District 9: DVD Review

District 9: DVD Review

District 9
Released by Sony Home Pictures
Rating: M
Cast: Sharlto Copley
This is the film which rocked everyone's world in 2009 - and it's finally out on DVD.
It made multiple films of the year lists, the majority of which had it near the top - but looking back on the release of District 9 by director Neill Blomkamp, the film's still got a lot of its freshness - and looks stunning in its Blu Ray release format.
Basically the story is of aliens as refugees - they came to Earth one day 20 years ago - and instead of landing in Manhattan or New York, they chose Johannesburg in South Africa. The huge alien craft sat in the skies above the city - and in was only when the powers that be broke into the ship that they found millions of aliens alive and malnourished within. So while the equivalent of the United Nations discussed what to do with these refugee creatures (affectionately given the racist term "prawns" because of their appearance), they were brought down to earth and put in slum areas, segregated away from the rest of humanity.
As private company MNU (Multi National United) investigates the alien technology to no avail, it's decided to rehome the Prawns from their settlements, which have now become riddled with crime and Nigerian gangs. District 9 follows the unraveling of events as a doco crew follows MNU worker Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley) who's given the job of overseeing the evictions - and who inadvertently sets in motion a series of events which change the equilibrium of the last 20 years.
This film still packs the same kind of punch it did on its initial release - and has even improved with a second viewing. Initially the effects and the story blew me away in the cinema - but now with the benefit of home viewing, there's much much more to savour in the richness of the story and the subtle satire on show.
As I said at the time: "It's hard to pigeonhole is as one particular genre - it's sci-fi, it's guns and explosions, it's unexpected humour, it's geek overload in places, it's Predator, it's reminiscent of Black Hawk Down, Aliens, Robocop - and amazingly, it's buddy cop movie a la Fly - but none of it is derivative. What Blomkamp's come up with is a real mash up of genres - and with a lead who's pretty damn impressive for a first time actor."
I really can't add much more to that - District 9 remains as rewarding as it did in the cinema.

Extras: A whole heap of behind the scenes stuff just adds to the overall brilliance - even better on BluRay. You get Director's Commentary, Deleted Scenes,Koobus Big Gun, The Alien Agenda: A Filmmaker's Log -- Three-Part Documentary,The Alien Agenda: A Filmmaker's Log,The Alien Agenda: A Filmmaker's Log - Chapter 3: Refining District 9,Metamorphosis: The Transformation of Wikus, Innovation: Acting and Improvisation, Conception and Design: Creating the World of District 9, Alien Generation: Visual Effects

Rating: 9/10