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District 9 has been 2009's low-budget success story: costing a mere (by blockbuster standards) $30 million dollars, it has so far made over $100 million in the US alone, on the back of almost unanimously stellar reviews. It's one of the more auspicious directorial debuts for some time; South African Neill Blomkamp will no doubt be in serious demand from now on. It's ironic, really, because the Peter Jackson-backed newcomer had been pencilled in to direct the massive Halo movie, and only turned to District 9 - based on Blomkamp's own short film - when the studios agonisingly lost faith in Halo at the last minute. D9 proves that Blomkamp would have been the perfect choice for bringing the popular videogame franchise to cinemas, as he demonstrates an inarguable flair for kinetic action scenes and spectacular imagery. In fact, what the director achieves with that $30m budget is staggering, considering it looks far better than most $200m summer tentpoles. The CGI is phenomenally impressive, integrated brilliantly into the practical live action footage.
But District 9 is more than just an effects showreel. The premise is fascinating: twenty-odd years ago, a giant disc-shaped space ship appeared in the skies above Johannesburg, which was found to be housing a huge population of alien creatures, living in squalor aboard their dilapidated ship. Derogatorily nicknamed 'Prawns' for their crustaceanlike appearance, they are herded into a compound, the District of the title, and effectively imprisoned. Their appalling treatment by the human populace produces inevitable apartheid connotations (for example, signs such as "Humans Only", as cleverly employed in the film's marketing, adorn the streets of the city). Our lead is Wikus van de Merwe, played endearingly and wholly convincingly by non-actor Sharlto Copley (recently rumoured to be cast in the upcoming A-Team movie), a government official given the task of evicting the Prawns and re-housing them in the new District 10, hundreds of miles outside the city.
The opening to the film, shot in documentary style - intercut with mock interviews, discussing the events of the film in past tense - is absolutely compelling. It's an intoxicating, breathless introduction to a comprehensively realised world. There is an accusation to be made that the ideas seem to dry up slightly after the extraordinary set-up - after the first act the film (d)evolves into an exhausting chase movie, as Wikus, infected by alien goo, goes on the run. Blomkamp constructs the action scenes like an expert, and the seamless effects enhance the immersion; it's also commendable how the film manages to build sympathy with the initially disgusting aliens. However, the film does feel slightly overlong. At one point it seems to be building to a natural conclusion before taking a sideways turn into yet another explosive firefight that simply prolongs the conclusion without adding anything discernable to the story. Still, the constantly interesting, highly original setting maintains its fascination, and the investment in character pays off.
The summary
The bastard lovechild of The Fly, E.T. and Black Hawk Down, combined with more original ideas than Michael Bay's whole career, District 9 is adrenaline-pumping, exhausting, and visually extraordinary.
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