District 9
| Directed by: | Neill Blomkamp |
|---|---|
| Written by: | Neill Blomkamp |
| Cast: | Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, David James, Mandla Gaduka, William Allen Young, Vanessa Haywood, Kenneth Nkosi, Devlin Brown |
| Studio: | Sony Pictures |
| Genre: | Science Fiction |
| Official Site: | www.d-9.com |
I appreciated the ideas presented in DISTRICT 9. Unfortunately, ideas are not enough to carry a movie; you need strong characters and emotions if you're going to pull off a film of this nature. There were many times in this film I found myself wondering when all of the supposed "thrills" were going to happen. Unfortunately, for me, they never came, despite some impressive technical work and some decent action in the end.
I don't mind a slow pace, so long as you use that time to build your characters and story, and that's one area DISTRICT 9 is sorely lacking. I felt no connection to the main character. In fact, I found him to be one of the dullest characters I've seen in any movie this year. We know virtually nothing about him, except that he's a government official. With a wife. Whoopty-doo! He spends most of the film running, and trying to figure out how to cure his mutation. That would be fine and dandy, except for the fact that I just didn't care one way or the other.
The themes here are pretty obvious as well, and honestly, didn't feel like anything I hadn't seen before. The technical elements are definitely top-notch, with some nifty alien designs and stunning cinematography. But, in the end, I just didn't feel as overwhelmed by it as many others do.
