale of what happens when humans lose their humanity. ”
06/09/2009
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