On this week’s Slice of SciFi, we’ll be talking more about the eagerly anticipated release of “District 9.”
If you can’t wait until Saturday to find out more, a couple of reviews are starting to hit the Internet.
First up is the review from trade paper, Variety.
Upon the ashes of his aborted “Halo” vidgame adaptation, producer Peter Jackson has erected “District 9,” an enjoyably disgusting sci-fier set in and around a rubble-strewn war zone where extraterrestrial refugees have taken up indefinite residence. Better conceived and executed than one might expect from a low-budget rebound project, this grossly engrossing speculative fiction bears Jackson’s blood-splattered fingerprints but also heralds first-time feature director Neill Blomkamp as a nimble talent to watch. A viral campaign reminiscent of the more gimmicky “Cloverfield” should draw hefty hordes initially, but positive notices and buzz will be required to sustain a B.O. invasion.
You can read the entire review HERE.
Next up, a friend of Slice of SciFi, Martin Dolan offers his take after seeing a preview of the film:
In a way it’s not new. It’s something we have all seen before, heard before, even experienced before. Just in real life, on the news, in the newspapers. Not so much on the big screen.
District 9 has a ‘documentary’ feel to it, which mostly lasts through to the end. When it does drop in and out of that style, it does so in an unnoticeable way, and leaves you deep in the moment.
The main character, Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley) is an ‘everything by the book’ small fish swimming in a vast sea of bureaucracy. Not inherently evil, but in a way through his inaction. To be honest, he is a bit of a prick.
Empowered through nepotism he is given the task of moving the aliens from the District 9 slum to the even less desirable District 10. Out of sight, out of mind. The aliens are referred to as ‘prawns’ as the humans see them as bottom feeders, scavenging for food (especially cat food), and like an infestation of insects, the humans just want them gone.
You can read the full review HERE.
I think this movie is science fiction at its best. Useing a theme or idea that everyone is familiar with and putting on a larger canvas or using said theme or idea to show us another point of view. “Alien Nation” (TV Series) did something similiar and I feel suceeed on many levels. But really it never had the time to fully explore their particular theme. Now granted “District 9” only has about two hours to get the point across but I think they will manage. Either way it should be a land mark science fiction film that should be in the top 100.
NO. This is not sci fi at its best. The film did not make me believe it was worth the 18 bucks me and my wife spent to see it. The ‘mocumentary’ type of film is not the correct storytelling choice for a movie advertised as action packed. This story is better off as a traditional film. Could have been a great movie ,but doesn’t deliver. On a positive note, the cast and crew did a great job. Believable characters, except the stereotypical vodoo gang.