District 9

[Xazax]

What do you guys(whomever seen it yet) think of the movie? Anyone who hasnt seen it shouldnt read this thread :D

[Cuzza]

LOVED IT. best movie i've seen in ages

[1Kurgan1]

I liked it, gets better in the last half.

[[I.R.A]_FBi]

halfway thru i read they synopsis :(

[Deusxmachina]

The best sci-fi movie I've seen since "The Man from Earth."

Actually, it probably isn't, but figured I'd plug "The Man from Earth." District 9 is good, though.

[erocker]

I loved the movie. Can't remember his name but the lead actor did an outstanding job. Oscar worthy IMO.

[goboy11]

I LOVED this movie it was so good considering it had a £18million budget it was amazing. The director said in a interview that they have enough footage from making it that they could make a second film from it?!! i want to see the home world of the PRAWNS

[Kreij]

I just saw this movie. This is "real" science fiction.
Science fiction is not about technology and aliens (but it many times incorporates both), it is about social commentary. If you have ever read classic sci-fi (e.g. Asimov's Foundation and Empire series) you know what I mean. I've been collecting sci-fi/fantasy hard cover editions since I was 11 years old (I'm 50 now :) ) and I have about 1100 books.

This is the best sci-fi movie I've seen in years. For any sci-fi lovers out there, two classic movies are "Silent Running" and "Logan's Run".

[Papahyooie]

I agree Kreij. It was indeed very telling socially. Other than that, great story, flawless execution, and a great performance by the lead. I loved it.

[pbmaster]

I saw it not too long ago. I had heard mixed feelings about it, but I actually liked it a good bit. Nice story, good effects, a win in my book.

[Kreij]

The only gripe I have with the movie is that it portrayed the majority of the Prawns as little more than scavenging dogs. In a society as advanced as theirs' obviously was, after 20 years of being earthen refugees there would have been a large segment of them that had coalesced into a more tech/resistance sub-culture.

The portion of the story that involved the main Prawn and his son was well done. Given the compassion that he had for his fellow beings, I would have like to seen more of that portrayed in their overall race. If you compare it to the US, when the underground railroad (getting the slaves to the north for freedon) was happening, there were many on both sides that stood up and helped the cause. There were networks of tunnels and a hundreds if not thousands of people who made it work. I would have expected after 20 years that a network of that sort would have been established to a greater extent.

But that is nit-picking (which I always do with movies). :D
It still was excellent movie.

[Papahyooie]

Nothing says that thier social system works the same way as ours. I believe it was stated in the movie that they were like insects in that they had a "leader gender" or whatever, kind of like a queen bee, and that all the leaders had died. If thier minds worked the same way as insects (or at least as we understand them to), its entirely plausible.

[Kreij]

I love disecting movie plots! Thanks for replying PapaH !!

If you take a look at the larger picture, you will see some disconnect there.
If the majority of the race was animalistic and non-tech, why were there so many alien weapons? The other Prawns would have been trained in using these weapons with some level of adeptness. The movie left out many things. When they found them, they said they were in "bad shape" and transported them to earth. It did not specifically say that their leaders (the tech dudes) were dead. One could surmise this, but there is also no reason given for the whole complement of passengers of the mother ship to be in such bad shape.

If I had the book, I would just read it (if there is one) as it would most likely reveal a lot of details that the movie passed over (think "Dune". Arrgh)
What do you think?

[Papahyooie]

I'll have to watch it again, but i'm pretty certain they said that thier leaders had died and all that were left was the "worker" class. What do you mean by when we found them they said they were in bad shape and transported them to earth? Did the humans transport them to earth? (if thats the case I missed something major)

Also, I dont think the worker/leader distinction had anything to do with thier "techyness." I'm sure they are all, for the most part trained in the weapons and such, and of comparable intelligence (within reason, obviously they're all going to be slightly different, just like humans, as seen from the one prawn who takes initiative) but perhaps they are simply "unmotivated" in the absence of thier leaders?

I totally agree, I wish there were so much more to the story, and there is definitely "disconnect" and missing information. No argument there. If there was a book, I would definitely read it. However I think they did an awesome job fitting as much as possible within the constraints of a film. Also theres the aspect of the fact that the humans in the movie do not know why there are there, what happened to them or thier leaders, etc. So it kind of makes sense to leave the audience in the dark about such matters.

[DirectorC]

I think it's extremely overrated. I can't believe it was/is in the IMDB top 250. A result of bloated ratings for sure. I was disappointed mostly by the flat story and lack of character development.

[ArkanHell]

oh. probably something isn't right with me...
I didn't like this movie, I thing that the director was pointing to one thing at the beginning, the whole Afrikaans situation, and then changed the direction to a corporation ambition thing, and at the end it was trying to be a love story, and I don't think that the director settled to show an strength bound between the Wikus and his wife.
At some parts its looks like a documentary, and later at the building entrance they make it look like a video game, and the most important fluid in history was and a glass box... I wouldn't put that there.
His enemy of course, Koobus Vente, from the first appear, we knew that there will be a last fight between them, and at the attack, the Koobus had an incredible accuracy, killing everyone, but of curse missing a lot in the Wikus. And the final heroic sacrifice... He passed from a total indifference to the aliens to a life sacrifice, and yeah! thats the idea, but I don't see any strong reason offered in the movie by the director to make the guy change his position so radically. Becoming one of them? He didn't accept his transformation never.
In conclusion, fail direction I must say.

[jmcslob]

I thought it was a great Movie..

But Great like Starship Troopers Great...

By that I mean Great as Fantastically Exaggerated Human characteristics in a Dark Humorous Way while being Presented like a Documentary Film with First Person Point of View. Leaving you with the feeling that you know what really happened While everybody else is left wondering.

I thought it was well Done!

[Papahyooie]

@arkanhell

I actually can agree with you. It was very "all over" if you all get what I mean by that. But I believe personally it was simply the constraints of film, and they did the best that could be done with such constraints. If it had been a book, with more insight into the characters, then it would have been much better.

[Wile E]

I think it's extremely overrated. I can't believe it was/is in the IMDB top 250. A result of bloated ratings for sure. I was disappointed mostly by the flat story and lack of character development.

Still better than the likes of something like Avatar.


As far as it being "all over", that's the way humans are. Made it seem more realistic to me.

[DirectorC]

(?) Avatar was amazing. I was drawn into the story and had real interest in what was happening and cared about all the characters. In D9, not so much. It just started and ended and I was like "where was the story?" IMO, Cameron can still write fantastic stories and Avatar is proof of that.

[Wile E]

(?) Avatar was amazing. I was drawn into the story and had real interest in what was happening and cared about all the characters. In D9, not so much. It just started and ended and I was like "where was the story?" IMO, Cameron can still write fantastic stories and Avatar is proof of that.I disagree. It's the same story we've seen a million other times. It earned the nickname "Space Pocahontas" for a reason. The only thing special about it were the effects.

[btarunr]

It's what science-fiction ought to be. Exactly what Kreij said.

[Wile E]

I can't wait for District 10. :D

[DirectorC]

I never said anything about originality.

Not like I've never seen The Fly or ET before either.

When you think about it D9 and Avatar told very similar stories. Both of the guys for the human side get on the alien side and fight the humans at the end. Yeah there's such a big difference there, D9 is so totally original and nothing like The Fly/Alien Nation/Enemy Mine/ET. :rolleyes:

D9 was boring. I just sat there like a spectator not caring about anything, because it was all so stupid and the storytelling sucked so bad. Not the case with Avatar.

[jmcslob]

I Can't wait for D10 either
Really makes me wonder in which aspect is the plot going to go....


I would also like to see a
-Independence Day sequel
-Planet of the Apes sequel (with Marky Mark)
-Terminator 5 the re write around the last film sequel and for god sakes no Christian Bale

And for M.Night Shyamalan to actually end a Fucking Movie

[btarunr]

It didn't look like there's going to be a sequel. The pictures of district 10 they showed (and mentioned) was more like a 'concentration camp'.

[Papahyooie]

D9 was filmed almost like a documentary for a reason (obviously it switched halfway thru the movie but that was needed). The point was for the audiance to piece the story together as it happened, just like quarentine or cloverfield, so obviously "storytelling" is going to be nil.

Independence day sequal YES!!!

[DirectorC]

The Independence Day sequel has been talked about for a long time but they cannot get it done. Will Smith doesn't want to do it.

[Wile E]

It didn't look like there's going to be a sequel. The pictures of district 10 they showed (and mentioned) was more like a 'concentration camp'.

Yeah, but he did say he'd be back in 3 years.

[Papahyooie]

I personally hope they dont make a district 10 or whatever. Like wileE said, he said he'd be back in 3 years... it'd be great to see the prawn guy come back, cure the main character, reunite with his family, and bring all the prawn back to thier own planet... but thats all that would happen. It wouldnt make a good story. To make a good movie out of it they would have to manufacture a difficulty, which would in most cases, make it disconnected from the original movie, and seem like they made it just so they could "make more money off of it" instead of it being a true vision like the first. IMO its better to let us either A) assume that they came back and all the above happened, and everyone lived happily ever after or B) more likely from the way the movie ended we're meant to "wonder" whether he ever did, as in we're meant not to know, because its not part of that particular story.

That being said... the only way I can see it working is if the plot goes as such: the alien comes back with a bunch more of his race to save all the prawn and take them back to thier home. Then either the humans attack trying to get hold of the weapons (which would fit with the original story better) or the prawn see how thier kind are being treated and initiate a war. The whole time while this is going on, the main character prawn would be trying to find the main human to make good on his promise but of course the humans would be trying to get him too to make use of the weapons. Then people would die and someone would win, blah blah blah...

After all that, you know how I think it ended? I think after the main prawn left, all the prawn including the main human were taken to district 10, which did indeed look like a concentration camp, and they were all exterminated, including the main human, minus some kept by the bad guys for experimentation. The main prawn who left actually realized what stupidity it was to come back, and decided to just be a selfish asshole and saved himself and his son and went home and told all the other prawn at home that he was the only one who survived.
Cause thats just the way shit happens IRL.

[Wile E]

Yeah, I can kinda see where a second movie would be bad now that you put it that way.

[btarunr]

Yeah, but he did say he'd be back in 3 years.

As a human. So where's the point in building a story around that? But I'm always up for a District 10.

[Papahyooie]

As a human. So where's the point in building a story around that? But I'm always up for a District 10.


No the alien said he'd be back in 3 years to save the human. The human was waiting on the alien to come back.

[crazzycat]

great movie i like it more than avatar