First of all, I’ll say that this review is LONG overdue, I went to see this movie last Friday and simply put, it is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a while. That maybe an overstatement, but I honestly don’t care. This movie seemed so real, sure there were times where you could tell CGI was used, but apart from those brief scenes, I don’t care what anybody says, It’s real.
Seriously though, I’ve seen some of Neil Blomkamp’s work, and it’s very similar-Realistic effects. You see plenty of films nowadays which use like a crapload of CGI and yeah it may impress alot of people, and, when done right, it’ll impress the hell out of me. I’ll give a good example, but now- D9.
Now, the plot in this I felt was quite commendable, and I applaud both Blomkamp and Tatchell on the good work on both this and the dialogue. If I’m going to be completely honest, when I first started watching it, there was a moment- A very SHORT moment where I was getting bored. It wasn’t what I was expecting at all, but then around 15 minutes into it, it begins to make a bit of sense.
Now I MUST address the ship- Now THAT impressed me. ALOT. I’m not sure if it was the cinematography or the effects or both, but it looked beautiful. I saw that and I smiled and nodded my head in approval. Hahaha. For those of you who are interested, YouTube- “Halo: Landfall”. The similarities are striking. The ship in that is VERY reminiscent of that in D9.
The main character, Wikas, portrayed by Sharlto Copley, was well done also, I loved his character in this movie, this guy could really emote well. I felt his performance, and really went well with the realism of the movie altogether.
Let’s talk about the creatures, or ‘Prawns’ as they’re referred to in the movie. I forget what they’re based on, but whatever it is, obviously alot of work went into them. Again with the realism here; The expressions, the movement, the sounds that emanate from these, these creatures were nothing short of awesome. Apparently, after doing a bit of research, these ‘Prawns’, were all CGI. Very surprised, would’ve thought some of them were animatronic or something. Thats a different thing altogether again- another time.
I just have ONE problem with the film- For the first quarter it’s shot in a documentary style format, mockumentary, as it’s well known, and then they just seem to drop this…Then again bring it back…Halfway into the film…Then again toward the end for a very short time…then again at the end. It just seemed a little inconsistent to me, a good chunk of the film was shot in a normal format (Not completely)and it seemed a little odd just to bring it up in weird times intervals.
All in all, enjoyed this film alot, it’s one of those films that I could literally watch again and again, and not get bored. Will definitely buy this on DVD.
Good film, good plot, solid action scenes, good acting, just a little let down by the odd appearance by the occassional mockumentary style interviews. Would’ve worked either way, just needed a little consistency.
8/10
Karan.
P.S- I’d also like to give a shout out to Muni, who is annoying me to give him shout out. Also he gives constructive criticisms for my reviews, for which I am thankful for.
