Title: District 9
Sub-genre(s): Sci-fi/aliens, thriller, fantasy
Current available format(s): DVD and Blu-ray
Length: Approx. 1 hrs. 52 min.
Movie rating: R
Review rating: B
When a spaceship has a mechanical breakdown and hovers over Johannesburg, South Africa, Earth’s Multi-National United (MNU) government troops enter the craft and discover hordes of bedraggled aliens. Over the next twenty-plus years, the space invaders are held in a segregated, slum-like refugee area of the city and treated as outcasts while their advanced technology and mysterious weapons are exploited.
Sort of a spoiler warning: During a raid of the extraterrestrials’ homes for eviction purposes, an MNU member discovers a cylinder containing alien biotechnology fluids and is accidentally infected with the substance. The evolving mutant agent becomes the target of the government’s hunt forcing him to turn rogue and align with the aliens. A cool, shocking ending lays the groundwork for a sequel.
Initially, I didn’t like this movie and found myself fidgeting and longing to press the remote’s stop button. The first approximately one-fourth was presented in interview style (news clips of Johannesburg residents discussing the agent’s situation and their city’s predicament). While I didn’t care for this filming technique, it served to set up the backstory of what happened to the agent before and after his infection. But as the story unraveled and the plot thickened with the flashback getting underway, as well as the implementation of great special effects, the movie grew on me. All in all, I give this one a solid B. It’s a terrific rental if you’re in the mood for sci-fi and aliens.
Titania’s special note: Watch for the use of “Prawns” as a derogatory term for the aliens, segregation, exploitation, discrimination and forced poverty, as well as the elitism of Earth’s population toward the aliens. In addition to making you wonder what we really would do if we were invaded by extraterrestrials, this movie also contains thought-provoking, underlying themes that mimic some of our current society’s disturbing behaviors toward one another…
Titania Ladley is an erotic romance author multi-published with Ellora’s Cave, Samhain, and Red Sage Publishing in a wide array of genres including paranormal, sci-fi, fantasy and historical. Please visit Titania at her website, join her newsletter for contests in each issue, stop by her blog, friend her on Myspace and Goodreads, and follow her on Twitter for updates and contest announcements.
