Image courtesy of gamespot.comDirector: Neill Blomkamp.
Actors: Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, David James.
Where: At home (and hungover) on DVD.
With all the talk being of Avatar breaking every box office record in this or any other galaxy, there’s not been too much time to talk about other recent sci-fi films. But the academy recognised District 9 by nominating it for four Oscars including the big one, Best Film, which is high praise indeed.
The low-budget, amateur feel to the start of the film seems to work in the film’s favour to provide a credibility to the modern day Johannesburg we arrive in where aliens and humans live together. Sharlto Copley plays the main character whose job it is to evict 1.8 million aliens from the area known as District 9 and it’s been reported the actor improvised all of his dialogue for the film.
Like Avatar, a lone-human gets immersed in an alien world that, it turns out, is as, if not more, moralistic than the human-run earth. Where Avatar hinted at references to the wars fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, you get the feeling that the racial tensions that surfaced during apartheid may motivate the message that District 9 sends out.
Image courtesy of filmofilia.com
Although there’s a few questions unanswered come the end of the film, there’s a general sense of satisfaction and it’s clear that Blomkamp has left the door wide open for sequel to this originally shot film. Although this is more a directors film than one filled with great performances from it’s cast, it’s clear that Copley has hit the big time. We’ll be seeing him later this year in the Ridley and Tony Scott produced A-Team which is sure to strike gold at the box office.Rating: 7/10
Comments: Pushing boundaries in the world of sci-fi cinema, District 9 gets it just about spot on.
Comments: Pushing boundaries in the world of sci-fi cinema, District 9 gets it just about spot on.