On this Episode of "Cinematastic with Rick": District 9

Let me start off with the following: I enjoyed watching District 9 and felt it was well worth the price of admission. Now let me temper that statement: rarely have I ever found myself both impressed and disappointed by the same film, and somehow District 9 did just that.

The good: the premise is fantastic. The main idea behind the film is that an alien ship has broken down over Johannesburg, at which point the aliens are herded off their ship and into a ghetto of sorts. However, the locals don't like the presence of the aliens and have the government relocate the aliens farther from the city. The first half of the film follows a particular bureaucrat named Wikus Van De Merwe (played by Sharlto Copley) as he heads the effort to inform the aliens of the impending relocation.

Most of this part of the movie is filmed in a documentary style as it follows the work of Wikus and the private corporation that has been given the task of moving the aliens. Is Wikus a standard bumbling bureaucrat at an evil corporation who only gets his job through nepotism? Of course he is. Does Copley go over-the-top with his performance? A little bit. But at the same time, I was still entranced by the plot, pacing, and cinematography.

The main problem I had with the film is that the script takes this brilliant idea and bringing it right back on to the beaten path. While the first half brings up a lot of interesting issues regarding apartheid, the treatment of refugees, and immigation, the last half simply follows the standard action movie formula.

Don't get me wrong, I like action movies, and the director, Neill Blomkamp, plays the formula very well. But he relies too heavily on well-worn cliches. While the originality of the film actually makes this predictable turn somewhat unpredictable, I have to say I still came out of the film disappointed. It just feels too much like strong film that should have been a sci-fi classic.

What are others saying about this movie? Rottentomatoes finds that a strong proportion of movie critics favourably reviewed this film. Of those I pay attention to, the reaction is somewhat more lukewarm. Interestingly enough, it is also for a divergent set of reasons too.

While Alan Bacchus loved the final action set piece, but he is less than impressed with the characterization of Wikus and found the mix of documentary and non-documentary styles distracting. Will Leitch similarly loves the concept and look as I do, but was dissapointed with cliched action ending. Roger Ebert agrees, and adds that he feels that aside from a few specific exceptions, the aliens are difficult to sympathize with.

By the way, be sure to check out the short film Alive in Joburg, also by Blomkamp, on which this movie is based. This wonderful short distills the premise into 6 minutes, but certainly leaves a lot of room for expansion. In this end, I do appreciate the attempt to extend the ideas into a feature-length film. And while District 9 is certainly well-done, I can't help but feel it is also something of a missed opportunity.

By the way, I need a name for these movie review segments and so I'd love to here of your suggestions in the comments. Also, if you've seen the movie, I'd like to hear what you think about it.