It is so new to me. This movie is the very first alien movie that is very unique to me. Mostly we know alien movies are about abduction or invasion but this movie is so different from others that is why I like the story.
A lot going on in this movie but I love the premise of "what if the protagonist was kind of dumb and unlikeable?" Wikus feels like a very believable character.
Kudos to the effects team for being able to express such personality and emotion and make you feel so much sympathy for such an otherworldly being. And may I also add... Who-dey!
Let's not forget that Christopher screwed over Wickus too, on saying that he was going to help fix him, but it was all a lie just to manipulate Wickus. They both used each other. But fortunately in the end they became friends and Wickus risk his life just to help Christopher and his son. And the fact that Angela didn't realize it and showed no empathy to Wickus, just left me shocked. Because they both were victims and good guys. And Wickus was a hero in the end.
@@JillMachado-yb3vg Chrisopher never lied. He said how long it would take from the beginning. He continued to reinforce that he would be back in 3 years to help Wikus out. Christopher was never manipulating anyone. He was the one that got manipulated all the time. Threatening his son, threatening arrest, threatening his life. Not to mention the fact that the whole reason Wikus needed help was because of him touching and illegally searching the home to begin with.
@@JillMachado-yb3vg He always intended to help him. Just after he found out his people were literal test subjects, he felt that that was a more pressing issue to deal with than turning Wikus back right away, and doing so would have used up valuable fuel which could shave time off his journey back home and thus cut down on the amount of time his people were experimented on. He still fully intended on curing him, just not fast enough for Wikus' liking.
Nope. Possible spoiler . . . . . I was a soldier. I do not want to see a sequel, because any decent race is going to send a rescue op, and first step in a rescue op is establishing a perimeter. And we know how humans react to shows of force. You concentrate camp the species, they are not going to react well when their national guard shows up to document what we did and begin the evac, and you can bet they will set down hard perimeter defense.
This movie is the ultimate grey area movie. You can hate the main character's guts yet also understand him. It's an alien movie yet it makes you feel so much. One of my all time favorites.
All time great sci fi movie. Also insane how good this movie looks, looks like 100+ million blockbuster but somehow only cost 30 million, the aliens and the cgi/vfx look so good, even now well over a decade later. Great reaction as always.
So original. So unpredictable. This blew my mind when I first saw it. Whatever I thought I expected, it wasn't this and I loved it. Also the commentary on the treatment of Aliens IRL in South Africa at the time and, well, kind of everywhere. I was hoping you'd do this and so glad you did
@@target844 and after it was abolished 30 years ago. I more or less recently had a pretty deep look into Cape Town and the most bewildering fact to me is that the golf club is like 20min by foot away from a sea of shacks. If you walk a bit too far on the promenade you get into areas that people would advise you not to be in. It's kinda wild these things are so fresh and palpable. I believe this gives Wikus' little "better late than never" thing after having "walked in their shoes for a day" a whole new dimension and it's a bit sad that a lot of people don't connect that, this being a "south-african movie", as i don't think the movie is very subtle about it, but more likely because people don't even have a faint idea what went down and, imo more importantly, when. And while there's a growing portion of the non-white population there making big strides it's gonna take a few generations before one can even remotely think about saying that segregation is over and actually meaning it. I recommend 'Invictus' as a palate-cleanser on the whole issue.
This movie gave us Sharlto Copley. He's great in everything he's been in. If interested, he's in a indie movie called 'Hardcore Henry' that is pretty much shot in the perspective of a First Person Shooter game. Very interesting and went viral with a clip they released a long time ago.
I was at the US premier of Hardcore Henry at SXSW. Was in the third row when Sharlto Copley said in a preamble to the screening that he liked to call the first 5 rows the splash zone. Such a fun movie, but don't watch it that close on the big screen, lol.
Apartheid South Africa was probably the worst place for the aliens to break down. Every other generic alien go to point in movies would have had a so much better outcome for them.
Christopher Johnson's son's name is CJ (short for Christopher Junior) and the friend that got killed by Koobus was Paul. When Wikus and Christopher enter the MNU underground labs, the alien body on the dissection table was Paul's.
I love what this movie does to your emotions. You go from disliking the main character to feeling sorry for him to hating him to cheering for him and back to feeling sorry.
One of the most humorously paradoxical / oxymoronic statements in the movie: "The *aliens* are being moved for *humanitarian* reasons". So is that going to be good for the aliens or the humans? 🤣🤣🤣
The VFX and CGI in this movie are still mind-blowing to this day. Especially considering the low budget and mostly handheld direction. This is one of my favorite sci-fi movies of all time.
The filming was unexpected as well 😂 it was suppose to be Halo by Peter Jackson but when that project fell through, they had to repurpose the props and vehicles for this film😅
i can understand how they ended up with names like "Christopher Johnson". Imagine being part of the team whose job it is to interview and document 1.8 million aliens. The same thing happened in "Alien nation". You start by asking for their names and they reply with unrecognizable sounds. You have to write down something so you just start assigning them random human names.
Everyone wants to judge Vicus but he just wanted his life back man. Not everyone has it in him to do the right thing and he found his courage in the end. I hate how everyone misses that point. Vicus wasn't a bad person. Christopher had almost nothing to lose that's why he didn't have his doubts. But even the best person in that real situation would probably have done what Vicus did or even less. That's what makes the movie so real. Vicus's whole fucking world fell apart around him and he lost everything. But in the end after there was no way back he found it in him to help Christopher. And that's not something just anyone could do.
Saw this in cinema when it came out and I was blown away. Perfect allegory of modern day xenophobia and corporate corruption but still a funny, inventive and moving story thats brilliantly told - thanks for reacting to it.
I felt sorry for Wikus the same way I feel sorry for any middle management type whose not to bright, and thrust into a role he is completely ill suited for. He was trying to impress his step father, the soldiers under him, the camera crew filming him. And he was so lost in what he was doing, he didn't realize it was wrong, until the very end. In some ways, Syril Karn from Andor, reminded me of Wikus.
I don't know. The "abortion" scene shows quite clearly what type of person Wikus is. "Didn't realize it was wrong" just can't apply to doing something like that. Doesn't matter how out of depth you are with your job, or how much you try to play it down to impress people: If you are able to do something gruesome like that I don't feel any sympathy for you.
@@Jehty_that’s the problem with us humans. Hold negativity in our minds with death grip. After all terrible shit wikus did even the aliens accepted him as one of their own and saved his life in the end.
What a powerful movie, it is so well thought out... The message it has is impactful on so many levels... Btw, my reaction when I saw it the first time was exactly the same as you Angela ; regarding every character in the movie... I mean... The way they treat the aliens is so heartless... And Wickus is the regular human being, flawed, and who goes through these events that reshape his entire life as former-human being and forces him to look at things with a different eye in the end... What a lesson and message for human kind. There are several movies who have such impactful message for human race to stop behaving in such inhuman way and start trying to do good as a species... Btw, a great double feature in my mere opinion is District 9 + Chappie. If you haven't seen Chappie, it is another Neill Blomkamp sci-fi movie with a similar powerful and deeply emotional message.
💯💯 I oh so agree !! Same feeling... Heartbreaking in a way but also so hopeful in the end. One of these movies in which non-humans show more humanity than human beings... Important and meaningful type of story. And yes, Chappie is really great !! 💖 Got me even more emotional than District 9 did... Truly underrated. Sadly not as known as District 9.
Wikus was doing his work and was not that bad of a guy, he stopped the soldier to stop shooting at the aliens, then calmed them down with cat food, he was not afraid to get close to them and talk, that other soldier was poking the alien and lost an arm in the end. He in the end was a weak human like we all are and was scared for his life, his dad-in law crossed him and gave him to be cut into pieces just so they can use alien weapons. He wanted to get his old life back but in the end he did good by helping Chris to go with his kid. Question is if he will come back after 3years and keep his promise.
Uhm, no, Wikus did his work, yes, so did the people tried in the Nuremberg trials. Spoiler, that defense didn't work back then either, not that i'd draw a direct comparison, but from an argumentative standpoint both follow the same line of thinking. He stopped the soldier so the situation wouldn't escalate endangering him and the people he was with. Had the "prawn" attacked and the situation had went south (really quickly, one would presume), he would have been fine with mowing down every attacker there without feeling any remorse. How do i know ? Well, he doesn't show the slightest sliver of compassion early on, actively making fun of the prawns. Now, we get Koobus as the big bad guy, which puts Wikus in perspective, yes, but the things you have pointed out still don't show what you apparently think they do. It's only at the very end of the movie, that Wikus finishes his transformation, literally and figuratively.
@@spacemonkeyentertainment6413 161 convicted, common clerks weren't included, Wikus is a pencil pusher with little to no authority, also the aliens 'tech' was responsible for some pretty horrific genetic engineering on Wikus (which i would consider way worse than derogatory statements) , I wouldn't consider Wikus the good guy or the bad guy fundamentally there are no good options in this story. Compassion is not the standard by which we condone behavior done onto or by someone, a serial killers actions are not condoned because he compassionately kills his victims, someone being remorseful does influence it a little but overall it is determined by the action itself and the knowledge of the consequences of said action by the perpetrator that determines punishment. In the end Wikus was just an average guy, i found @funnylilgalreacts visceral reactions to Wikus wanting to not transform into what is clearly not a pretty sight understandable but also very hypocritical and what all evil is based in,....you think you would do something different , playing armchair quarterback ignoring self preservation and sacrificing/suffering for others...spoiler, you wont
@@alexd1559 Wikus choose to work for that company. He choose to work in that position. He choose to not quit. At any point he could have walked away. But he didn't. Therefore he is definitely one of the bad guys.
I went in to watch this without knowing what to expect, just like you did. I haven't really been the same since. The special fx still holds up amazingly. But the heartwrenching part was learning that the interviews in the movie that were dehumanizing weren't all filmed for the movie... some were real and were talking about people...
Initiallly, Blomkamp was supposed to direct a cinema adaptation of the Halo franchise (co- produced by Peter Jackson) but the project was put down (the studio execs didn't like the look of the test scenes) District 9 (which is inpired by one of Blomkamp's short) was a message to the studio "look what you missed"
Loved your reaction! I remember seeing this in the theatre and being absolutely blown away. Definitely some intense social commentary and making a film where the human protagonist is someone who does some terrible things who we aren't supposed to entirely like, and that the alien Christopher has more compassion and "humanity" in him then we humans do. Supposedly Neil and Terri have actually recently begun writing a script for District 10. I'd love it if we actually get to see that movie soon!
This is truly a badass piece of sci-fi. Gnarly, dark, hard to watch in places, but with so much rough truth about humanity running through it. Glad you reacted to this one. Another good one is Elysium, which ironically has the same actor who played Wickus, as well as Jodi Foster and Matt Damon.
I still feel like not enough people know about this movie. So great start to finish. I'm really sad that they never did the sequel when the aliens come back, although it's better not to have a sequel at all rather than one that can't live up to the original. Great reaction, yet again.
One of my favorite movies of all time! Neil Blomkapf is a great director. Elysium was pretty good too, and Chappie. Both have the same sort of style of filming.
District 9 got a poll participation trophy. I am 100% for this lol. Also whenever they say his name my mind immediately goes to the Monty Python's Biggus Dickus from Life Of Brian
Team alien, all the way. No question. 15:31 is a MOOD. "Now I'm rooting for Wickus???" 17:29- Angela dropping some real world experience with teeth on us! and finally, at 29:28- the evolution from gagging noises at the beginning to "I'm ok with it!" lmfao incredible reaction.
Pretty amazing movie, about human rights using aliens. The movie was inspired by the real events in District 6. Obviously no aliens, but with people and segregation
This film has always been one of my favorites. It really had that feel of a small time indie film, but with a big time budget. I love the creature designs, and for the time the effects felt really convincing, a lot of people often said that they never really looked at the aliens as cg characters, they felt like they existed. Especially with Christopher and his son CJ being the most expressive, they feel just as human as any of the human actors. A bit harsh on Vikus, if I'm to be honest. A flawed man to be sure, but objectively his actions are what most people's would realistically be in such an abnormal and nightmarish situation. Interestingly, because there never was a follow up on the story, we'll actually really never know if Chris was ever telling him the truth about being able to fix him, or if it was all just a lie on his part and was merely playing Vikus. I kind of like that we never got a sequel, it leaves the open ended aspect of all these questions a lot more interesting.
I don't think you were ever supposed to like the main character. But I like the commentary on humanity and how easy we have to disassociate to other creatures(or different humans for that mater) and thereby justify our horrible actions. And Wickus is faced with his own bad behavior and realizes it, thou he is panicking and just trying to survive most of the time. And continue to make bad choices because of it. To the point where he gives up hope and decides to sacrifice himself.. because he realizes that he has nothing left to live for.
People have made their own sequels where Christopher Johnson returns with a fully stocked rescue ship. He rescues his people. He also returned with a fleet which proceeds to burn human cities down to bedrock. He offers to fulfill his promise to heal alien!Wilkus who is watching rest of humanity being massacred.
This movie at first i was like what is this?!i was so confused,but as long the film progressed i just can't stop watching and indeed the movie has a deep message and still is a masterpiece.Greetings and love from Portugal. ❤
I enjoy movies that don’t have a clear cut protagonist. I was like you when I seen this, I hated Wickus, then I warmed to him, then hated, then accepted him at the end. I loved how well written Christopher Johnson was. I forgot he was an alien, just someone to root for. Love the reaction
I freaking love this movie. Like you, I had no idea what to expect when I saw this movie, and my mind was blown. Very interesting to have a main character who is really not likeable or heroic(until the very, very end at least) in a conventional sense. But it definitely suits this movie's dark tone. Will we ever get a sequel? Who knows, but it seems unlikely right now, sadly. I really love Wikus' rampage in the alien mech suit thing. I don't know if you've ever played Half-Life 2, but it had this awesome weapon called the Gravity Gun, and the mech suit from this movie basically has the same thing. I squealed with nerdy joy when I saw that in the theater.
Still one of the best SciFi-movies! So unespected, unpredictable and different in so many ways, fascinating how he includes social criticism (especially in Southafrica) but still having a great entertaining yet thought-provoking art work... just mindblowing!!! ...and as always: great reaction and analysis 👍👍👍 BTW: Neill Blomkamp announced last year that there will be "District 10", at least he confirmned it to be in devolopimg stage, and probably and hopefully coming into theatres in 2025 PS: You might wanna check out "Chappie", lovely film! 😍 I think you'll love it too 😉
For years, there has been a rumor of a follow-up movie 'District 10', but it doesn't look like it will ever be made. Another movie and series that is similar to this, is Alien Nation.
Vickus was such an interesting character because he is a prime example of how dangerous a weak and cowardly man can be. Until the final act of the movie where he finds the courage to fight for Christopher Johnson.
I literally laughed out loud when you called Vikus a twat, wasn't expecting it, didn't see it coming! Love your analysis, as usual. It's always well thought out, even though it seems like it's off the top of your head.
It's a completely different story, obviously, but Wikus is a little bit like Phil Connors in Groundhog day in that he starts out as a tool but then becomes more likable as he goes through his trials.
I must say out of all the reaction videos of District 9, THIS was closest to my own reaction when I watched this masterpiece for the first time. Only difference: I had a higher sympathy for Wikus.
Wow I wasn't expecting to see this movie reaction today. Made my day this is one of my favorite films. Top tier Sci fi movie. Sharpton Copley does a phenomenal job.
This movie does an outstanding job of making you sympathetic to the aliens and hate the humans. So the way i understand it Most of these aliens are worker drones and aren’t smart enough to fly their ship or repair their tech or even take care of themselves. Christopher is a leader but by himself he couldn’t help them and something happened to the rest of their leaders on the ship.
You have to understand that his character makes a lot of sense because he's a victim of everything that's going on, shit on top because he has no time and no choice because everyone wants to kill him.
There's a whole fascinating lore to this movie. The speculaion was that the alien ship got infected by some kind of disease or infection that wiped out most of the intelligent class of the aliens (the ones who knew how to operate the ship, fix it and fly it), while a few like Christopher Johnson survived. The rest of the aliens who surived who are the majority that we see during the movie are like the worker class or laborers who were immune and therefore surived the infection. Another theory goes that they were actually prisoners and because they were imprisoned in a protected part of the ship, they did not get infected but lacking the intelligence and skill level of the technician/ engineer class, they couldn't fix the ship or fly it away. And the ship automatically came to a stop on Earth over Johannesburg as an emergency measure and that's were we find the movie at the beginning. The other interesting theory is that it was a refugee ship (which is a compatible theory with the first one), however it's probably unlikely since they clearly have a home planet to go to that they were heading to, and which ultimately Christopher Johnson was taking it back to. In any case, the movie clearly shows that at least some of the aliens are not only super-intelligent - like Johnson clearly is - but also emotionally and psychologically intelligent, showing more humanity than even humans themselves. And in the movie, ironically, only one human displays any humanity towards them and in general and it's the one that gets infected and only when he begins transforming into one of them. The other interesting subtext of the movie which I hope you got was the underlying corollary to South Africa's Apartheid system and also their modern day struggle with undocumented immigration issues (the director and star are both South African), and the way they flipped the script by making the people who had originally been victims to Apartheid and immigrant discrimination (the black population) be a large part of the ones now advocating treating "aliens" and "the other" as a lower class and to be housed in a separate "district" or "Township" (Soweto, which is an infamous South African town/municipality, is a congelemeration from "SOuth WEstern TOwnships, and were essentially ghettos that black South Africans were forced to live in, poorly serviced, cramped and steeped in poverty, while rich white South Africans lived in the high-end Suburbs. District 9 was effectively a "Soweto".....for the Aliens . And Black South Africans were effectively "aliens" (or treated as such),.....in their own land and country)) But obviously it's a resonant message not just unique to South Africa. North America has the Indian Reserves, remember. Even Nazi-controlled Poland had the literal "ghettos" or "balkans" for Jewish Poles. In other words,.... The native and indegenous people forced to live in closed townships and ghettos on their own land under intolerable conditions. In fact, the title "District 9" is actually based on a real life "District 6" that existed and in which some of the events of this movie were directly referencing and re-telling (the forcible evacuation of black South Africans from an already horrible ghetto to an even worse and more cramped one) I love how they did that. This was a great movie on many levels beyond just the spectacular CGI FX (for the time) for the aliens. Rumor is that they're looking at developing the sequel "District 10" that would pick up the story 3 years later with Wikus completely converted into a "Prawn" (but still played by a mo-capped Sharlto Copley, who's an experienced and established mo-capper (Chappie))
I like how Christopher has EVERY right to come back and declare war on the human species for the horrors they inflicted on his people, but as you said, that's not his style. He is going to come back, fulfill his promise to Wilkus, and safeguard his people. He's a real one.
Hi Angela, so happy you reacted to this film. One of my favorite sci-fi films of all time. It is hard to watch at times, even though I own it on DVD and I know what happens. But it's so beautiful, visceral, violent, and unfortunately the realism & social commentary is heightened by all of these elements. Still hoping beyond hope with the other fans that the sequel still comes out, but you never know these days. Oh yeah, everyone else has recommended Neill Blomkamp's other movies: Elysium, Chappie, and Hardcore Henry. Take care, Angela!
My thought on the black fluid, consider how their tech is genetically based, designed the modify the body for a task. What likely happened is the one who had the command gene died & effectively, the worker drones couldn't use the ship. Christopher spent 20 years recreating the gene so he could take command of the ship. The species is clearly cast based, with most being simple drones/workers, while Christopher was clearly of the scientist/geneticist cast
I remember watching this movie for the first time at a friend's house and rooting for Wikus, because he's the protagonist of the movie, right? But now, over 10 years later, I can't help but notice how much I've changed when I find myself being absolutely #teamChristopherJohnson
About the bridge not being a thing that breaks off, in the MMO eve online the pilot controls the ship from a pod that automatically ejects if the ship suffers fatal damage allowing a chance to escape.
Science Fiction always tells a human story. It might be interwoven with technobabble and zap guns, but you'll always find humanity at odds with itself, what it means to be human, and what should/shouldn't humanity be.
Neill Blomkamp is a freakin' genius! He was able to convince producers to finace him making the same movie three times (District 9 (2009), Elysium (2013), Chappy (2015)) 😄 I've seen the two later ones before D9, and I kinda liked both, especially Chappy, but after watching D9 the similarities in the plots and characters hit me hard.
I love this movie, especially the main character's pronunciation of "f*ck" 😂 nice reaction, as always! Btw, have you reacted to The Raid 1 & 2 already? If not, you'll love it! That's probably the best action movie I've ever watched ❤
This movie is in the Pantheon of top 5 of all time (it is still behind Arcane as is everything) and your right, there is no way to describe it with out giving too much away. Nobody has a favorite part, nor can they explain why they like it so much either but everytime this movie is mentioned anyone who has seen it has the same reaction. "ERMAAAHGEEEEERD! I love that movie!"
A really fantastic film. Wikus was definitely the protagonist, but he wasn't a good guy. He was part of the problem and, against his will, came to understand the harm and oppression the aliens faced first-hand. He shouldn't have needed that to come around, and even through much of it, he was still clinging to that vanishing part of him that tied him to the 'in' group (in this case, humanity). Still, at the very end of it, he tried to do the right thing. It taking part in Johannesburg really hammered hom the history of apartheid, racism, xenophobia, etc. and how it's so easy for some to sink into hatred and hierarchy to provide themselves some comfort in the face of change, the unfamiliar, and unknown. Christopher Johnson and his kin had every right to return humanity's violence with violence. He just wanted safety and to go home, and get his people home to safety. He wanted his people to stop being experimented on and tortured and refused bodily autonomy, and stop having their children forcefully aborted. I want to believe they got where they needed to go and came back three years later to rescue the rest
One thing that's really subtle is in a late shot we see a sonogram if a foetus in the background when the wife is talking. That's why the "3 years" revelation made Vikis flip out.
Neil Blomkamp the director is from South Africa (as is Sharlto Copley). The movie was very much inspired by the events in Cape Town's district six during the Apartheid era of South African history.
I think the coolest part of District 9 is it came to be because originally Blomkamp suppose to make a Halo movie. To make up for Halo being scrapped, Peter Jackson pledged $30 million dollars to Blomkamp to make any movie he wanted. Because of that, Blomkamp started shooting with and incomplete script. Almost all the dialog in the movie was improvised.
This reminds me of the scene between Professor X and Senator Kelly. "I'm afraid if i went to a hospital"... "They would treat you like a mutant". If you ever want to watch a cheesy sci-fi ship battle movie. I recommend Wing Commander with Matthew Illard and Freddy Prince Junior.
If you haven't seen the 2004 Battlestar Galactica series, I would love to see you do a react series on it. It no joke has some of the best TV moments I have ever seen. I think you would love it.
Sharlto Copley and director Neil Blomkamp are working on the script of District 10. Neil Blomkamp has to finish his work on his current project Gran Tourismo and he is committed to start District 10 after it. Fingers crossed.
The other thing you have to remember about this movie (re: the sometimes shaky VFX), is that Neill Blomkampf (the director) made it with a budget of $30 million - which,.....even for 2009 when it was made, is ridiculously tiny for a movie of this scope, especially in the age of ILM (Industrial Light and Magic) -level of VFX. The thing is that Blomkamp himself was a CG Visual Artist who had made a lot of shorts on UA-cam in non-existent budgets (in fact this movie is partly based on a UA-cam short he did called 'Alive in JoBurg') and thus had experience in making VFX movies, and could make all the rest of it look like it was produced by a big budget studio. It made 7 times its production budget at the box office ($210 million) and was nominated for 4 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Visual Effects, and Adapted Screenplay. Not too shabby for a $30 million movie with no big-name stars.
The reason Peter Jackson was involved was because alot of the resources came from his scrapped Halo project If I remember correctly. When it wasnt realised Niel (this director) went and convinced him to make it when they already had all those resources there.
This is by far one of the greatest scifi films of all times. I loved how the writers incorporated a lot of social, political commentary that existed in South Africa during the height of the apartheid years and as unfortunately it continues today in other parts of the world.
It makes sense that the fuel changed him into an alien if you take into count that all of their technology is bio-genetically locked to their physiology. The ship design is more like a personal transport. Where the command module is the actual ship and the huge one is just an add on to move large quantities of their people. Like a freight transport in star wars or star trek, the engine or ship is rather small and the cargo area is large. Wikus had to walk a mile in anothers shoes to understand them.
Loved your reaction to this great movie. I had a hard time in the beginning with the documentary style as well. Even though they say it quite a lot, I was still surprised by your excellent pronunciation of Wicus's name.
this movie is still my favorite scifi action movies of all time, besides Independance day, Alien, Predator, & Star Wars. this movie still holds up to this day. plus the design on the aliens were amazing on all levels
At 13:15 You asked what kind of hand you would want to have, and I kind of have 2.5 of those lol. My right hand is an alien looking deformed human hand but it's good enough to play bass guitar and get a music degree. Jesus that was 20 years ago lol, but I still play music for a living. I had to chime in because it was a hand thing lol
So glad to see you reacting to something else I've actually seen! 😄 Something I don't believe I've ever seen mentioned in the few videos dedicated to this film on YT: the alien fluid changed Vikus into an alien. It makes me wonder how many of the aliens were actually born that way vs. having been changed like Vikus was and then assimilating into their society. Which could be part of the explanation as to how you have a huge population of creatures on a starship full of incredibly advanced technology, almost none of whom were actually capable of using it (let alone repairing it). As far as what kind of "welcome" Earth's governments would give to any aliens who showed up in our atmosphere, I would _hope_ that those in charge would be wise enough to determine how effective lobbing some nukes would be at an opponent capable of interstellar travel. It makes for some decent enough popcorn fodder on screen, but in reality that would likely be about as effective as lugging a wooden club into a gamma ray fight. 😉
44:50 You've got THAT right! Sci-Fi is just the backdrop to tell human stories. Nothing more... I remember my mother watched Star Wars and didn't quite understand it was Good vs Evil. We always teased her that the bad guy was wearing black and his military was controlling the galaxy through force.
I love how this movie makes us root for the "ugly and disgusting" aliens, and that they make Wikus show more "humanity" as he becomes more alien.
Do we now...?
@@dallesamllhals9161 Do you root for MNU??
@@rowaystarco What'sa(n) MNU?
Is it like D.S.A.?
^West-Jute asking.
@@dallesamllhals9161 I mean, unless you are a sociopath/terrible person, yes.
District 9 has a level of realism and believability that sets it apart from all other scifi movies
Yes, as soon as I started watching it the first time I thought "THIS" is how it would actually have happened, as opposed to almost every other movie.
that's because it's supposed to be an allegory for apartheid south africa
It is so new to me. This movie is the very first alien movie that is very unique to me. Mostly we know alien movies are about abduction or invasion but this movie is so different from others that is why I like the story.
A lot going on in this movie but I love the premise of "what if the protagonist was kind of dumb and unlikeable?" Wikus feels like a very believable character.
Sadly movies dont do that anymore...not all protagonists need to be good people tbh
His mother at the beginning of the movie did say he wasn't very bright. 🤣
After all the ways Wickus screwed over Christopher, he still said to Wickus "we stick together, I'm not leaving you here"
A true heart of gold
Kudos to the effects team for being able to express such personality and emotion and make you feel so much sympathy for such an otherworldly being.
And may I also add... Who-dey!
Let's not forget that Christopher screwed over Wickus too, on saying that he was going to help fix him, but it was all a lie just to manipulate Wickus. They both used each other. But fortunately in the end they became friends and Wickus risk his life just to help Christopher and his son. And the fact that Angela didn't realize it and showed no empathy to Wickus, just left me shocked. Because they both were victims and good guys. And Wickus was a hero in the end.
@@JillMachado-yb3vg Chrisopher never lied. He said how long it would take from the beginning. He continued to reinforce that he would be back in 3 years to help Wikus out. Christopher was never manipulating anyone. He was the one that got manipulated all the time. Threatening his son, threatening arrest, threatening his life. Not to mention the fact that the whole reason Wikus needed help was because of him touching and illegally searching the home to begin with.
@@JillMachado-yb3vg He always intended to help him. Just after he found out his people were literal test subjects, he felt that that was a more pressing issue to deal with than turning Wikus back right away, and doing so would have used up valuable fuel which could shave time off his journey back home and thus cut down on the amount of time his people were experimented on. He still fully intended on curing him, just not fast enough for Wikus' liking.
I am still holding out hope for a sequel to District 9.
I believe there's a District 10 in the works
@@Cobalt059 yeah the most recent update was in 2021 so it might be another couple of years yet
Out of all the movies that deserve a sequel for me this is one is on my top of the list.
Nope. Possible spoiler
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I was a soldier. I do not want to see a sequel, because any decent race is going to send a rescue op, and first step in a rescue op is establishing a perimeter. And we know how humans react to shows of force. You concentrate camp the species, they are not going to react well when their national guard shows up to document what we did and begin the evac, and you can bet they will set down hard perimeter defense.
Neils career has been such a disappointment since D9 I'm sure we'll get a bad sequel.
I was shaken walking out of the theater after this one.
Visceral, emotional, hard to watch at times. It's horribly beautiful.
Beautifully horrible would make more sense here.
Nah Bill got it right
This movie is the ultimate grey area movie. You can hate the main character's guts yet also understand him. It's an alien movie yet it makes you feel so much. One of my all time favorites.
All time great sci fi movie. Also insane how good this movie looks, looks like 100+ million blockbuster but somehow only cost 30 million, the aliens and the cgi/vfx look so good, even now well over a decade later. Great reaction as always.
Yeah some of the closeups of the aliens are still amazing looking.
All about that lighting, get the lighting just right and even the most basic 3d model can look 100% real.
So original. So unpredictable. This blew my mind when I first saw it. Whatever I thought I expected, it wasn't this and I loved it. Also the commentary on the treatment of Aliens IRL in South Africa at the time and, well, kind of everywhere. I was hoping you'd do this and so glad you did
It also shows the treatment of large parts of the Soth African population during the apartheid era.
@@target844 and after it was abolished 30 years ago. I more or less recently had a pretty deep look into Cape Town and the most bewildering fact to me is that the golf club is like 20min by foot away from a sea of shacks. If you walk a bit too far on the promenade you get into areas that people would advise you not to be in. It's kinda wild these things are so fresh and palpable. I believe this gives Wikus' little "better late than never" thing after having "walked in their shoes for a day" a whole new dimension and it's a bit sad that a lot of people don't connect that, this being a "south-african movie", as i don't think the movie is very subtle about it, but more likely because people don't even have a faint idea what went down and, imo more importantly, when. And while there's a growing portion of the non-white population there making big strides it's gonna take a few generations before one can even remotely think about saying that segregation is over and actually meaning it.
I recommend 'Invictus' as a palate-cleanser on the whole issue.
This movie definitely should get more recognition and the script alone deserved an acadamy award. Had a blast with your reaction.👏
It was nominated for movie of the year. It didn't win though.
Last I heard on District 10, Blomkamp said it was in development and we should be hearing more about it come 2024, so there's still hope.
This movie gave us Sharlto Copley. He's great in everything he's been in. If interested, he's in a indie movie called 'Hardcore Henry' that is pretty much shot in the perspective of a First Person Shooter game. Very interesting and went viral with a clip they released a long time ago.
Hardcore Henry was fantastic, best POV movie. Not that I can name any other POV movies lol
I was at the US premier of Hardcore Henry at SXSW. Was in the third row when Sharlto Copley said in a preamble to the screening that he liked to call the first 5 rows the splash zone. Such a fun movie, but don't watch it that close on the big screen, lol.
@@jasondemagio4449 Enter the Void does it well. Apparently Pandemic and Lady in the Lake are also First Person POV, but I haven't seen those.
Apartheid South Africa was probably the worst place for the aliens to break down. Every other generic alien go to point in movies would have had a so much better outcome for them.
Christopher Johnson's son's name is CJ (short for Christopher Junior) and the friend that got killed by Koobus was Paul. When Wikus and Christopher enter the MNU underground labs, the alien body on the dissection table was Paul's.
I love what this movie does to your emotions. You go from disliking the main character to feeling sorry for him to hating him to cheering for him and back to feeling sorry.
One of the most humorously paradoxical / oxymoronic statements in the movie: "The *aliens* are being moved for *humanitarian* reasons". So is that going to be good for the aliens or the humans? 🤣🤣🤣
The VFX and CGI in this movie are still mind-blowing to this day. Especially considering the low budget and mostly handheld direction. This is one of my favorite sci-fi movies of all time.
Such an unexpected movie! This was nothing what I expected when I watched it for the first time.
#teamChristopherJohnson
The filming was unexpected as well 😂 it was suppose to be Halo by Peter Jackson but when that project fell through, they had to repurpose the props and vehicles for this film😅
The less human wikus became, the more human he acted
i can understand how they ended up with names like "Christopher Johnson". Imagine being part of the team whose job it is to interview and document 1.8 million aliens. The same thing happened in "Alien nation".
You start by asking for their names and they reply with unrecognizable sounds. You have to write down something so you just start assigning them random human names.
Everyone wants to judge Vicus but he just wanted his life back man. Not everyone has it in him to do the right thing and he found his courage in the end. I hate how everyone misses that point. Vicus wasn't a bad person. Christopher had almost nothing to lose that's why he didn't have his doubts. But even the best person in that real situation would probably have done what Vicus did or even less. That's what makes the movie so real. Vicus's whole fucking world fell apart around him and he lost everything. But in the end after there was no way back he found it in him to help Christopher. And that's not something just anyone could do.
Saw this in cinema when it came out and I was blown away.
Perfect allegory of modern day xenophobia and corporate corruption but still a funny, inventive and moving story thats brilliantly told - thanks for reacting to it.
Funny story. My 17 year old nephew thought this movie was a real documentary for about a year after watching it. I still giggle thinking about it
Well given its an allegory to apartheid... its kinda is... sorta.
I felt sorry for Wikus the same way I feel sorry for any middle management type whose not to bright, and thrust into a role he is completely ill suited for. He was trying to impress his step father, the soldiers under him, the camera crew filming him. And he was so lost in what he was doing, he didn't realize it was wrong, until the very end. In some ways, Syril Karn from Andor, reminded me of Wikus.
I don't know.
The "abortion" scene shows quite clearly what type of person Wikus is.
"Didn't realize it was wrong" just can't apply to doing something like that.
Doesn't matter how out of depth you are with your job, or how much you try to play it down to impress people: If you are able to do something gruesome like that I don't feel any sympathy for you.
@@Jehty_that’s the problem with us humans. Hold negativity in our minds with death grip. After all terrible shit wikus did even the aliens accepted him as one of their own and saved his life in the end.
Its a refreshing change to have the aliens not be the bad guy for once. Really hope Neil gives us a sequel.
What a powerful movie, it is so well thought out... The message it has is impactful on so many levels...
Btw, my reaction when I saw it the first time was exactly the same as you Angela ; regarding every character in the movie... I mean... The way they treat the aliens is so heartless... And Wickus is the regular human being, flawed, and who goes through these events that reshape his entire life as former-human being and forces him to look at things with a different eye in the end...
What a lesson and message for human kind. There are several movies who have such impactful message for human race to stop behaving in such inhuman way and start trying to do good as a species...
Btw, a great double feature in my mere opinion is District 9 + Chappie. If you haven't seen Chappie, it is another Neill Blomkamp sci-fi movie with a similar powerful and deeply emotional message.
💯💯 I oh so agree !! Same feeling...
Heartbreaking in a way but also so hopeful in the end.
One of these movies in which non-humans show more humanity than human beings... Important and meaningful type of story.
And yes, Chappie is really great !! 💖 Got me even more emotional than District 9 did... Truly underrated. Sadly not as known as District 9.
Wikus was doing his work and was not that bad of a guy, he stopped the soldier to stop shooting at the aliens, then calmed them down with cat food, he was not afraid to get close to them and talk, that other soldier was poking the alien and lost an arm in the end. He in the end was a weak human like we all are and was scared for his life, his dad-in law crossed him and gave him to be cut into pieces just so they can use alien weapons. He wanted to get his old life back but in the end he did good by helping Chris to go with his kid. Question is if he will come back after 3years and keep his promise.
Uhm, no, Wikus did his work, yes, so did the people tried in the Nuremberg trials. Spoiler, that defense didn't work back then either, not that i'd draw a direct comparison, but from an argumentative standpoint both follow the same line of thinking. He stopped the soldier so the situation wouldn't escalate endangering him and the people he was with. Had the "prawn" attacked and the situation had went south (really quickly, one would presume), he would have been fine with mowing down every attacker there without feeling any remorse. How do i know ? Well, he doesn't show the slightest sliver of compassion early on, actively making fun of the prawns. Now, we get Koobus as the big bad guy, which puts Wikus in perspective, yes, but the things you have pointed out still don't show what you apparently think they do. It's only at the very end of the movie, that Wikus finishes his transformation, literally and figuratively.
@@spacemonkeyentertainment6413 161 convicted, common clerks weren't included, Wikus is a pencil pusher with little to no authority, also the aliens 'tech' was responsible for some pretty horrific genetic engineering on Wikus (which i would consider way worse than derogatory statements) , I wouldn't consider Wikus the good guy or the bad guy fundamentally there are no good options in this story.
Compassion is not the standard by which we condone behavior done onto or by someone, a serial killers actions are not condoned because he compassionately kills his victims, someone being remorseful does influence it a little but overall it is determined by the action itself and the knowledge of the consequences of said action by the perpetrator that determines punishment.
In the end Wikus was just an average guy, i found @funnylilgalreacts visceral reactions to Wikus wanting to not transform into what is clearly not a pretty sight understandable but also very hypocritical and what all evil is based in,....you think you would do something different , playing armchair quarterback ignoring self preservation and sacrificing/suffering for others...spoiler, you wont
@@alexd1559 Wikus choose to work for that company. He choose to work in that position. He choose to not quit.
At any point he could have walked away. But he didn't. Therefore he is definitely one of the bad guys.
I went in to watch this without knowing what to expect, just like you did. I haven't really been the same since. The special fx still holds up amazingly. But the heartwrenching part was learning that the interviews in the movie that were dehumanizing weren't all filmed for the movie... some were real and were talking about people...
Initiallly, Blomkamp was supposed to direct a cinema adaptation of the Halo franchise (co- produced by Peter Jackson) but the project was put down (the studio execs didn't like the look of the test scenes)
District 9 (which is inpired by one of Blomkamp's short) was a message to the studio "look what you missed"
Loved your reaction! I remember seeing this in the theatre and being absolutely blown away. Definitely some intense social commentary and making a film where the human protagonist is someone who does some terrible things who we aren't supposed to entirely like, and that the alien Christopher has more compassion and "humanity" in him then we humans do. Supposedly Neil and Terri have actually recently begun writing a script for District 10. I'd love it if we actually get to see that movie soon!
This is truly a badass piece of sci-fi. Gnarly, dark, hard to watch in places, but with so much rough truth about humanity running through it. Glad you reacted to this one. Another good one is Elysium, which ironically has the same actor who played Wickus, as well as Jodi Foster and Matt Damon.
I still feel like not enough people know about this movie. So great start to finish. I'm really sad that they never did the sequel when the aliens come back, although it's better not to have a sequel at all rather than one that can't live up to the original. Great reaction, yet again.
One of my favorite movies of all time! Neil Blomkapf is a great director. Elysium was pretty good too, and Chappie. Both have the same sort of style of filming.
District 9 got a poll participation trophy. I am 100% for this lol. Also whenever they say his name my mind immediately goes to the Monty Python's Biggus Dickus from Life Of Brian
Ive watched that movie 10 times minimum, still so amazed of the realism of the way it is filmed ! Glad you liked it ❤
Team alien, all the way. No question. 15:31 is a MOOD. "Now I'm rooting for Wickus???"
17:29- Angela dropping some real world experience with teeth on us!
and finally, at 29:28- the evolution from gagging noises at the beginning to "I'm ok with it!" lmfao
incredible reaction.
I'm always excited to hear about mouth/teeth facts when scenes like this come up in her reactions 😀.
Soooo glad you found this one. I've been wanting a sequel to this since I saw it when it came out!
Pretty amazing movie, about human rights using aliens. The movie was inspired by the real events in District 6. Obviously no aliens, but with people and segregation
I've been waiting for a sequel to this for most of my life. Give me District 10 please
This film has always been one of my favorites. It really had that feel of a small time indie film, but with a big time budget. I love the creature designs, and for the time the effects felt really convincing, a lot of people often said that they never really looked at the aliens as cg characters, they felt like they existed. Especially with Christopher and his son CJ being the most expressive, they feel just as human as any of the human actors.
A bit harsh on Vikus, if I'm to be honest. A flawed man to be sure, but objectively his actions are what most people's would realistically be in such an abnormal and nightmarish situation. Interestingly, because there never was a follow up on the story, we'll actually really never know if Chris was ever telling him the truth about being able to fix him, or if it was all just a lie on his part and was merely playing Vikus. I kind of like that we never got a sequel, it leaves the open ended aspect of all these questions a lot more interesting.
Masterful filmmaking and still some of the best “in broad daylight” cgi I’ve ever seen with that mech.
I don't think you were ever supposed to like the main character. But I like the commentary on humanity and how easy we have to disassociate to other creatures(or different humans for that mater) and thereby justify our horrible actions. And Wickus is faced with his own bad behavior and realizes it, thou he is panicking and just trying to survive most of the time. And continue to make bad choices because of it. To the point where he gives up hope and decides to sacrifice himself.. because he realizes that he has nothing left to live for.
People have made their own sequels where Christopher Johnson returns with a fully stocked rescue ship. He rescues his people. He also returned with a fleet which proceeds to burn human cities down to bedrock. He offers to fulfill his promise to heal alien!Wilkus who is watching rest of humanity being massacred.
This movie at first i was like what is this?!i was so confused,but as long the film progressed i just can't stop watching and indeed the movie has a deep message and still is a masterpiece.Greetings and love from Portugal. ❤
It's been 14 years dammit!
"3 years, i promise."
I enjoy movies that don’t have a clear cut protagonist. I was like you when I seen this, I hated Wickus, then I warmed to him, then hated, then accepted him at the end. I loved how well written Christopher Johnson was. I forgot he was an alien, just someone to root for.
Love the reaction
I freaking love this movie. Like you, I had no idea what to expect when I saw this movie, and my mind was blown. Very interesting to have a main character who is really not likeable or heroic(until the very, very end at least) in a conventional sense. But it definitely suits this movie's dark tone. Will we ever get a sequel? Who knows, but it seems unlikely right now, sadly.
I really love Wikus' rampage in the alien mech suit thing. I don't know if you've ever played Half-Life 2, but it had this awesome weapon called the Gravity Gun, and the mech suit from this movie basically has the same thing. I squealed with nerdy joy when I saw that in the theater.
Still one of the best SciFi-movies! So unespected, unpredictable and different in so many ways, fascinating how he includes social criticism (especially in Southafrica) but still having a great entertaining yet thought-provoking art work... just mindblowing!!!
...and as always: great reaction and analysis 👍👍👍
BTW: Neill Blomkamp announced last year that there will be "District 10", at least he confirmned it to be in devolopimg stage, and probably and hopefully coming into theatres in 2025
PS: You might wanna check out "Chappie", lovely film! 😍 I think you'll love it too 😉
This movie was such a breath of fresh air of creativity I absolutely loved it its in my top ten movies.
"Wikus at the beginning, what a tw&t..." Lmao!! 🤣🤣
Hi Angela! I hope you are doing fine!
I watched District 9 in theaters! That's the kind of film with many layers for analysis.
Very satisfying!
Nothing brings out the worst in people quicker than having a group they can "other".
For years, there has been a rumor of a follow-up movie 'District 10', but it doesn't look like it will ever be made. Another movie and series that is similar to this, is Alien Nation.
Vickus was such an interesting character because he is a prime example of how dangerous a weak and cowardly man can be. Until the final act of the movie where he finds the courage to fight for Christopher Johnson.
Oh wow, i was NOT expecting you reacting to this movie anytime soon but here we are! GREAT movie, freaked me out, blew my mind.
I literally laughed out loud when you called Vikus a twat, wasn't expecting it, didn't see it coming!
Love your analysis, as usual. It's always well thought out, even though it seems like it's off the top of your head.
This movie has become a sci-fi classic It deserved a sequel!
Of all the SF properties out there, THIS is one which actually calls for a sequel.
It's a completely different story, obviously, but Wikus is a little bit like Phil Connors in Groundhog day in that he starts out as a tool but then becomes more likable as he goes through his trials.
I must say out of all the reaction videos of District 9, THIS was closest to my own reaction when I watched this masterpiece for the first time. Only difference: I had a higher sympathy for Wikus.
Wow I wasn't expecting to see this movie reaction today. Made my day this is one of my favorite films. Top tier Sci fi movie. Sharpton Copley does a phenomenal job.
This movie does an outstanding job of making you sympathetic to the aliens and hate the humans. So the way i understand it Most of these aliens are worker drones and aren’t smart enough to fly their ship or repair their tech or even take care of themselves. Christopher is a leader but by himself he couldn’t help them and something happened to the rest of their leaders on the ship.
So excited that you went for this even though it came in 2nd.
You have to understand that his character makes a lot of sense because he's a victim of everything that's going on, shit on top because he has no time and no choice because everyone wants to kill him.
This is a great movie, and the style works so well with the storyline. Also the visual effects are very well done.
There's a whole fascinating lore to this movie.
The speculaion was that the alien ship got infected by some kind of disease or infection that wiped out most of the intelligent class of the aliens (the ones who knew how to operate the ship, fix it and fly it), while a few like Christopher Johnson survived.
The rest of the aliens who surived who are the majority that we see during the movie are like the worker class or laborers who were immune and therefore surived the infection.
Another theory goes that they were actually prisoners and because they were imprisoned in a protected part of the ship, they did not get infected but lacking the intelligence and skill level of the technician/ engineer class, they couldn't fix the ship or fly it away.
And the ship automatically came to a stop on Earth over Johannesburg as an emergency measure and that's were we find the movie at the beginning.
The other interesting theory is that it was a refugee ship (which is a compatible theory with the first one), however it's probably unlikely since they clearly have a home planet to go to that they were heading to, and which ultimately Christopher Johnson was taking it back to.
In any case, the movie clearly shows that at least some of the aliens are not only super-intelligent - like Johnson clearly is - but also emotionally and psychologically intelligent, showing more humanity than even humans themselves.
And in the movie, ironically, only one human displays any humanity towards them and in general and it's the one that gets infected and only when he begins transforming into one of them.
The other interesting subtext of the movie which I hope you got was the underlying corollary to South Africa's Apartheid system and also their modern day struggle with undocumented immigration issues (the director and star are both South African), and the way they flipped the script by making the people who had originally been victims to Apartheid and immigrant discrimination (the black population) be a large part of the ones now advocating treating "aliens" and "the other" as a lower class and to be housed in a separate "district" or "Township" (Soweto, which is an infamous South African town/municipality, is a congelemeration from "SOuth WEstern TOwnships, and were essentially ghettos that black South Africans were forced to live in, poorly serviced, cramped and steeped in poverty, while rich white South Africans lived in the high-end Suburbs. District 9 was effectively a "Soweto".....for the Aliens . And Black South Africans were effectively "aliens" (or treated as such),.....in their own land and country))
But obviously it's a resonant message not just unique to South Africa.
North America has the Indian Reserves, remember.
Even Nazi-controlled Poland had the literal "ghettos" or "balkans" for Jewish Poles.
In other words,....
The native and indegenous people forced to live in closed townships and ghettos on their own land under intolerable conditions.
In fact, the title "District 9" is actually based on a real life "District 6" that existed and in which some of the events of this movie were directly referencing and re-telling (the forcible evacuation of black South Africans from an already horrible ghetto to an even worse and more cramped one)
I love how they did that.
This was a great movie on many levels beyond just the spectacular CGI FX (for the time) for the aliens.
Rumor is that they're looking at developing the sequel "District 10" that would pick up the story 3 years later with Wikus completely converted into a "Prawn" (but still played by a mo-capped Sharlto Copley, who's an experienced and established mo-capper (Chappie))
I like how Christopher has EVERY right to come back and declare war on the human species for the horrors they inflicted on his people, but as you said, that's not his style. He is going to come back, fulfill his promise to Wilkus, and safeguard his people. He's a real one.
He was too eager about going into District 9 and picking it apart because it's the only time he ever had any power.
Hi Angela, so happy you reacted to this film. One of my favorite sci-fi films of all time. It is hard to watch at times, even though I own it on
DVD and I know what happens. But it's so beautiful, visceral, violent, and unfortunately the realism & social commentary is heightened by all of these elements.
Still hoping beyond hope with the other fans that the sequel still comes out, but you never know these days.
Oh yeah, everyone else has recommended Neill Blomkamp's other movies: Elysium, Chappie, and Hardcore Henry.
Take care, Angela!
My thought on the black fluid, consider how their tech is genetically based, designed the modify the body for a task. What likely happened is the one who had the command gene died & effectively, the worker drones couldn't use the ship. Christopher spent 20 years recreating the gene so he could take command of the ship. The species is clearly cast based, with most being simple drones/workers, while Christopher was clearly of the scientist/geneticist cast
I remember watching this movie for the first time at a friend's house and rooting for Wikus, because he's the protagonist of the movie, right? But now, over 10 years later, I can't help but notice how much I've changed when I find myself being absolutely #teamChristopherJohnson
About the bridge not being a thing that breaks off, in the MMO eve online the pilot controls the ship from a pod that automatically ejects if the ship suffers fatal damage allowing a chance to escape.
Science Fiction always tells a human story. It might be interwoven with technobabble and zap guns, but you'll always find humanity at odds with itself, what it means to be human, and what should/shouldn't humanity be.
District 9 was so underrated, it was a really good movie back in the late 2000s
Neill Blomkamp is a freakin' genius! He was able to convince producers to finace him making the same movie three times (District 9 (2009), Elysium (2013), Chappy (2015)) 😄
I've seen the two later ones before D9, and I kinda liked both, especially Chappy, but after watching D9 the similarities in the plots and characters hit me hard.
D9 is basically about Apartheid. The best sci fi has always been social commentary. Great film.
Fingernail trauma, tooth trauma, and nasty skin lesions. This movie just hits all my body horror buttons 😳. I still love it though!
Beautiful movie!! The connection of how we treat Aliens like we treat humans. The story is great. Thank you.
I love this movie, especially the main character's pronunciation of "f*ck" 😂 nice reaction, as always!
Btw, have you reacted to The Raid 1 & 2 already? If not, you'll love it! That's probably the best action movie I've ever watched ❤
No matter how empathetic you may feel towards the aliens, remember that this is OUR planet. The prawns are VERY different from humans in many ways.
This movie is in the Pantheon of top 5 of all time (it is still behind Arcane as is everything) and your right, there is no way to describe it with out giving too much away. Nobody has a favorite part, nor can they explain why they like it so much either but everytime this movie is mentioned anyone who has seen it has the same reaction. "ERMAAAHGEEEEERD! I love that movie!"
The tag line should have been:
"Think you hate people now? Hold my beer..."
A really fantastic film. Wikus was definitely the protagonist, but he wasn't a good guy. He was part of the problem and, against his will, came to understand the harm and oppression the aliens faced first-hand. He shouldn't have needed that to come around, and even through much of it, he was still clinging to that vanishing part of him that tied him to the 'in' group (in this case, humanity). Still, at the very end of it, he tried to do the right thing.
It taking part in Johannesburg really hammered hom the history of apartheid, racism, xenophobia, etc. and how it's so easy for some to sink into hatred and hierarchy to provide themselves some comfort in the face of change, the unfamiliar, and unknown.
Christopher Johnson and his kin had every right to return humanity's violence with violence. He just wanted safety and to go home, and get his people home to safety. He wanted his people to stop being experimented on and tortured and refused bodily autonomy, and stop having their children forcefully aborted. I want to believe they got where they needed to go and came back three years later to rescue the rest
One thing that's really subtle is in a late shot we see a sonogram if a foetus in the background when the wife is talking. That's why the "3 years" revelation made Vikis flip out.
Neil Blomkamp the director is from South Africa (as is Sharlto Copley). The movie was very much inspired by the events in Cape Town's district six during the Apartheid era of South African history.
I think the coolest part of District 9 is it came to be because originally Blomkamp suppose to make a Halo movie. To make up for Halo being scrapped, Peter Jackson pledged $30 million dollars to Blomkamp to make any movie he wanted. Because of that, Blomkamp started shooting with and incomplete script. Almost all the dialog in the movie was improvised.
This reminds me of the scene between Professor X and Senator Kelly. "I'm afraid if i went to a hospital"... "They would treat you like a mutant".
If you ever want to watch a cheesy sci-fi ship battle movie. I recommend Wing Commander with Matthew Illard and Freddy Prince Junior.
If you haven't seen the 2004 Battlestar Galactica series, I would love to see you do a react series on it. It no joke has some of the best TV moments I have ever seen. I think you would love it.
And it's when the world was introduced to the awesomeness of Katee Sackhoff
Absolutely one of the best shows ever! I love the military sci fi style
Your request may well be the reason a few more of us are here, because that's what roped me in here. Thanks either way.
Thank you for reaction to this film! It is my favorit film about aliens ever!
Sharlto Copley and director Neil Blomkamp are working on the script of District 10. Neil Blomkamp has to finish his work on his current project Gran Tourismo and he is committed to start District 10 after it. Fingers crossed.
Shame he never got to make that Alien movie.
The other thing you have to remember about this movie (re: the sometimes shaky VFX), is that Neill Blomkampf (the director) made it with a budget of $30 million - which,.....even for 2009 when it was made, is ridiculously tiny for a movie of this scope, especially in the age of ILM (Industrial Light and Magic) -level of VFX.
The thing is that Blomkamp himself was a CG Visual Artist who had made a lot of shorts on UA-cam in non-existent budgets (in fact this movie is partly based on a UA-cam short he did called 'Alive in JoBurg') and thus had experience in making VFX movies, and could make all the rest of it look like it was produced by a big budget studio.
It made 7 times its production budget at the box office ($210 million) and was nominated for 4 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Visual Effects, and Adapted Screenplay.
Not too shabby for a $30 million movie with no big-name stars.
The reason Peter Jackson was involved was because alot of the resources came from his scrapped Halo project If I remember correctly. When it wasnt realised Niel (this director) went and convinced him to make it when they already had all those resources there.
This is by far one of the greatest scifi films of all times. I loved how the writers incorporated a lot of social, political commentary that existed in South Africa during the height of the apartheid years and as unfortunately it continues today in other parts of the world.
Galactic standard law: In a first contact scenario, the first volunteers get dissected in order to increase mutual understanding.
It makes sense that the fuel changed him into an alien if you take into count that all of their technology is bio-genetically locked to their physiology. The ship design is more like a personal transport. Where the command module is the actual ship and the huge one is just an add on to move large quantities of their people. Like a freight transport in star wars or star trek, the engine or ship is rather small and the cargo area is large. Wikus had to walk a mile in anothers shoes to understand them.
Loved your reaction to this great movie. I had a hard time in the beginning with the documentary style as well. Even though they say it quite a lot, I was still surprised by your excellent pronunciation of Wicus's name.
this movie is still my favorite scifi action movies of all time, besides Independance day, Alien, Predator, & Star Wars. this movie still holds up to this day. plus the design on the aliens were amazing on all levels
"Is it ok that it got in his eyes and his mouth?"
Morgan Freeman: "It was very much *not* ok that it got in his eyes and mouth."
At 13:15 You asked what kind of hand you would want to have, and I kind of have 2.5 of those lol. My right hand is an alien looking deformed human hand but it's good enough to play bass guitar and get a music degree. Jesus that was 20 years ago lol, but I still play music for a living. I had to chime in because it was a hand thing lol
So glad to see you reacting to something else I've actually seen! 😄
Something I don't believe I've ever seen mentioned in the few videos dedicated to this film on YT: the alien fluid changed Vikus into an alien. It makes me wonder how many of the aliens were actually born that way vs. having been changed like Vikus was and then assimilating into their society. Which could be part of the explanation as to how you have a huge population of creatures on a starship full of incredibly advanced technology, almost none of whom were actually capable of using it (let alone repairing it).
As far as what kind of "welcome" Earth's governments would give to any aliens who showed up in our atmosphere, I would _hope_ that those in charge would be wise enough to determine how effective lobbing some nukes would be at an opponent capable of interstellar travel. It makes for some decent enough popcorn fodder on screen, but in reality that would likely be about as effective as lugging a wooden club into a gamma ray fight. 😉
44:50 You've got THAT right! Sci-Fi is just the backdrop to tell human stories. Nothing more... I remember my mother watched Star Wars and didn't quite understand it was Good vs Evil. We always teased her that the bad guy was wearing black and his military was controlling the galaxy through force.