CobraKevin Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 Summary: It's been 20 years since the alien craft made its presence known hovering over the South African city of Johannesburg. During this time frame, the aliens have been brought down to the surface and have been provided a large area of property with shack-like low-cost housing called District 9 for their staggering numbers of 1.5+ million residents. The aliens were basically given free reign to move about as they pleased, though businesses and local agencies preferred to segregate them from society wherever possible. A local group of Nigerian outlaws have been bartering with the aliens, known as Prawns, trading food for weapons. When the riots began, an arms-dealing research agency known as MNU (Multi-National United) was brought on board with the task of herding the alien populus into the new, highly secure District 10 to fully separate them from humans, while confiscating any alien weaponry found in the process. During this transition the head of the operation, Wikus van der Merwe, comes in contact with a strange liquid that begins to have adverse effects on his body. Now wanted for research purposes, Wikus is on the run fighting to stay alive in the midst of the Prawns, the Nigerians, and MNU. Pros: In terms of realism, quite possibly the greatest special effects to grace a theatre screen. The attention to detail will rarely, if ever, have you questioning what you see. The movie's take on aliens being able to coexist with humans on a widescale and for an extended period of time is a rather new concept, and the documentary-style flavor plays well into the film. Cons: The summary I wrote above wasn't at all what I was expecting to see based on the trailer, and I can't really say I was pleasantly surprised. I was expecting either a large-scale, alien invasion/war or some greater form of fear/terror rather than one man's fight for survival. And I'm not sure if seeing the film at 9:00 PM had anything to do with it, but I was yawning consistently by the last half hour, despite some deaths and explosions. Conclusion: 3.5/5.0. Possibly affected by expectations, the trailer (particularly the teaser trailer) hinted at a film of epic proportions and I don't feel it delivered. However, it was a very solid film, maintaining the attention of the audience with special effects, subtitles, and a strange but intriguing plotline. I would refrain from seeing a late showing, though. -Kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rally Pat Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 Have you seen Alive in Joburg? That would probably give you a better idea of what the movie is supposed to be like than the trailer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnaplay1647545503 Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 I am not lookng at the trailer to be a direct reflection of what the movie will be like. You can sort of tell its not going to be that kind of film and although I have expectations of enjoying the movie, I wont be surprised if I dont. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaSSon Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 I enjoyed the movie. However the left the ending VERY open. I HATE that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
copperhead Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 The trailer had little to do with the actual storyline. Effects were great. The movie kept your attention the entire way. Hollywood REALLY needs to quit with the shaky camera bullshit. Now. And fuck that blair witch cunt for starting it. I'm a big fan, great movie overall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokin5s Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 the previews looked good.... I have to admit though, I'm a little concerned that it's goign to be a little too "Blair Witchy" with that whole camera bull shit... if so that's really going to ruin the movie for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staywide8 Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 Ok at best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwishiwascool Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 The movie is supposed to be far more of a social commentary about Jingoism, social inequality, racism, etc. than an action flick... from what I understand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wnaplay1647545503 Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 I assumed a documentary style movie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex L. Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 Hollywood REALLY needs to quit with the shaky camera bullshit. Now. And fuck that blair witch cunt for starting it. I guess people with Parkinson's finally cornered a job market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaSSon Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 I assumed a documentary style movie. The first part of the movie was like that, but thankfully about half way through they gave up and it became a regular movie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinner Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 looking forward to seeing this from what I read the budget was only 30 million. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerrodh Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 Thats what me and the girlfriend said, how the movie was alot different than what the trailer lead you to believe. I still enjoyed the movie alot. 4/5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Limitedslip7 Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 Strange, I thought it was exactly like what the trailer made it out to be... I thought it was a kick ass movie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Jones Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 Ehh, wasn't bad but definitely not what I was expecting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerrodh Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 Strange, I thought it was exactly like what the trailer made it out to be... I thought it was a kick ass movie. Did the trailer even show the main character at all? I know for a fact the trailer didn't lead us to believe it was a survival story essitinally of one individual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CobraKevin Posted August 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 Did the trailer even show the main character at all? I know for a fact the trailer didn't lead us to believe it was a survival story essitinally of one individual. The teaser didn't, the full-length trailer did. But even seeing the guy, there was no inclination of him being the main character of any sort. Check both out here: http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809961221/trailer -Kevin Edit: For those who have seen the film, there are like 2-3 quick flashes in the full-length trailer that hint at that guy being involved a lot more, but those that have yet to see it would have no idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justinwebb Posted August 17, 2009 Report Share Posted August 17, 2009 waiting for a good copy to hit the torrent sites, i just wanna see the goods Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cNeutron Posted August 18, 2009 Report Share Posted August 18, 2009 District 9 was terrible.....i was so bored the entire way through. The only cool part was the way that it was filmed in a sorta documentery way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squidward Posted August 18, 2009 Report Share Posted August 18, 2009 I guess people with Parkinson's finally cornered a job market. I can finally get a job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OGRE Posted August 18, 2009 Report Share Posted August 18, 2009 CGI was Awesome. G.I JOE should have taken a page from them. enough action to keep you entertained, people blowing up was very very cool. I give it a 3/5 which means it was worth the ticket price, but definatly not buying it on dvd. 1 point off for crappy shakey cameras, 1 point off for shitty ending IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Science Abuse Posted August 20, 2009 Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 Cons: The summary I wrote above wasn't at all what I was expecting to see based on the trailer, and I can't really say I was pleasantly surprised. I was expecting either a large-scale, alien invasion/war or some greater form of fear/terror rather than one man's fight for survival. I was excited about this flick and watched every trailer, and nver got an indication that it would be anything other than what it was....? Perhaps it's an ingrained expectation in the American mind that an alien movie will either involve large-scale intelligent creatures doing badassed activities, or less than a dozen terrifying killers. This was more real, starving people in a slum that have had to relinquish their tech superiority just to get a meal. I liked the film, I'll own it. I'd say it was one of the first original ideas to come out of the Sci-Fi industry in a while.... but it's just a different take on a 20 year old concept: Alien Nation It was the 80's, so that was a detective flick. This is the 00's, so it's an anti-hero societal commentary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHaze Posted August 20, 2009 Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 Just got back from watching it; fantastic film. I felt the previews did not misrepresent the whole feature at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CobraKevin Posted August 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 I was excited about this flick and watched every trailer, and nver got an indication that it would be anything other than what it was....? Perhaps it's an ingrained expectation in the American mind that an alien movie will either involve large-scale intelligent creatures doing badassed activities, or less than a dozen terrifying killers. This was more real, starving people in a slum that have had to relinquish their tech superiority just to get a meal. I liked the film, I'll own it. I'd say it was one of the first original ideas to come out of the Sci-Fi industry in a while.... but it's just a different take on a 20 year old concept: Alien Nation It was the 80's, so that was a detective flick. This is the 00's, so it's an anti-hero societal commentary. Considering I have never, until this thread, heard of the film "Alien Nation" and there was no mention in any trailer "Based on the previous film (or novel) Alien Nation", all I can REALLY say is the trailer didn't really tell us a damn thing. So, some creepy things are living amongst humans in the slums of Africa. There's a big ship floating in midair...for some reason. And the government is involved...somehow. Some dude maces himself with....something. There's actually no mention of the rebel African army whatsoever in the trailer, the sign "No Humans Allowed" sounds (to me anyways) more threatening (as in "Don't enter or we, the aliens, will kill you") than just an area of containment, and it really doesn't give you much of the plot...at all. I mean, I get the element of mystery if that was their goal, but I find it hard to believe anyone could've watched the trailer, saw the movie, and thought "Man, that was JUST like the fucking trailer made it out to be". oh . . . . . . . . SPOILER ALERT!!! SPOILER ALERT!!! . . . . . . . . . The scene that, based on the teaser trailer, was virtually the backbone of the film - government agent (guess) says to alien, "How do your weapons work?", to which the alien responds, "We just want to go home" - wasn't even in the fucking movie! Am I the only one that gets pissed at shit like that? Put a great scene, a funny remark, or in this case base the entire hype around a scene, and cut it from the picture. Grrrr... So, I'm glad you made the connection that the trailer attempted to portray. There are a number of people who didn't, though. -Kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHaze Posted August 20, 2009 Report Share Posted August 20, 2009 1 point off for crappy shakey cameras, 1 point off for shitty ending IMO. Do you suffer from some rare vision-dehabilitating seizure disease that the slightest shift of the camera causes brain implosion?; the camera was perfectly fine, in fact, I felt that they didn't look "live" or documentary-like enough. "Shitty" ending? I can't imagine any other way to end it; the movie is obviously the first of several movies and the ending is key to connect the first and second. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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