District 9 (2009)

[Hurmoth]

I'm not even sure where to begin. I had followed the thread here at Neowin for the most part and seen the trailer for the film and was stoked, especially considering Peter Jackson's name was attached to the film, but boy was I wrong about what to expect and sadly, not for the good.

A compilation of the reviews that pretty much sum up my opinion about District 9: Overall, with aliens that look like a crossbreed of roaches and lobsters, District 9 is a bad episode of Star Trek meets an insipid Apartheid mini-series. This was one disappointing sci-fi spectacle that threads enough thoughtful commentary into its whirligig media-fractured action plot to mostly make up for its lapses into clich?. District 9 represents the sloppiest and dopiest pop cinema -- the kind that comes from a second-rate film culture.

Artsy vertigo, racial profiling from outer space, black on prawn violence, Nigerian gangsters into cannibalistic health food diets, and inter-species creature sex for sale. And no, I did not have sex with that alien.

Essentially, what I'm trying to say is, stay away from this gigantic chunk of ****.

1 out of 5, and that's being generous. I wish now I had seen The Time Traveler's Wife instead.

[xendrome]

First let me say, I have not seen it yet.

But lets be honest.. there are some movies that are PURE junk, and others that touch on things that people don't enjoy, like, or agree with.

Judging by the reviews by random regular people, critics, etc. It's at least a A or B movie.... see here - http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/district_9/

So that leads me to believe, you wrote this review based upon your ideas/beliefs, etc. And something just didn't agree with you. If that is the case, your taking "movies" way to serious.

[Konstanov]

On the other hand, it was spectacular and one of the best movies I have seen all year.

[CUBBYJR2005]

First let me say, I have not seen it yet.

But lets be honest.. there are some movies that are PURE junk, and others that touch on things that people don't enjoy, like, or agree with.

Judging by the reviews by random regular people, critics, etc. It's at least a A or B movie.... see here - http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/district_9/

So that leads me to believe, you wrote this review based upon your ideas/beliefs, etc. And something just didn't agree with you. If that is the case, your taking "movies" way to serious.

Hey so what if he taking it seriously some of us do and some of us dont its his personal opinion what he thought of the movie dont be negative about his personal opinion he has a right to say what he felt.

[Hurmoth]

Umm, no, I wrote the review based on how much I enjoyed the film. I lost interest into the film after just 10 minutes. 100 minutes later I thought an entire week had passed by I was so bored. I'm someone who cannot just leave the theatre because, well I paid 9.50 for the damn ticket and I wanted my money's worth :p , even if the film did suck.

It had nothing to do with beliefs, or ideas and everything to do with the simple fact I hated the film. Nothing happened. I didn't give a damn about a single one of the characters. I felt nothing for them. I wasn't pulled into the film at all. Oh, and I hate how they filmed it. The first person, shake the damn camera so I get a ****ing headache POV.

[maash]

I'm not even sure where to begin. I had followed the thread here at Neowin for the most part and seen the trailer for the film and was stoked, especially considering Peter Jackson's name was attached to the film, but boy was I wrong about what to expect and sadly, not for the good.

A compilation of the reviews that pretty much sum up my opinion about District 9: Overall, with aliens that look like a crossbreed of roaches and lobsters, District 9 is a bad episode of Star Trek meets an insipid Apartheid mini-series. This was one disappointing sci-fi spectacle that threads enough thoughtful commentary into its whirligig media-fractured action plot to mostly make up for its lapses into clich?. District 9 represents the sloppiest and dopiest pop cinema -- the kind that comes from a second-rate film culture.

Artsy vertigo, racial profiling from outer space, black on prawn violence, Nigerian gangsters into cannibalistic health food diets, and inter-species creature sex for sale. And no, I did not have sex with that alien.

Essentially, what I'm trying to say is, stay away from this gigantic chunk of ****.

1 out of 5, and that's being generous. I wish now I had seen The Time Traveler's Wife instead.

i saw this movie and give the movie 5 out of 5 and this review 1 out of 5 and I am being quite generous.

this is certainly the best movie of the year and probably the best pure science fiction movie to come out in the 21st century.

The message of the movie is so deep and provides a lesson for all of humanity. No matter 'what' you are, the best and worst of human nature come out of the foray during the most toughest of times.

Rotten Tomatoes: 88%

Metacritic: 81%

IMDB: 9.0/10 (top 78 in imdb top 250)

[Green_Eye]

I have read many a review and never have I come across one with so little substance....

I have read many a review and never have I come across one with so little substance....

[Rob2687]

As an action flick this totally owned. There was plenty of big explosions, gun fights, gibs and even a grav. gun! I was thinking part way through that it would be pretty sweet to play this as an FPS. :D

For the movie on the whole I think DirtyLarry summed it up quite well in the other thread. The first half was solid but the plot shifts towards summer blockbuster material towards the end.

Also the CG was fantastic. Usually I can't get through a movie without atleast once thinking man you can't totally tell that's CG but everything was done so well and seamlessly in this.

Do those aliens remind anyone of Vortigaunts? This totally could have been a chapter in the Half Life universe. :p

4/5

Edited August 16, 2009 by Rob2687

[Hurmoth]

Also the CG was fantastic. Usually I can't get through a movie without atleast once thinking man you can't totally tell that's CG but everything was done so well and seamlessly in this.

Do those aliens remind anyone of Vortigaunts? This could have been a chapter in the Half Life universe. :p

4/5

I will give you that, the CG was top notch.

And yes, as soon as I saw the aliens, I thought of Half-Life 2.

I just didn't care for the filming style or the story that was being told.

[goji]

HAHA

You say the movie was bad and the CGI was top notch? The CGI at times was decent especially in scenes when you could painfully tell how fake the aliens were while intermingling with the humans. Despite Weta doign the sfx this was nowhere near LoTR budget.

The script was well written in telling a simple and compelling story. At times I thought I knew where the story could or would go but was proven wrong. There isn't a great mystery or marvel to unravel in D-9, nor was the film about the special effects. Its simply a story about human interaction, and nothing more.

I will admit that the documentary style used in the beginning and end of the film give it an undue campy feel. Where they may have tried to personalize the movie experience a bit ends up feeling fake and tacked on. When the story gets moving the docu/drama is thrown out the window making for a choppy experience. That would be the biggest let down.

4/5

[Ayepecks]

Just got back from it, and I thought it was a good movie.

I actually wasn't too impressed with the CGI characters, to be completely honest, but I thought the spaceship and mechanical things looked pretty good.

While I liked it, I would say it's really not heart-pounding or action packed like a lot of people are going to think from the trailers. It's just a neat experience.

4/5

[NoLiMiT06]

I thought it was pretty cool, liked the news coverage feel to the movie, kind of reminded me of Cloverfield in some ways. The first half was kind of slow but boy was the last half kick ass! I really enjoyed the film and give it a 4 out of 5... BTW it is quite gory which I loved but just a warning :D

[Kev1n]

Hurmoth you got a pretty weird taste in movies! :p

I really like it, but let's not get carried away, because this is in no form a masterpiece. As I've said, the premise is original and sound, but the set-up and themes it builds dont go far in the action-packed second half. I dont hold that against it though. If that is what the filmmakers wanted, then it turned out to be fairly awesome. The Matrix was something similar, giving us a lot to think before going all gung-ho in the last act, and despite that it's a classic in my book. I however think that The Matrix has a bit more of a 'sci-fi' payoff than this. Christopher Johnson (I laughed at the name) and his kid were done well, but none of the other aliens were imbued with any kind of character. Wikus himself is fascinating, equally likable and despicable. The action scenes are great, the CGI is mostly done extremely well, the mecha is awesome!, the alien weapons are cool, and the final shot is brilliant. So if you're looking for a sci-fi action flick which isn't too smart, but definitely not dumb, this is it.

4/5

P/S: Wikus is a bit like a Sounth African Steve Carell. lol

[Dashel]

Good movie! Easily one of the best I've seen this year and probably the only decent sci-fi one. I hope he gets more directorial roles as this was a strong first effort. Hurmoth, are you sure you didnt' go see the Time Traveller's Wife by accident? It was all done quite well. To be that bored, I can't even relate.

Full Price (Y)

[Hurmoth]

Hurmoth you got a pretty weird taste in movies! :p

:laugh: Definitely agree with you there!

Hurmoth, are you sure you didnt' go see the Time Traveller's Wife by accident? It was all done quite well. To be that bored, I can't even relate.

I just got back from seeing The Time Traveler's Wife and loved it. I guess I'm just odd :p

[Andrew Lyle Global Moderator]

There is a trend of 4/5 in this thread.. the original poster obviously missed something

[Hurmoth]

There is a trend of 4/5 in this thread.. the original poster obviously missed something

Rotten Tomatoes still has 19 rotten ratings for the film: Fresh: 139 - Rotten:19. I just happen to be in the minority. I clearly am missing something, how anyone enjoyed this film. But hey, to each their own.

[t_r_nelson]

Go and see it again, Hurmoth.

You may have missed something the first time ;)

[Hurmoth]

If I had an extra $9.50, I would, but I don't.

I read the plot outline on Wikipedia and I didn't miss anything based on that. I just didn't enjoy this particular film. I'll give it another shot in six or so months when it comes out of Blu-ray.

[Veedems Veteran]

I enjoyed it a lot. It wasn't so much an alien movie as much as it was a movie about segregation and ignorance towards another race and that race so happened to be from another planet.

[Astra.Xtreme]

In a nutshell, I thought it was really really intense and the realistic cgi topped it off.

I left the theater with a lot of uncertainties of the plot, so I'm looking forward to a sequel to fill in the blanks.

I took my girlfriend and she basically said that while she didn't really enjoy it since it was sci-fi, she really wants to know what happens next. She sat thru that, and now I have to sit through the Post-Grad screener tonight. Oh boy!

[Manish]

P/S: Wikus is a bit like a Sounth African Steve Carell. lol

I actually thought it was him at first, and I also agree with him being "equally likeable and despicable".

I left the theater with a lot of uncertainties of the plot, so I'm looking forward to a sequel to fill in the blanks.

I'd actually prefer if they left it as an open ending, specifically how you're left hoping Christopher comes back to fix him.

[-Vivicidal-]

WTH? I thought this film was going to be amazing, but I'd give it 15/100.

[R-Flex]

I rated it 3/5.

It was interesting, and a good film, but it was lacking a bit. Perhaps it had to do with the themes and allegories. Some were quite obvious and irrelevant (apartheid of aliens in South Africa? What possible allegory could this mean?), while others were clever and tread new ground. However, some of these themes, such as identity, human behaviour under stress and its morality, and human rights, were hastily abandoned to finish the movie with action. At a juxtaposition, I enjoyed the action, but I was highly intrigued by what the film explored and disappointed by a lack of finish in that area.

At a plus, I followed the film without becoming bored or thinking of anything other than what was in front of me. But while I have seen other films a secondary time in theatre, spending my ten dollars, I declined the chance to see it again.

[NoLiMiT06]

I liked it but not going to see it in theaters again, I am waiting for the Blu-Ray version :)