'District 9' Movie Both Disappoints and Disturbs
'District 9' Summer Movie Goes Over the Top in Message and Everything Else
Ahead of seeing District 9 I read some of the reviews that I could find about the movie. I was pleasantly surprised to find that both critics and movie-goers alike gave very high ratings to District 9, usually one group or the other will dislike the movie. So with positive reviews on both sides for District 9 I figured it was an easy winner.
Kam Williams of NewsBlaze.com said about the District 9 film, "A thoroughly-absorbing, edge-of-your-seat thriller which is right up there with the best of sci-fi because of the subtle fashion in which it delivers its thought-provoking, universal message about ethnic tolerance." I will be honest, I prefer my movies to entertain, the movie does not have to send a provoking message for me to enjoy it. But if District 9 held such a strong message, that was icing on the proverbial cake.
I have always loved thriller movies and I don't mind the blood and the gore that goes along with them. I remember years ago watching with fascination the movie, "The Fly" with Jeff Goldblum. As he slowly, though out the movie, transforms from a human to a fly. Watching as his fingernails fell off, his ears, his nose, eventually he became more fly than man. I love those movies and I was sure I would love District 9.
District 9 started and it was what I expected it to be: a gritty movie about the aliens whose ships had broken down over Earth and were now being kept in an area in Johannesburg called District 9. I knew that there were no big-named actors or multi-$100 million budgets for the film, and that appealed to me almost more than anything.
I sat back and watched as back story was told about the aliens and our main character was introduced. I understood that the bad guys were the MNU Corporation and not the District 9 trapped aliens. Armored cars, Kevlar jackets and high-powered rifles were used to help deliver the message to the aliens that they were being evicted from the slums of District 9.
Our protagonist and MNU scapegoat Wikus, played by Sharlto Copley, is charged with delivering the District 9 eviction message and managing the process. Along the way though he manages to come across the wrong alien shanty and accidentally ingests some pretty nasty alien black liquid and that starts his transformation. District 9 was pretty standard science fiction fare so far.
Once the humans figured out that something was very wrong with Wikus they bagged him and took him to the Biological Testing area of MNU. From that moment when they showed in graphic detail what was occurring in that Lab I began to get truly uncomfortable with District 9. MNU figured out that Wikus was a hybrid, the giant crustacean hand gave it away, and since he had some alien DNA in his body he could now operate the alien weapons. This meant money to MNU, who until now had been unable to figure out how to use the alien technology. More standard science fiction stuff there too.
Was it necessary for District 9 to show in close-up graphic detail the blood and gore of the lab? Was it totally needed to constantly show the up-close shots of his hybrid hand as it pulled the trigger of the alien weapon to blow away a cow's head? And then, inevitably, they bring in an alien, with a target literally painted on it's chest, and make Wikus blow it into a horrid bloody mess that blows all over the room, the scientists and our hybrid friend.
I understood that MNU was the bad guys and that they would exploit the District 9 aliens no matter what for money and power. It didn't require some of the nastiest and unneeded scenes of close-up grisly District 9 gore to get the message.
Finally for me, when our District 9 hero inexplicably escapes from MNU Gore-Central and he is trying to stay alive, then come even more totally unnecessary and disturbing scenes. The final straw was the outdoor alien makeshift supermarket where parts of cows could be purchased and our hero tried to buy one. Instead he opted for a can of cat food and sat on a rock eating it with his fingers.
I had enough. I stood, took my popcorn and headed for the exit. I could not take anymore black vomit, nasty crustacean like oozing and gore splattered scenes. I knew the message that District 9 was trying to send about human rights, apartheid, prejudice, evil corporations, power mongering.
I get it, District 9. I get it. We all get it.
But it was too much, too much of everything, too much of the District 9 message they were desperately and obviously trying to send.
I would like my $7.50 back please.
Published by Mary Zeiher
Mary is a Certified Project Manager (PMP) and Freelance Writer for the Web. I have over twenty four years of IT experience and twelve years as a Project Manager. I have a passion for writing and continue t... View profile
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25 Comments
Post a CommentI like anything even remotely sci-fi/horror related, as long as It doesn't make me physically ill, which this film did. The only other film that caused this (for me) was "The Blair Witch Project". It wasn't the movie's content, blood, gore or the many underlying social messages. It was just the extended use of the bobbing, live reporting, In-the-field, documentary style type camera filming". Ten minutes of that would have been sufficient I think. Although I find it highly unlikely that a world would actually let aliens live so openly and intermingle with its population as in this film, not to mention letting a ship hover for 2 years w/o having people up in it dissecting it's technology. But hey, it's a movie and I just "went with it" to the end. However, after it was over and the credits started rolling I really wanted to stay to see if there was additional extra teaser footage, like in some movies, however it was all I could do to keep my nausea in check, which sadly a few people
This movie was more than a sci-fi movie to me. After I watched it, I couldn't stop thinking about it and how well the director had sewn in historical allusions with the scenes. You look at the slums, forced evictions, medical experiments, blatant racism, and xenophobia. Much of this has already happened and still happens at a huge scale in 3rd world countries that suffer from economical plight and government sponsored discrimination (i.e. Sudan).
Also, this reviewer is not qualified to critique this movie if she didn't even watch it all the way through.
Dear doh: I was merely presenting an opinion, not trying to sway influence over as you put it "one of the most ingenious, gripping and original movies of the year". I am sorry that you disagree with me on this movie, but it is how I saw it. Please search the web and you will find that while I am in the minority, I am certainly not alone.
I appreciate you reading this and your right to comment on it. Thank you. Mary
I just checked this reviewer's other postings on this site because her credibility seems very suspect. 90% of her postings seem related to her obsession with Adam Lambert and American Idol inanity, and how to prune roses!! How on earth did she get this gig reviewing one of the most ingenious, gripping, and original movies of the year!!! Is that who I want reviewing my sci fi films?????? I've totally lost all confidence in Associated Content, that's fo' sho'!
This was a war movie, not sci fi in my opinion. It was all about splatter, torture, suffering, and how horrible people are. Showing torturous behaviour over and over is not anything special. The witch doctor and voodoo parts were laughable. Just because people didn't like it doesn't mean they don't love sci fi or are not intelligent, tastes differ. I love Alien/Aliens and The Thing but I really didn't like this. I hated the main character and could care less about him or his wife. The end was OK because it was over.
I agree with the guest below that someone who loves science fiction movies would be so repulsed by this movie is rather stupid. Alien and Aliens? Please. I agree also that this movie is not for the timid but for someone who supposedely loves SCI FI to walk out on this is silly. Maybe she loves 'ET' and to her that is sicence fiction.
I winced at several scenes too, but I'm a wimp usually. Though I stayed till the very end and glad I did. I really liked this movie and think that in many ways it is original. It's not perfect by any means, but very effective and very well done. Cover your eyes and ears next time, but stay till the end!
I was dragged to go see this movie by my husband. I didn't really have high expectations at all. By the end, I had been won over. I really enjoyed this movie. It was gory in some parts, but that just comes with the territory. I felt that this movie was very realistic, considering it is a sci-fi film. I could picture aliens being treated in this manner if they ever were to show up at our door. If my arm changed the way his did, I would probably focus a lot of my attention on it, just like the film makers did. And, honestly, if I had to choose between raw cow head and cat food, pass me the can opener! Next time you are asked to review a movie, please make sure you stay for the entire film. If you had seen the entire movie, I think you might have a different opinion.
You obviously don't know the history behind Peter Jackson's film making. One of his earliest films was a gore streaked horror movie that was filled with blood and guts. His style obviously was cherished by District 9's director. Based on the film's budget and new talent I couldn't believe how well polished this movie was. If you are a true critic you would've stayed for the whole film and gave an honest opinion and should at least acknowledge the fact that for a relatively low budget film, it ran circles around a higher budget film like GI Joe. And just to add a childish comment: You madam are an idiot.
You sir, are an idiot. You claim you love sci-fi and then when an incredible sci-fi comes along you bash it, having to walk out of the movie because you couldn't handle the gore. I agree, it's gorey, but it has its place here, but when critics and viewers both give it thumbs up, maybe they're not the ones who are wrong.... This movie was very well put together and does not deserve the crap you threw at it. The Fly, on the other hand, is now the scooper I use for my cat's litter box. I think you need to re-evaluate your movie viewing techniques by (1) not leaving them and (2) not being an idiot (yes, I realize I called you an idiot before, but I feel I need to stress my point). If you worked for my company, I'd fire you immediately for not doing your job.
If you got paid for writing this review you should give the money back.