I saw District 9...

[awsome117]

I enjoyed it quite a bit, the story was good and original, the action was fast and the acting was very well done. I felt there was a bit much foreshadowing, it was a wee bit on the predictable side. I'd go see it again though.

I felt the same on the predictable part. In the beggining, when I saw his mother crying before the movie actually started, I basically knew something was going down.

 

[benbenthegamerman]

Entirely great and original plot+pewpewpew death lazorz+Johannesburg= best movie ive seen all summer.

 

[mrpenguinismyhomeboy]

Let me start off by saying it was it a good movie. I just didn't think it was a great movie. Maybe I'm missing something.

For the people that have seen it, can you share you opinion on it and why you liked it.

Maybe I was looking at it the wrong way, cause the way I saw it was just another sci-fi flick.

Yeah me too. I was kinda expecting more out of it. I just wasn't as impressed by it as people made me think I would be. Although I personally believe it was more than just another sci-fi flick. It was a good sci-fi flick.

 

[darkorion69]

*Spoiler Potential*
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District 9 was not original. It was Alien Nation remade low budget to take an indirect stab at Apartheid by setting humanity up a symptom of the evils of Apartheid. The aliens are cast largely as helpless victims of a cruel and heartless humanity.

That being said the plot was hard to swallow. The world just would not accept giving jurisdiction over inter-species contact to a single country, let alone a country with the recent history of South Africa. Rights groups and the UN would not tolerate a civilian merc/research corporation to make unilateral decisions. If the US was not allowed at least a shared leadership role, I suspect we would actually invade South Africa to uphold "Alien Rights" or at least to have equal access to their advanced weaponry.

No one sprayed by an unknown alien bio-agent would refuse IMMEDIATE MEDICAL ATTENTION. Even if he did refuse, people in Hazmat suits would spirit him away ASAP. He would certainly not be allowed to just wander home to a surprise party, and possibly release a deadly alien disease into the general populace.

Additionally, though the 'evil corporation' would test the alien weapons... physics does not require a live alien target to determine what an energy weapons effect on flesh would be, hence the use of an animal corpse. They did this only to illustrate how cartoonishly fiendish the 'evil corporation' was. The security of the medical containment facility holding the hero was pathetic. He managed to walk down a hallway or two and right outside. He did not have to use ingenuity or considerable firepower to get away. Apparently...they forgot to install a sub-dermal tracking device in the only Human/Alien hybrid in history.

I don't even have the strength to go into taking 20 years to gas up a cylinder that powers a massive starship! This film was fun and entertaining...but it was just a low budget result of the Halo movie being canceled, and Peter Jackson wanting to cash in since he was already on location visiting a friend.

 

[awsome117]

Let me start off by saying it was it a good movie. I just didn't think it was a great movie. Maybe I'm missing something.

For the people that have seen it, can you share you opinion on it and why you liked it.

Maybe I was looking at it the wrong way, cause the way I saw it was just another sci-fi flick.

Yeah me too. I was kinda expecting more out of it. I just wasn't as impressed by it as people made me think I would be. Although I personally believe it was more than just another sci-fi flick. It was a good sci-fi flick.

That's what I meant. I think I mis-worded it though.

 

[Valiance]

If you're not a Sci-Fi fan it was original and amazing and 5 star.

If you were it was just a decent movie.

 

[DamienHell]

Definitely not the movie I thought it was going to be. But I love how the aliens weren't portrayed as mindless creatures, there's too many of those nowadays

 

[MrSnugglesworth]

It's been done before. These people come here, we don't like them, put them here, preform experiments, and just be all around dicks to them.

I still don't see the orginallity here.

Well with that mentality, nothing is original.
Even though I've never seen, or heard of, a movie where aliens come to earth on the brink of starvation and death and we give them refuge, but that causes some serious social animosity and they try to move them which starts...I won't go further for those who haven't seen it.

Even if that's not original to you, then don't look at it for it's originality, look at it for it's fresh take on the sci-fi genre. Not mindless, transparent characters, but real characters. Not a elementary plot written by guys who like to see thing blown up, but a great story of self-sacrifice, greater good, and social justice.
Couple that with great special effects and cinematography, and you got a great, fresh movie.

This, especially the last part that I bolded.

So what, other movies have that too. Even the Transformers has that. But I suppose everyone has their own opinion.

(Quick spoiler alert if you haven't seen this movie and somehow still want to)

I agree that other movies have that, but Transformers had no Self-Sacrifice. Optimus Prime sacrificed himself(sorta) but you wanna know who was the main character "Sam "Blandy" Witwicky" All he did was yell alot, have stuff blow up around him alot, cry alot, stare at Megan Fox alot, Yell some MORE, Act like a jackass whilst yelling while stuff blows up around him and then he dies. (OR DOES HE 0.o)

 

[awsome117]

If you're not a Sci-Fi fan it was original and amazing and 5 star.

If you were it was just a decent movie.

I think that summed it up well.

Thanks.

 

[dorm41baggins]

I haven't yet been able to settle on a firm opinion of the movie in my own mind. Once it comes out on DVD, I'll watch it a couple more times and decide whether I like it or not, but I wanted to respond to a couple of points brought up in the thread.

Ok, if you don't think it's original, name ONE movie that's similar to District 9.

I can't even think of a single movie involving humans and aliens where the aliens were portrayed in a sympathetic light, let alone one that has a rich allegorical layering like District 9.

The plots are very different and the movies bear not even a superficial resemblance to each other but...

The way the aliens are portrayed in Enemy Mine is very similar in tone to District 9.

In fact, I saw Enemy Mine for the first time about a week before I saw District 9. I think that colored my opinion of the latter slightly. If I hadn't seen Enemy Mine first, I might have viewed District 9 as more groundbreaking and original than I now do.

Having said that- while just about every element of District 9 has appeared elsewhere (man turns into thing he hates- X-Men; evil scientists experimenting on harmless aliens that just want to go home- E.T.; cool, hugely destructive alien weaponry- Men in Black), the particular mix of elements in District 9 is new and interesting. I'm undecided on the quality of the execution though. To me it seemed somewhat disjointed and confusing.

Additionally, though the 'evil corporation' would test the alien weapons... physics does not require a live alien target to determine what an energy weapons effect on flesh would be, hence the use of an animal corpse.

I have a number of issues with the plot and I agree with several of your points, but I have to disagree with you on this one. There is a rational explanation for conducting that particular test: the alien weapons are designed so they cannot possibly be fired by any other species except the Prawns. It makes sense that the 'evil corporation' would want to test whether or not the weapons were designed so they could not be used against Prawns. Obviously, little is known about Prawn culture, so it would be conceivable that all internal warfare on their home world had been eliminated and the Prawns only used their weapons for defense against (or conquering of) other species.

 

[cleverlymadeup]

District 9 was not original. It was Alien Nation remade low budget to take an indirect stab at Apartheid by setting humanity up a symptom of the evils of Apartheid. The aliens are cast largely as helpless victims of a cruel and heartless humanity.

really so when did the prawn own stores, be part of the police force and such? interact with humans and help them investigate crimes?

sorry it's NOT a remake of alien nation. i mean if you take out the fact that the main character was a cop, his partner was killed, the main human character joins forces with a prawn to track down the killer, then sure both movies are the same and have the exact same plot

so how is it the same?

 

[Fenring]

I enjoyed it quite a bit, the story was good and original, the action was fast and the acting was very well done. I felt there was a bit much foreshadowing, it was a wee bit on the predictable side. I'd go see it again though.

I felt the same on the predictable part. In the beggining, when I saw his mother crying before the movie actually started, I basically knew something was going down.

I was fine with that part, it wasn't too much, and kind of left it open for me. I thought it got really bad at the point when the kept saying "Only aliens can use the guns, it's integrated in their DNA" or something like that over and over again.

 

[darkorion69]

District 9 was not original. It was Alien Nation remade low budget to take an indirect stab at Apartheid by setting humanity up a symptom of the evils of Apartheid. The aliens are cast largely as helpless victims of a cruel and heartless humanity.

really so when did the prawn own stores, be part of the police force and such? interact with humans and help them investigate crimes?

sorry it's NOT a remake of alien nation. i mean if you take out the fact that the main character was a cop, his partner was killed, the main human character joins forces with a prawn to track down the killer, then sure both movies are the same and have the exact same plot

so how is it the same?

The PREMISE is identical. The execution (no pun intended) in Alien Nation begged the question of Alien Integration. The execution in District 9 offers no questions...only a sad commentary on how pessimists view humanity.