District 9

District 9 is, frustratingly, a tale of two movies. The first half features an embattled society that proves to be remarkably realistic, given that the principal problem is what to do with the millions of stranded aliens who have found their way to Earth. The stage is set deftly, with superior visuals and storytelling elements, but ultimately falls apart in the second half, which shifts into standard and unremarkable sci-fi action fare, leaving little room for the social or political commentary that the first half seems to promise.

In the first twenty minutes, we are apprised of the situation facing the people of Earth, and in particular, of Johannesburg, South Africa. Namely, a derelict spaceship from another planet has come to a stop over the city, inhabited by about a million near-dead members of an alien race. Clashes between humans and prawns (the derogatory name given to the aliens) and the foreshadowing of some noteworthy incident involving Wikus van de Merwe, a Multinational United (MNU, a private corporation) agent are depicted in an engaging mockumentary fashion. This incident begins with a project aiming to relocate the entire population of prawns to a new settlement (resembling an internment camp) that is farther removed from human population, using private military contractors. With all of these political and social pieces in play, one would think that themes of apartheid, private military power, and the dehumanization (I know, they’re aliens, just humor me) of outgroups would dominate much of the movie, but they are mostly forgotten and not revisited after the first hour of the film.

Part of what makes this scenario so easy to believe is the incredibly detailed animation of the aliens themselves. Computer generated graphics have rarely meshed with live action scenes quite this well. There weren’t any times I could recall being acutely aware that I was watching computer generated graphics, which is pretty staggering and deserves much praise. The prawns’ faces are particularly noteworthy, as they evoke easily recognizable emotions despite having insect-like faces with tentacles. The relationship between the prawn most prominently featured, who goes by the name of Christopher Johnson, and his son is especially well done and emotionally relatable.

Sharlto Copley does a great job with his character, van de Merwe, who figures into most of the scenes in the film. Van de Merwe is a bumbling, fish-out-of-water MNU agent who is clearly not accustomed to the ways of military force. His reconciliation of the realities of his work with the ease in which he went about it before the incident is convincing and often genuinely humorous. His lines are not always well written, but he does a fine job of convincing us of van de Merwe’s internal struggles, evoking some sympathy from the audience.

Unfortunately, signs of the film unraveling are present initially, and grow into glaring problems by the end. At times, the plot seems to be poorly thought out, relying on convenient and/or inexplicable devices to move forward. Some vital details relating to the prawns and their technology are never satisfactorily explained, characters assert knowledge they could not possibly have and Wikus sometimes makes head-scratchingly bad decisions once he is on the run from the military. Further, some lines simply do not make any sense, within the context of the movie (why, exactly, would no one think to look for Wikus in District 9 when he is on the run?). Some details are simply inconsistent; one scene gave me the impression that there was a perceptible language barrier between prawns and humans, whereas a scene no more than five minutes later gave me the impression that the two could understand each other perfectly. It made the movie seem pieced together, rather than one that naturally flows from beginning to end in a sensible fashion.

Upon entering its second hour, the film completely shifts gears to an all-out sci-fi action movie, with all the clichés that go with it. Bombs and trucks are conveniently placed to aid in escape routes (why are there alien bomb materials just lying around in a bio lab, exactly?), and characters become increasingly archetypal. Wikus and Christopher Johnson enter into a familiar on-again off-again buddy action movie relationship, battling a familiar guns blazing, no holds barred military type and a familiar leering and cutthroat underground crime lord. The dialogue becomes increasingly uninspired as the movie barrels towards its ending, which is almost nothing but constant explosions and gunfire for about twenty to twenty-five minutes. Once the slow-motion action scenes kicked in, I could not help but roll my eyes at where this movie had ended up. These conventions aren’t necessarily bad on their own, but I couldn’t help but be disappointed by seeing a conclusion I had seen in dozens of other movies follow what had been such an intriguing and refreshing opening.

District 9 suffers from an identity crisis that is pretty shocking, considering how painstakingly well the first half’s diorama of social and political issues was constructed. Unfortunately, these themes are only introduced, and by the end you can’t help but admit that director Neill Blomkamp has left them severely undeveloped. It’s one half clever commentary and one half middle of the road action movie (with, admittedly, terrific visuals), and the two halves do not mesh together well, stylistically or thematically. The second half, while it might have been good enough on its own, only serves to tarnish the brilliance of the first half, making for an overall mediocre film.