District 9

District 9 is a sci-fi type of movie in a unique setting, the slums of South Africa. It starts out as a spaceship sits hovering over South Africa for close to three months…Obviously, that is slightly concerning, so the government sends some military guys up to the spaceship to check that shit out. Upon breaking into the hovercraft they discover aliens in pretty rough physical shape. They bring them down to ground and set up an area called District 9 where the aliens are nourished and can live to recuperate. Years later (I think, I’m sorry I’m terrible with details…oops) they aliens nicknamed “prawns” are still living on earth and have created a slum in the middle of South Africa. Their presence is causing tension so the government decides to move the prawns to a newly build District 10 which is farther away from the African city. However, when this plan goes into action, shit kinda hits the fan and that’s when all the action begins to go down.
I really loved that it was set in South Africa…it’s not the typical setting for a sci-fi movie and I appreciate when a movie switches stuff up, especially when the plot isn’t entirely unique. The simple plot actually worked for this film though…it made it more believable…which is a benefit considering the subject matter. Even the aliens were more plausible because they were less animal-like then the stereotypical extraterrestrial. They have families and jobs and are intelligent…it allows us to feel and sympathize with them more.
Last thing I have to criticize, kinda, is the camera. I love the shaky camcorder feel, similar to movies like Cloverfield and The Blair Witch Project, but the documentary type interviews at the beginning were just a tad bit too much. They were interesting to begin with, but they ran on for just a little too long into the movie.
Altogether, it was entertaining, different, and unique and an easy watch. It didn’t require a great amount of thought, it wasn’t confusing or anything…just a nice viewing.

7.8