A - J, New Movies, Reviews - Thursday, October 29, 2009 13:43 - 0 Comments

District 9

District 9 is everything Steven Spielberg is incapable of doing with modern science fiction, and that is perhaps the greatest compliment I can bestow upon this film. No cuddly aliens here, no heavy-handed moralising that would make Walt Disney blush.  

 The premise supposes an alien aircraft landing sometime in the late 20th century, but subverts the usual Hollywood clichés by having the aliens land in Johannesburg – not the well trodden NY or LA. This provides an exciting and new environment for such a story, and being less familiar as a celluloid setting for the viewer, a more believable one. This is a clever tool, preventing the viewer from anticipating the usual landmarks being destroyed or saved. What follows is a film that ticks all the boxes that any science fiction fan could hope for. It’s gritty, realistic, packed with action and lashings and lashings of blood and guts. But where this film excels is in its ability to bring to the piece a new take on an old theme: how would we react if the little green men really did disembark on Earth?  Continue…