District 9 Offers Viewers Realistic Action and a Great Antihero
Really good science fiction is about more than huge explosions. Top notch sci-fi reflects real life situations, but illuminates them with aliens, science experiments gone wrong, and other extraterrestrial or scientifically extraordinary entities. This is what makes District 9 such a wonderful film.
District 9 is about an alien space vessel that has been stranded over Johannesburg, South Africa. The aliens, who are referred to as “Prawns” because of their appearance and because they are bottom feeders, are put into a slum by the name of “District 9.” The first act is shot documentary style until the main character, Wikus, played by Sharlto Copley, leads the eviction of all Prawns to District 10, and gets infected by alien liquid that makes him the most wanted man in the world.
Over-the-top action is the reason why many movies like Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen are box office hits. People also love the gross-out horror of the Saw movies. District 9 action scenes are a perfect cocktail of both. They are big and explosive without being ridiculous, and gory without being sadistic. The reason the action is good is because it is realistic. Even though there is a giant badass robot, and the good guys use it, the thing actually gets damaged when shot at. Neither Prawns nor people have super powers, and their gunfights are logical, which raises the stakes and increases the risks.
District 9 also reflects current immigration issues as well as the lengths to which people will go for power. It is not heavy-handed, delivering a clear message without sacrificing action.
Come to think of it, the reason why every part of this movie is so great is its realism. People would not be friendly to refugee aliens sucking out resources - we can hardly stand human aliens. The biggest example of the realism, however, is within the characters. The main antagonist is truly evil but not destroy- or rule-the-world evil like Darth Vader, but make-money-no-matter-what evil like Enron or AIG. The aliens don’t have super powers like Klaatu from The Day the Earth Stood Still, and they’re not fearsome like the Tripods in War of the Worlds. We’re used to seeing aliens come in and take over what’s happening, completely overpowering the humans. These aliens though are almost helpless, and the only reason for their living is for scientific experiments. They are at the disposal of the people of Earth, helpless and alone, which is a new take on things.
As for the main character, Wikus, he is one of the best antiheroes I’ve ever seen in a movie. At the beginning of the film, he is an insufferable prick and a bureaucratic oaf; after the incident in which he begins to turn into one of the aliens he’d been indirectly oppressing, you feel genuinely sorry for him and want him to succeed in changing back. He is desperate and pulls a dick move or two, but that’s what I’d expect a normal person to do in this threatening environment. He’s self-conflicted and annoying, making Wikus feel like a real person who is in over his head. Even more incredible is the fact that the actor who plays him, Sharlto Copley, has never had any professional acting experience.
District 9 is a truly fantastic movie, and fans of both action packed sci-fi nonsense and good movies should see it.
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