Movie | District 9 | PASS

WARNING: HERE BE SPOILERS

Okay, I finally got around to watching this. Truthfully, I've been avoiding it because of Peter "Ham Hands" Jackson. The man ruins movies for me, I tell ya. But then I found out he just produced and some other guy wrote and directed District 9.

Turns out that guy is none other than Neill Blomkamp, he of visual effects fame. Blomkamp has been making and remaking (in short form) this movie for the last 3-4 years, so he knows how to tweak and refine it by now. Jackson saw the potential and handed Blomkamp 30 million dollars and this is what we got.

And what we got is superb. Part Alien Nation, part The Fly and nods to Transformers and Alien: Resurrection...all seen thru the apartheid lens to excellent results.

To me, this was two movies - the first half and the second half. The beginning was shot as a documentary and, intentional or not, very poorly put together. The edits were so obvious...uh oh, here come Jackson!

Then, midway through, Blomkamp (thankfully) gives up on the mock documentary and the whole thing tightens up, becoming much more enjoyable for me. Sure, there's still the cheapo shaky camera work, but it's now a movie and IT'S ON.

Sharlto Copley, in his first full length movie role EVER (much less a starring role!), is superb. He wrote and directed the notable movie Spoon, which is well worth checking out if you're in the mood for a supernatural thriller. But, otherwise, he just knocks it out of the park - picture perfect!

Bleak, brutal and beautifully realized, District 9 is a must for scifi action fans. Two prawn thumbs up!