You wouldn't be able to guess that this movie was as low-budget as it was. It isn't until after you walk away and really think about what the movie offers that you realize what an extraordinary feat has been accomplished.
The movie is created off the disaster of Halo which may now be able to be happen due to the success of this film. Peter Jackson helped put this movie together, and his name may be the only one moviegoers will recognize. Neill Blomkamp wrote and directed the film and shot everything in Africa. Add all these details together and you get the estimated 30,000,000 on a summer blockbuster. All the money was already recouped in the opening weekend.
The first 15 minutes of the film not only gives you all very important information on the background but also gives you a taste of what is to come visually. The movie is shot in a mockumentary style, reminiscent of Cloverfield from a couple years back but with much less use of the shaky camera. Handhelds are used but the man holding it has a much steadier hand. The movie also uses faux CNN coverage and security footage to give it a much more real look.
While the beginning is great it doesn't end up in the same place. The last half hour of the film knows where it is headed but there just seems to be something missing from the film. I have no problem with how the movie ends but there is just something missing.
The prawns as they are called are disgusting creatures and you are able to feel sympathy or hatrid for the aliens depending on your mood or the point of the movie. Christopher Johnson, the lead alien, is educated and likeable as his son. Meanwhile his human counterpart played by Sharlto Copley is bumbling and upbeat enough just to be annoying, his character goes through quite a development both physically and mentally that helps the audiences attachment grow as he does.
The message of the movie is clear as it is deals with issues of intolerance and human cruelty in an area where such feelings of intolerance are still shared and dealt with today. Blomkamp does a wonderful job painting this picture with out oversaturating the situation B+
I think the thing missing was most definitely character. The lead was unlikeable, and his arc was so small it was barely recognizable. Even if it was there, I hardly cared as a viewer since he wasn't particularly memorable.
ReplyDeleteI also thought the mockumentary style was less ambitious, considering Cloverfield. While Cloverfield had some issues as a film, it went all-or-nothing with a concept, which is admirable. I feel as if they were less confident with the vision of District 9. It strangely switched from documentary/handheld to real-time action too often, leaving me confused as to where the audience really fit in the film, as far as self-awareness goes.
I'm digging these reviews, bro.
Yeah. It's missing something, and I have no idea what that is.
ReplyDeleteIf we're going to bring up Cloverfield, then let's be honest: Zawislak says admirable, I say stubborn. At least the concept was fresh when TBWProject was causing movie-goers to puke on their shoes. Remember, we saw the whole "shaky camera, we barely see the enemy" shtick nine years before Cloverfield left us holding our cocks. Surprise! JJ Abrams overthought something.
Was Wikus annoying? Yes. Does that matter? No. If you take the movie as a retelling of apartheid, it's one of the most upsetting movies of the year. Alien eggs are set on fire as Wikus laughs and Alien babies shriek in pain. The extent of the cruelty is stomach churning. This movie should effect people on a visceral level. And that's before he starts pulling his fingernails off.
As far as where we start and where we go, I think the movie was pitch-perfect. What happens after the screen goes black? Hell, look around - concentrated poverty is moved around by gentrification, people are dispossessed, tragedy abounds. They could have shot the movie in Washington, DC.
Get ready to lose, Stone. Phoenixes were here.