Best of the Decade #12: District 9 (2009)
You have to think twice when including 2009 films on a Best of Decade list, simply because not enough time has passed to evaluate whether these movies will truly be representative of the decade or if they will end up being forgotten in a few more years. In the case of District 9, however, I feel confident that this has already become a classic in its own right, and one that has left a sizable impact on the movie-making world.
Peter Jackson started off the decade heading up what is easily one of the biggest (and also most successful) undertakings in history of cinema with The Lord of the Rings trilogy. He has since transitioned to the role of mentor as well, using his status and resources to give new talent a shot at breaking into the industry. He handpicked Neill Blomkamp, previously known for his TV commercial work, to direct a Halo feature film. The project eventually fell through (a big news story from the decade in and of itself, at least in the world of fandom), but it led to an original movie based on one of Blomkamp’s short films instead. As much as I’d still love to see that Halo movie, I’ll take District 9 over Halo any day of the week.
District 9 is one of those rare science-fiction films that is equal parts eye-popping visuals, gripping action and thoughtful commentary. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that the last time we saw something this smart and this fun may have been 10 years ago with The Matrix — and we all know what a game changer that movie was. At a time when CG effects are approaching photorealism and studios are spending hundreds of millions of dollars in order to achieve that, Blomkamp was able to put most of the competition to shame with only $30 million.
All of this, combined with the innovative viral marketing campaign that supported it, makes District 9 a perfect sign of the times and a landmark film that will be remembered for many years to come. There will surely be even bigger things ahead for Blomkamp in the next decade, but in the meantime we’re already seeing more studios gravitating toward mid-range budgets and taking chances on unproven filmmakers with the help of an established director to guide them. Consider it all a part of the legacy of District 9.
Check out previous entries from our Top 20 Films of the ’00s.
Comments (27)
2 ‘n a row
Posted by rus in chicago on December 14th, 2009It seems like your list skews more recent. Did you consider trying to balance out the years when compiling it?
Posted by Rusty James on December 14th, 2009With an OK movie like Spider-Man 2 in here, i will be very dissappointed if The Dark Knight is not included.
Posted by gayrasd on December 14th, 2009Sometimes I question having such recent movies on here, but this is coming from the guy with Observe and Report as his number 2.
I think you guys are doing a great job with these lists, gives me something to look forward too every day.
Posted by Drew on December 14th, 2009I kinda shied away from including too many recent films on my own list but I can’t speak for everyone else.
Still, the average year across our entire Top 20 is 2006.
Posted by Sean on December 14th, 2009When considering a decade, you don’t have to include a movie for every year if it really doesn’t deserve it. It’s like saying there has to be a film picked for each month of the year for the best of ‘09.
On my list, I dont have a single film from ‘02 cause it was just a terrible year in film overall.
Posted by Primal on December 14th, 2009I did like D-9 but i believe Blomkamp compromised a little bit at the ending..
he did not explored the transformation progress as far as he could.. Maybe because of low budged..
and..
I would have filmed him placing the flower to her doorstep and end the movie there instead of the cheesy monologue of that stupid bitch he called wife like we were supposed to give a fuck about her.
Still a great movie worth being to your list but .. the ending was a little bit suckie
Posted by kyriakos on December 14th, 2009Im impressed with these lists, I can barely remember what was released this year..
Posted by Niklas on December 14th, 2009If the best films came out in the past year, so what? Its not a time line, its based on the quality of the movie.
Avatar will be in there soon, I suspect!
Posted by Tommy on December 14th, 2009when doing a list partially from memory more recent films will show up… also i think for some of us we watched way more movies from the past couple years as we got more entrenched in the online film community, etc
Posted by Goon on December 14th, 2009Cannot forget Lord of the Rings from 2001 for example.
Posted by Tommy on December 14th, 2009From ‘kyriakos’
“I did like D-9 but i believe Blomkamp compromised a little bit at the ending..
he did not explored the transformation progress as far as he could.. Maybe because of low budged..
and..
I would have filmed him placing the flower to her doorstep and end the movie there instead of the cheesy monologue of that stupid bitch he called wife like we were supposed to give a fuck about her.
Still a great movie worth being to your list but .. the ending was a little bit suckie”
Not sure where your motivation for the contempt for the wife is coming from, but I thought the ending was awesome. You don’t need to show the transformation – what is the point of that? We’d already seen his entire arm, most of his back and parts of his torso – not to mention his eye – transform, so why would you take all the momentum out of the flick by just showing more metamorphosis? It wasn’t The Wolfman.
I love this movie and I can’t wait for the bluray – I have it on my computer and watched it a few days ago and it is just so re-watchable, the cornerstone of every great film.
Sharlto’s performance alone should be remembered for many decades to come.
Nick.
Posted by Nick Robertson on December 14th, 2009I thought this movie was slightly above average and missed every opportunity to create an intelligent statement in favor of appealing to the lowest common denominator. I don’t even think it was a top 10 sci-fi movie for the decade.
Posted by Justice on December 14th, 2009FROM /FILM
The Hollywood Reporter had a chance to ask Quentin Tarantino about his favorite films of 2009, and the filmmaker responded with the following eight movies…
1. JJ Abrams’ Star Trek
2. Sam Raimi’s Drag Me To Hell
3. Judd Apatow’s Funny People
4. Jason Reitman’s Up in the Air
5. Prachya Pinkaew’s Chocolate
6. Jody Hill’s Observe and Report
7. Lee Daniels’ Precious
8. Lone Scherfig’s An Education
Tarantino admitted that he has yet to see James Cameron’s Avatar, Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones or Clint Eastwood’s Invictus, and that he needs to revisit films like Bright Star and District 9, as they might have the power to rise into his top 8. He also agreed that his film could not qualify for his list.
wow, that is surprising he didn’t give D9 a place in his 2009 top 8! this list smells like some sucking up to his hollywood buddies!
Posted by rus in chicago on December 14th, 2009I agree with you it is a re-watchable movie .. i re-watched it more than 5 times (3 times without the alien subtitles).. i do like the movie..
but you must accept the fact that the wife was portrayed as a female duchebag through out the film.. not only she dumped her husband just because her father told her so, without even seeing him transformed into a monster. But she also helped the cups capture Vigus. So by the end of the movie o don’t have the most loving feelings regarding her (witch was cool by me) but.. suddenly having to hear her monologue bitching about stuff expecting me to care for was a far shot from Blomkamp that didn’t quite worked for me.. Of-course i must admit i do hate women in movies and in general (except those 1 or 2 who like filmjunk and read this post) but this one.. was one of the worst
Posted by kyriakos on December 14th, 2009well here is a good top 5 for you film junk crew..
Wow, I Quentin’s list is pretty underwhelming. I’m having a hard time taking it at face value.
Posted by Rusty James on December 14th, 2009thought D-9 was a great film. I have heard some people argue that a budget of a film shouldn’t matter but I can’t seem to be able to not have it affect my overall opinion of a film.
Posted by xego on December 14th, 2009I have to say that I’ve been unimpressed by the choices you guys came up with until now. District 9 will go down as one of the best of the genre similar to Aliens and I’m glad you’ve recognized that fact.
I’m looking forward to your next pick!
Posted by Marc on December 15th, 2009i loved the movie. totally had me hooked from the first scene. i remember people criticizing the lead guy’s acting.. i on the other hand thought he acted very naturally. the action scenes were visceral and well choreographed. no real big complaints about this movie in general. only thing that needs to be seen is how good its repeat value is.
as for D9 making it to the list, well i kinda have to agree with you guys. apart from being a great movie, it has also set a precedent for movies to get the most out of a low budget. that’s gotta count for something!
Posted by Napalm on December 15th, 2009Nobody should be focusing on a film’s budget unless, somehow it affects the message being presented.
Posted by Tommy on December 15th, 2009every aspect of a film should be considered when comparing one film to another, including budget.
Posted by Mike on December 15th, 2009Unless you are a critic or marketing.
Posted by Tommy on December 15th, 2009It’s a list of the top 20 movies of the decade, not an award show, and even still, critics do not ignore the budget. Almost every review I read of Avatar mentions the $300 million price tag or Paranormal Activity’s $15,000 cost, and in this case ignoring the budget is ignoring the real impact of the movie. In my opinion, and seemingly the opinion of the Film Junk staff based on this post and the LOTR post, the best movies have the largest impact on filmaking.
Posted by Mike on December 15th, 2009It can be mentioned that a film cost something to make, but shouldn’t impact the viewer’s opinion of the film.
Gross budgets = Aggressive Marketing = More Ticket Sales = Profits or Breaking Even
Posted by Tommy on December 15th, 2009“It can be mentioned that a film cost something to make, but shouldn’t impact the viewer’s opinion of the film.”
Why not? If you are judging the impact of a film as a whole, then you can judge it based on everything! From acting and directing to budget and profitability. If the Blair Witch Project cost $200 million, i doubt the reviews would have been as positive as they were. Just because it doesn’t factor into your list, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t.
Posted by Mike on December 15th, 2009District 9 is not a good movie. It’s easily the most overrated film of the decade. Blomkamp wouldn’t know subtlety if it punched him in the face. Sure, he’s a technically proficient director, but his storytelling skills need work. D9 is a sorry excuse for both an action film and a racial allegory.
Posted by Eric on December 18th, 2009I loved D9 – it was full of life and intense strangeness – I agree that it sits in the aisle next to “Aliens” – i see that some people might not like it – but i dug its dark humor and intense splattertastic fun. a no holds barred champion.
Posted by bob on December 29th, 2009Leave a Reply