Peter Jackson's District 9 - Sci-Fi Film Review
Neil Blomkamp Directs ScienceFiction Tale About Illegal Space Aliens
Aug 14, 2009
The legendary producer was impressed by Neil Blomkamp’s visually-stunning music videos and TV commercials as well as a string of Sci-Fi short films. So much so, that Jackson hired the South African native, who moved to Vancouver at age 18, to direct his big-budgeted film adaptation of the videogame Halo.
When the developing studio’s dropped the project, Jackson was still motivated to make a film, this time outside the control of the studio system. The inspiration for District 9 came from one of Blomkamp shorts, titled “Alive in Jo’burg”. The hand-held camera shot mockumentary was produced by Sharlto Copley.
The first-time feature director Blomkamp and Copley are long-time friends and film collaborators as well as visual effects experts and science fiction fans. TV producer Copley inadvertently landed the lead role after his outstanding improvisation of the character for his friend’s test footage.
Slumdogs From Outer Space
Twenty years ago, an enormous spaceship arrived over Johannesburg. After hovering over the South African city for three months, humans decided to approach the alien craft, and cut their way inside. What they found were dying creatures, who resembled a horrific combination of insect, crawfish and human skeleton. Under the worlds’ watchful eye, the local leaders set up a camp to house the alien survivors, dubbed “prawns”.
Soon the camp’s population exploded into a demilitarized slum, called District 9. The cat food-eating refugees are now under the supervision of the Multi-National United, (MNU). The MNU Corporation is desperate to learn how to use the highly advanced, but biologically integrated arsenal that was transported with the Prawns. In order to manipulate the intergalactic military hardware, the MNU sets up a secret laboratory to conduct genetic testing on the aliens.
In the meantime, overcrowded conditions and human unease has lead MNU to relocate the undesirable extraterrestrial immigrants to a new ghetto, District 10, outside the city. Wikus van der Merwe (Copley) is the MNU official put in charge of the relocation process.
In the course of his duties, Wikus finds a canister, while searching the shack of non-humans, Christopher Jones (Jason Cope) and his young son. The bureaucrat is doused with a strange black fluid, after opening the alien-made container. Soon, he undergoes a metamorphosis into Prawn form, starting with his arm. Wikus’ alien appendage now allows him to operate the space weapons, which also makes him very valuable to MNU as well as to Nigerian gangsters.
The One Alien-Armed Fugitive
On the run, the half-mutated Wikus finds refuge in Christopher’s shack in District 9. The intelligent extraterrestrial’s home secretly houses a shuttle craft he has been repairing over the past two decades. He plans to use it to return to the suspended mothership, and, then back to his home planet with his son.
Christopher promises to fix Wikus back into a human. First, needs his help to retrieve the needed fuel housed in the canister confiscated by the MNU lab. To do so, they must team up together against common enemies, that includes a ruthless and bigoted MNU mercenary (David James), and Nigerian underworld kingpin (Mandla Gaduka).
Now this explosive science fiction action-adventure really accelerates!
The Cast and Crew of District 9
"District 9" stars Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope David James, Mandla Gaduka, Louis Minnar and Vanessa Haywood.
Directed by Neill Blomkamp. Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell. Cinematography by Trent Opaloch. Production Design by Philip Ivey. Edited by Julian Clarke.
Produced by Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham. Co-Producer is Philippa Boyens. Executive Producers are Bill Block and Ken Kamins. Released in the U.S. by Sony Pictures Entertainment.
(Running Time: 112 min)
(Rated: R for Bloody Violence and Pervasive Language.)
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