District 9 (2009)

**Spoilers ahead**

I didn't hate this movie, like I originally anticipated I would. It was gory, yes, but not horrifyingly so.

Wickus was a wholly likable character.  It was very easy to get attached to him in the beginning.

One thing that stuck out to me was that it seemed like they were trying to convey too large of a story in two short of a time frame.  Wickus's transformation also seemed too abrupt.

Furthermore, I didn't understand why, if the humans wanted to get rid of the prawn once and for all, they didn't just drop a nuke on District 9.  Obviously, that would have made for a much shorter movie, but it seems like a logical human choice.  And it isn't hard to imagine that if something like this happened in real life, this is exactly how we would treat the aliens.  I didn't wholly understand why the South Africans (and the world) were eager to befriend the aliens when they first arrived - the lack of a form of communication tends to make people hostile to one another in the real world.

The relationship between the young Prawn and his "father" is heartbreaking at times.When Wickus (rather idiotically, in my opinion) decided he would fly the recovered ship up to the mother ship, I was certain the older Prawn was going to be kill by MNU and my heart broke for the little Prawn.  The depth of human emotion that the two Prawn experienced was awesome.  The scene where Christopher finds the other Prawn that have been experimented on was nerve-wracking.  I spent so much time on the edge of my seat wondering if they'd make it out.  I was delighted that the ending was left open for a sequel and I sincerely hope that one is made.  I have hope that Christopher would return in 3 years so that Wickus could be reunited with his wife.  And who doesn't want to see a war between intergalactic space aliens and humans?!

So.  Overall.  It was enjoyable.  Even the gory scenes weren't too terrible.  The blood wasn't lingered on; a lot of room was left for the imagination (or lack thereof).  Length-wise, it was nearly perfect.  Not too long for me to lose interest, not to short for me to feel like I was watching an episode on TV.  The acting was also nearly perfect - while I can't say I was really familiar with anyone in the film, I thought they all did a fantastic job.  I'm particularly fond of that sort of documentary-style fiction film, and this one played right in to that interest of mine.  Most of the cinematography I enjoyed, but there a came a point in the film when the first person view stopped.  I missed it because I thought it brought a stronger sense of reality to the film.  Finally, I thought the story was incredible.  Yes, I understand that it was an allegory to the problem of apartheid in South Africa, but I felt it was so profoundly presented.

Length:  4.5

Acting:  4.5

Cinematography:  3.5

Story:  5.0

Overall:  4.5

I'm not sure that I'd give it a second viewing, but I'd certainly recommend it to my friends for a first!