On District 9:

While the first half of the film District 9 was slow (but engaging), slightly grotesque (I still shudder at the image of Wikus’ falling nails), and highly thought provoking (the director crammed in so much symbolism that it sometimes felt slightly overpowering), the second part of the movie transformed into a chaotic mass of too many special effects and not enough plot development.

It felt as if Blomkamp realized, halfway through shooting, that he had a lot of leftover money and decided to splurge on unnecessary explosions.

Sadly, although it did have the entertaining effect he had probably hoped for, the director sacrificed further development on the political agenda of District 9 in order to turn this movie into a blockbuster.

Instead of focusing on the problem first presented in his plotline (xenophobia, mistreatment of extraterrestrials, and the many injustices suffered by the Prawns at the hands of humans), Blomkamp awkwardly transitioned into overtly used clichés that turned District 9 into a rather predictable and disappointing movie. Alienation of…well….aliens, was overshadowed by MNU’s (unsurprising) villainy and their attempts to control weapons. The to-be-powerful statements about injustice were easy to forget when contrasted with the large amount of gunshots, fire, and the promise of a sequel. The meaningful metamorphosis that Wikus’ character underwent was not sufficiently explored, en lieu of adding violent contrivances that left the above-mentioned, provoked thoughts raging for some sort of closure.

This does not mean that District 9 was a bad movie, however. It simply means that Blompkamp was willing to sacrifice some of the movie’s power to make a statement for the sake of commerciality. Perhaps, this meant that it would be more accessible and a wider range of audiences would be exposed to his ideas on alienation, or maybe it simply meant that he would get more money. (I’m voting on the latter).

But, in the end, the only questions that need be taken into account when considering whether or not to watch District 9 are:

Was the movie boring? No. Disappointing, slightly, but that does not mean it was not enthralling.

Was the movie effective in conveying its ideas? Partly. As has been previously explained, it would have been much more successful had it been a) less pretentious or b) more focused.

Is it worth watching? Definitely. (Because, really, who would want to miss a movie that portrays giant, prawn-like creature named Chrisopher?)