District 9

[Kanedas Bike]

How did you explain the on-screen evidence that seems to say otherwise?

See, that's the thing - the on screen evidence doesn't give a definitive enough answer either way.

How long were the Prawns on the ship? Did Christopher's development begin while they were all trapped or after they were freed?

I could just as easily assert that his development as apart of a new hive hierarchy began while they were trapped and as a function of that development he began searching for what was needed at the first opportunity (meaning 20 years ago).

It's easy enough to argue the point either way, in which case you're kinda compelled to go with writer/director NB when he provides the add'l info during the interview.

-b.

[Mog]

Actually that was made clear when he told his wife that he'll reunite with her. I mean... I think that was clearer...

Well,

even after going full-on prawn, good ol' Wikus didn't go completely "native." The love for his wife was the one constant that didn't change in him.

He might look completely prawn at the end of the movie, but that little flower he made makes it clear that, inspite of everthing that happened, he still loves his human wife.

He probably does empathize more with the Prawns at the end, but the love for his wife is the one human trait he still holds onto and still defines him.

I guess even Prawns aren't immune to the power of human nookie!

[Mr March]

A film blog called Film is a Harsh Mistress just did an exhaustive critical vivisection of the 3rd and 4th Terminator films. At the end, they give a great shout out to District 9

http://filmisaharshmistress.blogspot.com/2...-future-or.html

The resultant mess that is the "Terminator" franchise is suggestive that the time for original, lower-budget, filmmaking has finally arrived.

Case in point - Neill Blomkamp and Peter Jackson's science-fiction, hard-action, spectacular: "District 9". A film as subversive in its production methodology as it is in its content. Produced at an underwhelming $30 million US (cheaper than your average Judd Apatow comedy), there is so much outside-the-square about this film that it boggles the mind. A movie produced entirely within South Africa and New Zealand, by a first-time director with no movie stars, a non-American setting, characters speaking in thick foreign accents and subtitles, in which the first act is told in documentary-format about an unconventional and unlikely action hero who starts out as a spineless, pencil-pushing, baby-killing, bureaucrat...has just passed the $70 million box-office take mark within 10 days of its release.

Enjoy

Not that I that I don't agree with Mr. March but reading that post I can't help but think of this

Too wordy? Well, I ordinarily would’ve just said "smokescreen", but this being the internet, I dread being so non-specific given all the English teachers and lawyers we traditionally have on membership

[shiroikaze]

I agree that it was a pretty quick change of heart, but...

I didn't find it all that odd.

...Also I kind of got the feeling that as the movie progressed the transformation into an alien wasn't Just effecting him physically but mentally as well, becoming less empathetic towards humans and more so towards the prawns.

In addition:

Wikus' sole purpose after he started becoming Prawn-ish was to become human again and reunite with his wife. This is made fairly clear during the ending scenes with the scrap-metal flowers.

Many a man has killed for something far less than being reunited with his wife.

@anime52K8:

Perhaps, I don't know how that mutagen works on his mind or if he's now connected in some way--I still feel that in his mind and heart, he is still human.

The more I think about it, the more I feel you guys are right, minus one tiny bit:

He was dealing with

brutal hardware. The first shot shot he took, he's definitely shaken; when he took that second shot at that MNU soldier--even after the poo the MNU put him through--he shrugged it off too easily for me. His gun makes meat go boom, that's a nasty way to go. I'm surprised he's gotten used to firing it on living things in just two shots.

At the end of the film though, I guess his rampaging was justified...

I guess I had to ask myself what would I have done if I were in each of those same situations...

Edited August 28, 2009 by shiroikaze

[sharky]

Actually, I need to take back something.

I was saying that the prawns probably couldn't fight back effectively against the humans because while their offensive weapons are strong they do not have a good defensive technology. I forgot that they have a very good defensive/offensive technology where they can manipulate objects. Like the scene were the prawn child remotely activates the mech suit and takes out the warlord gang. They all try to shoot at the mech, but all the bullets were stopped short and redirected back at them. So, if we extrapolate that tech to the mother ship, they probably could hold off any offensive attack until all the prawns were safely aboard the mother ship. Oh well, maybe they were just not smart enough to think of that.

[sharky]

How long were the Prawns on the ship? Did Christopher's development begin while they were all trapped or after they were freed?

In the early part of the movie

one of the interviewed MNU employee mentions that it was sitting there for 3 months before the humans decided to cut their way in.

[-Snowblind-]

In the early part of the movie

one of the interviewed MNU employee mentions that it was sitting there for 3 months before the humans decided to cut their way in.

And who knows how long before that the command caste died off? The ship could have been drifting for months more, or even years depending on the ships supplies (the ships are equipped to travel for years - Christopher says it's a 3 year round trip home and back, after all), potential for cannibalism among the drones, etc etc.

[Cent]

While they did have a grav gun to stop projectile attacks, you might still have an issue with explosives detonated outside that range, and I think they are still limited by what speed and size of projectile is fired. I highly doubt that the exosuit would have been able to block the bullet from the 50 cal.

[EXO]

Well that last custom went for $5300 and one crappy one previous to that went for $10k...

Wonder how much this will go up for?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...e=STRK:MEWAX:IT

[sabretooth]

mine was the $5300 one...

[EXO]

get out!

I just checked the thread... saw that you posted it after the ebay was put up... really yours?

ADD: Wow... I rechecked Poe Ghostal's interview.... nice work Sabretooth!

[sabretooth]

thanks! i will have another one done and up for grabs this weekend.

[sabretooth]

bam!

new district 9 toy

[Graham]

Looking forward to seeing this. It's not showing here in Hong Kong until earlier October though.

Saw the 2 online trailers recently.

Gotta say the alien ship looked very ID4 mothership-ish.

Graham

[DarrinG]

bam!

new district 9 toy

I think I saw this on eBay the other day for $1,500? Can that be right?

Best mech in a live-action movie so far . . .

[sabretooth]

that was my other one.

[Mr March]

District 9 crossed the $100 million earnings mark domestically this past Sunday.

Box Office Mojo article

Holding well with an estimated $9 million, District 9 crossed the $100 million mark on Sunday, its 24th day, and became the 19th picture of the year to reach that level.

The IMDB hit list featured a link to a great article about Sharlto Copley. Mostly fan gush, but that's the point

District 9's Sharlto Copley

[sharky]

While they did have a grav gun to stop projectile attacks, you might still have an issue with explosives detonated outside that range, and I think they are still limited by what speed and size of projectile is fired. I highly doubt that the exosuit would have been able to block the bullet from the 50 cal.

True about the exo-suit I would think, but I was thinking more along the lines of what kind of performance the mothership would be capable of based on what the exo-suit could do. I mean, during the scene where they demonstrated the technology, they were firing high powered automatic weapons from pretty close range. Given that a child was operating it by remote it is pretty impressive stuff. I'm thinking they would probably be able to intercept a missile or even a high powered projectile fired at the mother ship and perhaps even re-direct it before coming into range of detonating.

In any case, I wish they would have delved into that idea a bit more, but I think if they did the movie would have taken a different direction in the end.

[nugundamII]

I just finished watching the movie and rewatched a few more times for good measure

I too think this is a fantastic movie. Of course there werent that many this summer

Bayformers is pure geek mindless garbage even with the visuals

GI JOE i dared not to see it

So you have ST, the Hurt Locker and this

Problems i had with the film.

I didnt understand the purpose the the black goo

to change people into aliens

I never understood that kind of sci fi mutation, from Warewolfs, to the fly to this

most mutations kill the host. This kind of severe mutation would for certain kill wilkus

it would mean the bones would have to snap in two different places the entire skeletal structure would dissolve

and recombine to form a carapiece with soft goo on the inside.

Something that drastic in such a small amount of time is ridiculeous it would have been better if he caught the alien flu I would have rated the film more.

Second Maybe i missed something but if they had such advances in technology you would think the prawns would not act like fcukin monkeys. Something so uncivil would not be patient enought to construct poo like that.

Also what did they forget to use the weapons on humans??? if they came in piece why did they have so many weapons. Most salvage ships dont carry ordinace like that!!!!

If they have a hive metality i dont think that race would be that advanced. Advanced civilizations require individualist freedom thinkers Ie the hive mentaility sure as hell helped the prawns rignt into the hands of the humans for 2 decades

The storey could have been a bit better. and Yeah I like the idea of Having

Prawny Wilkus having retaining his memories but it would have made sense if he did go native. Would that make him now the prawn queen and he would turn into a massive slpurn factory which the humans became addicated to

[kaiotheforsaken]

The dialogue at the beginning of the film suggests a hive like structure for the prawn society, but not in the same sense as ants with only one leader in total control. They implied a group leadership of some kind, and as evidence by Christopher, there are prawns with high levels of intelligence that don't have direct control over other prawns. The prawns that survived on earth were by and large worker status (Christopher and his son, being exceptions) and this really doesn't seem all that surprising. A worker would likely need to be able to be more resistant to disease, injury etc simply to carry out tasks it might have to do.

The prawns didn't come in peace at all, it was more or less established that they never really had any intent of stopping here to begin with. However due to disease and the death of the command structure aboard the vessel, they basically were forced to stop here. What the ships actual role is/was and where it might have been going are completely unknown. But it would be safe to assume that a space faring race with the ability to travel across the galaxy, would bring weapons to defend itself.

Hive social systems being highly advanced is nothing new to sci-fi. The Buggers in Ender's Game, for example, were highly advanced and had one being (the Queen) controlling billions of individuals. Yet they had advanced weapons, spacecraft and other technologies. Just because ants or wasps haven't built space ships and mechs here, doesn't mean there aren't ants or wasps building spaceships elsewhere.

edit: typos and such

Edited September 8, 2009 by kaiotheforsaken

[EXO]

I didn't like the mutation storyline either, only for this movie not the other movies you mentioned where the change is the main storyline and Werewolves aren't mutants.... huhlloh! lol. A mutation is a genetic transformation, werewolves are a mystically cursed... Anyway... I thought the mutation storyline suddenly changed and distracted from the storyline that was introduced in the beginning and didn't allow us to find out more about the Alien Prawns. But aside from that it was highly entertaining and fun.

[sharky]

Problems i had with the film.

I didnt understand the purpose the the black goo

to change people into aliens

I never understood that kind of sci fi mutation, from Warewolfs, to the fly to this

most mutations kill the host. This kind of severe mutation would for certain kill wilkus

it would mean the bones would have to snap in two different places the entire skeletal structure would dissolve

and recombine to form a carapiece with soft goo on the inside.

Something that drastic in such a small amount of time is ridiculeous it would have been better if he caught the alien flu I would have rated the film more.

Second Maybe i missed something but if they had such advances in technology you would think the prawns would not act like fcukin monkeys. Something so uncivil would not be patient enought to construct poo like that.

Also what did they forget to use the weapons on humans??? if they came in piece why did they have so many weapons. Most salvage ships dont carry ordinace like that!!!!

If they have a hive metality i dont think that race would be that advanced. Advanced civilizations require individualist freedom thinkers Ie the hive mentaility sure as hell helped the prawns rignt into the hands of the humans for 2 decades

The storey could have been a bit better. and Yeah I like the idea of Having

Prawny Wilkus having retaining his memories but it would have made sense if he did go native. Would that make him now the prawn queen and he would turn into a massive slpurn factory which the humans became addicated to

I would agree that the effect of the fuel on humans was strange. It would have made more sense if they simply called it some kind of bio-weapon to use against humans which was my first thought. They could have done 2 different devices since the shack where they were refining the fuel also had alien weapons as well.

It was inferred that the prawns lack of motivation to do anything about their plight was because they were drones or some sort of worker class. The leadership had died off for some unexplained reason. Christopher and his son seemed to be the only ones with higher intelligence to work on a plan to escape. It has been suggested(not in the movie) that perhaps Christopher only started to evolve after they were stranded due to the lack of any leadership in the group.

I think the reason why they did not think to use weapons to defend themselves was two-fold. One, they were drones, so they were not directed by any leader to take arms. Two, they were in dire straights and beginning to starve to death. The humans started out by helping them and were not threatening at first. It was a gradual process that they began to confiscate the weapons and increase the level of control over them.

I did not catch the part that the ship was a salvage ship. I may need to pay closer attention when I am able to watch it again.

I think the hive idea is not exactly that there is 1 person to control the group. It was suggested that it was a group of leaders in charge of the ship. I wonder if on their home planet there are large groups of leader class prawns and perhaps various levels and specialties as well.

The move does leave much to speculation and they try to keep the audience in the dark as if you are right there in the movie trying to figure it out with the rest of the humans. I think that was one reason why I liked it, and it seemed more interesting and "real" that way.

[sucker4meltrans]

can we at least agree D-9 is better then most american movies made in the past few years?

[Mr March]

I wouldn't go that far. District 9 is definitely superior to the big budget summer films this year. It's safe to say District 9 is definitely the biggest standout success for genre film so far this year. But best film out of ALL films this year? The jury is still out on that one. The Hurt Locker and the The Hangover were definitely as good if not better than District 9 and if one only cares about pure, fluff entertainment, Star Trek was the film to beat. There's also Up In The Air, Surrogates, The Road, The Lovely Bones, Avatar and Sherlock Holmes yet to be released, all films that have potential to be the best of the year.

Edited September 11, 2009 by Mr March

[EXO]

I like District 9 a lot but it's not my favorite this year. The storyline is filled with potholes and the ending wasn't that great. But it really filled that mecha action gap that was TF was desperately trying to fill. I'll watch it again and get the disk, but it's not even close to Iron Man for me.

[-Snowblind-]

...

I did not catch the part that the ship was a salvage ship. I may need to pay closer attention when I am able to watch it again.

...

Neither do I. I don't think it was explicitly stated, though. O.o Can anyone else confirm?

[kaiotheforsaken]

They never said it was a salvage ship, "mother ship" was about as close as you got to an official designation, and that was from Christopher himself.

[nugundamII]

I wouldn't go that far. District 9 is definitely superior to the big budget summer films this year. It's safe to say District 9 is definitely the biggest standout success for genre film so far this year. But best film out of ALL films this year? The jury is still out on that one. The Hurt Locker and the The Hangover were definitely as good if not better than District 9 and if one only cares about pure, fluff entertainment, Star Trek was the film to beat. There's also Up In The Air, Surrogates, The Road, The Lovely Bones, Avatar and Sherlock Holmes yet to be released, all films that have potential to be the best of the year.

Th hurt locker was awesome

Star trek too but i can pretty much assume that avatar(Transformers)= Crap

[baronv]

Finally saw the movie due to all the Sci-Fi hype, good movie but not smack-dab amazing. The aliens vs. humans in a slum thing was a cool story, but the overall plot was pretty standard action movie fare. Interesting movie, 7.5 out of 10 for me. Still for the fun of it, the Star Trek was just an edge as best sci-fi movie of the Summer just cause it was fun while District 9 was good halfway through the movie until Wikus went all guns ablaze like Rambo near the end.

[Mr March]

Th hurt locker was awesome

Star trek too but i can pretty much assume that avatar(Transformers)= Crap

Yeah, The Hurt Locker was a really good movie. Great character study. Most of the best films so far this year were off the radar, like The Hurt Locker and District 9. Star Trek was the only good big budget film and like I said, it was good fluff only. Last summer's big budget films kinda spoiled us, with The Dark Knight and Iron Man. I figured this summer we'd pay for that indulgence with the big movies

[electric indigo]

It looks like you can geek out your 'hood with Prawn Gun Replicas soon:

[Ghost Train]

The movie had nice tacticool kit, be it human or prawn, nice to see guns other than a M-4 or AK. The white-stocked vektor looked really neat.

[electric indigo]

Found another ad.

[anime52k8]

meh, I still want a toy of the power armor. (a real toy, not a one-off custom model that costs several thousand dollars on ebay.)

[electric indigo]

I doubt that a replica of the power armour by Weta would be in the affordable price range, either.

Here's more guns:

http://www.wetanz.com/arc-generator-full-scale-replica/

Hi-rez pictures:

and: