This summer has had a variety of high budget blockbusters that, with their bloated budgets and high profile actors, have brought mediocre quality to the table as far as cinematic enjoyment goes. One film however that broke this previous trend is District 9; with only a $30 million budget, (compared to Transformers 2:Revenge of the Fallen’s budget of $200 million) the film is visually stunning and offers a deep story. In this review, I am going to be quiet about the plot, because going into this film really not knowing anything about it made the ride much more enjoyable. I will say however, that the plot is not predictable, in fact I had a giddy smile on my face in parts of the movie because I had no idea what was going to happen next!
Visually, this movie is stunning. End of story. The effects in this movie make Transformers look like claymation. This is this first time in a film, where I literally forgot that some of the characters on screen were CG. The eyes of the aliens feel real, and when you look at them, its as if you can tell they have life– A true visual accomplishment. Do not forget either that this movie is rated R for a reason, the gore is present and messy. Lets just say that if someone is going to die, there usually aren’t many pieces left over after the alien weaponry is used, and lets leave it at that.
The audio is immersive and felt great in theaters. There are many “Cloverfield” moments where the audio completely sells whats on the screen and makes the world feel even more real than it looks. I will be honest I came into this movie concerned that there were no “big name” actors, but the lack thereof makes the mockumentary style of the film work on more levels than one. Do not be fooled that this film is simply an action movie or a sci-fi movie, understand that this movie has many great themes and symbolism at its roots that build an experience that we have not felt in a long time in cinema. If you are over 18, and can handle some gore in action scenes, I highly recommend that you see District 9, as it is for me, the best movie of the year so far.
