[Movie] District 9

So, I went to see this last night. I was honestly expecting the documentary style to be the whole of the movie, and frankly I found that a little disappointing because of how limiting it would be for the audience. I'm pleased that it made the shift to a standard style movie even if it made some of the plot points more easy to see coming.

I feel like this film was an attempt to appease both the action crowd and the intellectual crowd, so in that sense it was kind of a leap of faith halfway through the movie when the tone shifts so much, but I felt like it was a logical continuation of the director's message for the film. I tend to see movies as visual essays, so if their introduction, body, and conclusion match up, I'm much more inclined to give them a positive review. What better way to follow your shoot-em-up short than with a piece on xenophobia?

Re: Sprout's review and related comments:

Spoiler:

I feel like corporate culture is such that the really twisted ones that make it to be CEOs would want to surround themselves with people who think alike. It is probably a stretch to say that no one would have a problem with carving up a human-turned-alien, but remember that this takes place in a world where the aliens landed in the early 80's (THE corporate decade) and in the intervening 30 years people had a lot of resentment over the worker prawns with theft and riots. That's plenty of time to foster a lovely little "us and them" mentality.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by JewishNegroe

Oh I was also pushed a message reather than entertained by what I had hope to be a cool scifi event.

Most movies worth watching do that. If anything lately there's an overabundance of films that are "it's just a movie" movies.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Well, the thing is, it's not a dumb movie as much as it has had its primary allegory repeated ad nauseum by every critic that's seen the movie. It's still a very effective movie emotionally and in terms of its production, but I think some folks went in expecting something they didn't get.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Denicalis

"I can't, I'm not a retard so I don't like things that treat me like a retard."

But it doesn't. Neither of those movies. I don't want to drag up the whole Dark Knight discussion again, but the simple virtue of being continuous throughout the film (and in fact, essential to the plot) doesn't make it a bad allegory.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?