[SPOILERS] District 9 Review Thread

[tim31]

Probably a case of "better safe than sorry". Besides, what's the missile gonna do? Blow some chunks off the shuttle that will still get pulled up into the mothership?

On that note, I was half expecting one of the chunks of dirt that was raised by the tractor beam to either incapacitate or kill Venter. What actually happened to him was so much more satisfying.

[Big Orange]

The MNU private security forces seem to have a define pecking order, with regular MNU guards (battalion strength) and MNU mercenaries (a few dozen). The MNU guards seem to be ex-police, they wear black/dark blue urban BDUs and tactical gear that is commonly worn by Western law enforcement, with white TAR-21s as standard issue carbines. The MNU mercs are clearly ex-military special forces, wear desert camouflage BDUs, with white body armour, and have more personalized weaponry (the Galil is a popular rifle amongst the elite MNU hired guns).

[andrewgpaul]

I was under the impression that the latter forces were SA Army, seconded to MNU for the District 9 eviction operation. I cuold well be wrong, though.

[Hawkwings]

I could have sworn they were referred to as military contractors. Also, they've got a cool impala-head insignia which is surprisingly badass, given the source material.

Did anyone else notice the "Tetra Vaal Biosystems" machinery in the MNU building when Wilkus and Christopher are breaking in? I thought that was a nice shout-out fans of Blompkamp's previous work.

[JointStrikeFighter]

Yeah i saw it:D

[Oskuro]

Saw it yesterday. Loved it. Got annoyed at Wikus being monumentally stupid, but that's how the character rolls.

I'd like to point out something about the mecha's gear. It has the following:

-Destructo-beam that makes people go pop
-Some sort of wired taser that makes people go pop after electrocuting them
-Shoulder-mounted missile racks of bluish electrical explosiveness
-A fucking GRAVITY GUN.

I mean, didn't anyone see the thing pick up a pig and kill someone with it? Incidentally, it was the gravity gun being used to stop the bullets, I guess that Wikus wasn't as adept at its use as the alien kid, thus he didn't use it for defense, wich is a shame, because pointing that thing at incoming fire seems to be enough to make the armor immune to small arms fire, to the very least.

I also liked how the armor was shaped like the aliens, even having tentacles on its face.


Regarding the magical liquid of transmutation, Christopher states that he must use it up to move the ship faster. I doubt it is a regular fuel source, since the ship begins moving before the thing is plugged in, but it might be a component of the (hypothethical) hyperdrive, or some other vital system. All I'm saying is that if such a tiny amount of fluid is vital to make a city-sized ship traverse intergalactic distances in a couple years, I'm more than willing to accept it can change a simple human into whatever it wants.


On the "how did they get from MUN's headquarters to D9" issue, I agree it makes little sense, but if we are to assume MNU wasn't chasing them too closely, or lost them on the streets, or whatever weak excuse, I see no problem in a official MNU vehicle making its way to wherever it wants to go.


Finally, on Christopher's "evolution", the aliens have been in D9 for 28 years, yet he claims it took 20 years to get the fluid, thus he could have been a regular drone who began to awaken as a higher caste through those 8 years, setting off to collect fluid and rebuild the command module (after locating it and digging it out). The process could've started even earlier, aboard the ship en-route to Earth.

[JLTucker]

I mean, didn't anyone see the thing pick up a pig and kill someone with it?

Which is great because Wikus says that he would shoot a pig instead of an alien during the weapons-testing scene.

[Ford Prefect]

I mean, didn't anyone see the thing pick up a pig and kill someone with it?

I was significantly morei mpressed by Wikus snatching an RPG out of the air. Oh snap.

[DPDarkPrimus]

I mean, didn't anyone see the thing pick up a pig and kill someone with it?

I was significantly morei mpressed by Wikus snatching an RPG out of the air. Oh snap.

I wish that scene hadn't been stuck in all the trailers.

[andrewgpaul]

Thankfully, there were no trailers in the UK, that I remember, so it was a surprise to me.

The closest thing to an explanation for Wikus and Chris getting back to D-9 was that they got a good head start on MNU security by dint of shooting a load of them and blowing up their building before leaving.

[Oskuro]

I was significantly morei mpressed by Wikus snatching an RPG out of the air. Oh snap.

Like DP says, the trailers kind of spoiled the awesome of that one (I kept wondering throughout the scene how were they going to repair the shuttle, given that in the trailer it was taking off when the missile is fired).

But the pig was more of a comical moment, wich is why I loved it. You have this massively serious firefight with exploding people, and suddenly the badass mecha picks up a pig and kills someone with it. Briliant.

I have a complaint though. In the combat scenes, the mercs felt like they needed to play some Gears of War or something, because they made no effort to seek cover, specially when the mecha had vaporized the merc standing right beside them, they just kept shooting waiting to be burst next.
The AM Rifle shooter, for example, just stays there, with a "oh no" look on his face when the mecha predictably turns around to shoot at whatever is shooting it. Was it so hard to have him at least try to jump away? Or fire from concealment? Or wear earplugs? Just like the non-earplug wearing minigunner. Oh well.

[Big Orange]

I was under the impression that the latter forces were SA Army, seconded to MNU for the District 9 eviction operation. I cuold well be wrong, though.

No government law enforcement and military units were seen within Dirstrict 9 and on MNU property. For some reason the elite mercenaries did not wear combat helmets, but wore MNU manufactured vests that were white and made out of some kind of ceramic material. Unlike the standard MNU guards, the elite mercenaries in the mustard coloured uniforms improvised a lot and were much more aggressive (reckless to their own detriment).

[Hawkwings]

I think the combat robot was on autopilot during its rescue of Wilkus, not being remote controlled by the alien kid.

[Big Orange]

Douglas Walker (posing as Chester E. Bum) wasn't so impressed with District 9.

I wouldn't say D-9 was completely original, taking many story elements from Independence Day, RoboCop, Alien Nation, and Cloverfield, yet it presented the old sci-fi tropes in a very fresh and witty package, bucking the troupes in many ways.

[Oskuro]

I think the combat robot was on autopilot during its rescue of Wilkus, not being remote controlled by the alien kid.

Is it so much of a stretch that the kid was remote-controlling the mech (wich only fired its weapons but didn't even move) seeing how he managed to remote-pilot the mothership?


I've also been giving some thought to the so called "hive evolution" of the aliens. I'm more inclined to explain it as social adaptation, rather than some biological or, worse yet, telepathical ability that triggers knowledge in Christopher.

The thing is, the aliens in D9 are supposed to be a worker caste, who has been under command of the ruling caste all throughout their lifes, it takes some time for their mindsets to adjust to the new situation, both as individuals and as a society. And this very same thing happens with people too, if we were to wipe out all human leadership overnight, our society would crumble into anarchic disarray, with most people not even being willing to take up the leadership mantle (and does who do, fighting among themselves).

Something I've been thinking that I find hearthwarming is Christopher's relationship with his son. The aliens are shown to have little regards for their offspring save for making and feeding them (or else there would have been a violent reaction to the popcorn scene, and Wiker's attitude reveals such population control action was routinely done), but Christopher has changed that attitude. I like to think that part of his mental adaptation includes learning from humans and their social structure, and that maybe that's why he's learned to value both his own son, and his own people.

Not sure if that's intentional on the part of the filmmakers, but I see that a human being learns to see beyond racial prejudice, while an alien learns about individuality and kinship.

Douglas Walker (posing as Chester E. Bum) wasn't so impressed with District 9.

The man has a right to an opinion. I personally didn't like how he kep going on about how awful D9 was on his post credits commentary (wich is usually a single line). I have the feeling he wants to troll all the D9 fans.

[tim31]

Probably, seeing as he's just a stupid nerd with glasses.

[Ford Prefect]

I wish that scene hadn't been stuck in all the trailers.

No marketing in Australia serves me well, I guess.

[Hawkwings]

Remote-controlling a mothership isn't hard, you push the "come pick me up" button on the command access screen and check the "craft damaged - use tractor beam" option box.

My impression from that scene with the robot rescue was that the sound pulse or whatever activated (or coincided with the activation of) all prawn technology in range. It's reasonable that the battlesuit has auto "preserve self" and "stop enemies from killing prawns" programming. And once that was over, it opened up and let Wilkus climb inside. Why do that if the kid's remote controlling the thing? He could just pick up Wilkus and carry him back to the shuttle, kicking ass and chewing bubblegum along the way.

[Shinova]

Saw the movie last night, loved it. I especially like how real the alien weapons feel. Most alien weapons in sci-fi movies clearly have the "ooh sci-fi lazer gun!" feel to them, but the ones in District 9 felt like real alien weapons that actually exist.

[Hawkwings]

Really? Because I cringed when I saw that the alien guns were very much designed along the same lines as human guns. I mean yeah, same body structure and all, but really?

On the other hand, they were pretty good at being future-tech human weapons that looked and felt real. That first gun he fired at the Nigerian camp, the sonic shotgun with the glowy barrel of DOOM, still my favorite.

[tim31]

The aliens were bipedal, two armed humanoids. How ergonomically different do you want the guns to be??

[Oskuro]

Remote-controlling a mothership isn't hard, you push the "come pick me up" button on the command access screen and check the "craft damaged - use tractor beam" option box.

It could be equally simple with the mecha, after all, the thing had automated targetting systems, all it might take is to click on the targets and have the machine do the shooting. That it didn't do anything more complex, like picking up Wikus, is to me a sign that it might be remote controlled, and as such had limitations to what it could do. Also, themathically I prefer the idea of the alien kid helping Wikus, since he liked him.

I should mention also that the Mecha was operational when the aliens walked it into the Nigeiran camp, and yet it did nothing to protect the alien that was soon after killed and dismembered. Alien tech works fine all througout the movie without the mothership being online.

[Sky Captain]

Yesterday I saw the District 9 and liked it. Clearly one of the best sci fi movies I have seen in last few years. Although what I don`t get is how so many alien weapons get in District 9. It was shown in the beginning aliens being transported from their ship to ground in helicopters so it`s safe to assume every alien boarding the helicopters were checked by MNU guards and had any weapons confiscated.

[Bedlam]

Yesterday I saw the District 9 and liked it. Clearly one of the best sci fi movies I have seen in last few years. Although what I don`t get is how so many alien weapons get in District 9. It was shown in the beginning aliens being transported from their ship to ground in helicopters so it`s safe to assume every alien boarding the helicopters were checked by MNU guards and had any weapons confiscated.

Given that the better part of a million aliens were moved I'm not surprised that some weapons slipped though. However, I do agree that there seem to be far to many about, I dont see how the mecha thing could possibly have been missed being brought down unless it came in pieces and was assembled on earth.

[Sky Captain]

Yesterday I saw the District 9 and liked it. Clearly one of the best sci fi movies I have seen in last few years. Although what I don`t get is how so many alien weapons get in District 9. It was shown in the beginning aliens being transported from their ship to ground in helicopters so it`s safe to assume every alien boarding the helicopters were checked by MNU guards and had any weapons confiscated.

Given that the better part of a million aliens were moved I'm not surprised that some weapons slipped though. However, I do agree that there seem to be far to many about, I dont see how the mecha thing could possibly have been missed being brought down unless it came in pieces and was assembled on earth.

One possibility might be weapons inside some containers were dropped from the ship and picked up by aliens before MNU could arrive and it was mentioned there were some pieces falling down from it.