District 9
Plot
In the late 20th century, an alien ship stops directly above Johannesburg, South Africa. Reports suggest the ship became stranded after a command module separated from the ship and disappeared, presumably landing somewhere near the city. After cutting their way inside, a team discovers a large group of malnourished and leaderless arthropod-like aliens. The creatures are taken from the ship and housed in a government camp inside Johannesburg called District 9, which eventually turns into a slum. Several decades later, Multinational United (MNU), a private military contractor, is placed in charge of policing and relocating the 1.8 million aliens to District 10, a new camp 240 kilometers from Johannesburg.
Wikus van de Merwe (Sharlto Copley) is an MNU field operative assigned to manage the relocation operation. As the eviction of the aliens unfolds, three aliens—two adults and a child—distill a liquid from a piece of alien technology into a small canister. During a raid, Wikus confiscates the device and accidentally sprays some of the liquid on his face. He then tries to evict the hut’s occupant, an alien that MNU has named Christopher Johnson. Unlike other aliens, Christopher questions the legality of the eviction and demands his rights. That night, Wikus falls ill and is taken to a local hospital, where they find his left arm has become an alien appendage. Wikus is then taken into custody by MNU personnel who intend to vivisect and kill him in an attempt to replicate his ability to operate alien weapons—usually useless to humans due to their bond with alien biology—but Wikus’ new strength allows him to overpower his captors and escape.
Now a fugitive, Wikus takes refuge in District 9 and returns to Christopher Johnson’s hut. Christopher reveals that the canister Wikus found contains fuel for the lost command module hidden under his hut, which would allow him to activate the mother ship and leave the planet. Christopher agrees to help reverse Wikus’ genetic transformation if he, in turn, retrieves the confiscated fuel that is now in possession of the MNU. Wikus agrees and goes on to steal some alien weaponry from a local Nigerian gang, led by paralyzed warlord Obesandjo, who wants to eat Wikus’ mutated arm, which he believes will give him the power to operate alien weaponry.
Wikus and Christopher break into MNU and retrieve the fuel canister. They fight their way back to District 9, but Christopher, having just learned that MNU is performing medical experiments on his race, informs Wikus that he has decided he must return to his homeworld to seek help for his people before he can cure Wikus, which would take three years. Frustrated, Wikus knocks Christopher unconscious and powers up the command module with the help of Christopher’s young son. Shortly after Wikus lifts off, MNU soldiers destroy one of the command module’s engines with a missile, causing it to crash land nearby.
MNU forces take Wikus and Christopher prisoner but their convoy falls under attack by Obesandjo’s gang and a fierce gun battle breaks out. The Nigerian gang captures Wikus and prepares to sever his arm for Obesandjo. From the command module, Christopher’s son activates the mother ship and powers up a mechanized battle suit that autonomously kills Obesandjo and his men. Wikus then gets into the suit and uses it to rescue Christopher from MNU mercenaries and provide him with cover while he makes his way to the command module. Promising Wikus that he will return in three years to reverse his transformation, Christopher summons a tractor beam and docks with the mother ship. Heavily wounded and in a much more advanced state of his mutation, Wikus crawls out of the battle suit and Venter, the sole survivor of the MNU squad, confronts him. However, aliens in the camp dismember and eat Venter before he is able to kill Wikus.
After decades of hovering above Johannesburg, the mother ship leaves with Christopher and his son on board. A series of interviews and news broadcasts provide various opinions on the events. The aliens are successfully moved to District 10, said to have a population of 2.5 million. One of Wikus’ co-workers hacks into MNU’s database and publicly exposes their illegal genetic experiments. People theorize about Wikus’ fate, and others hypothesize that the aliens might return for the refugees, or even to declare war on humanity. Wikus’ wife reveals that having found a small metal flower on her doorstep, she has hope that her husband is still alive. In a scrapyard, an alien crafts a flower out of metal.
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment