[Movie] District 9

Actually went and caught this last night as well. For me, I barely registered the documentary -> standard format shift, as there was a gradual rolloff in the number of documentary style shots.

The film itself kind of blindsided me, as I had only heard some mumblings from Comic Con and then a roommate asked if I wanted to check it out. Looking at what's out there though, the trailer's are actually rather light on details, which I appreciate. Seems like its rare to not have most of the plot and major action scenes given away by the trailer.

What with being uninformed, I was pleasantly surprised. Particularly with the portrayal of the aliens themselves. No dark rooms with half seen monsters. First shots, they're out in the sun, and fairly unsympathetic. This mood shifts a bit through the film, as you find out a bit more about their structure, and what humans have done, but the large majority are still left as violent vagrants even by the conclusion.

Also, I enjoyed the fact that the "hero" was never really much of one, and just became a bit less craven over the course of the film. It was an interesting personal shift in the theater to realize that I wasn't really rooting for him, as much as I was hoping for the good effects his actions would have on the prawns.

Finally, violence. I can't remember the last movie I saw where people were visibly gibbed. Probably Saving Private Ryan. And after the tone shift, it was pretty frequent here. Still, in this film it felt like it was mostly being used as a tool. Accentuating the light, frail nature of the humans, along with the slow decomposition of the hero. There was some violence for "coolness" sake, like the mech suit, but even that was relatively well done.

Since it seems obvious they're heading down the road of District 10 though, I can totally see this just coming back as some Independence Day knockoff for the sequel.

Jam it back in, in the dark.