Christopher Johnson? Is That Your Boy?

I recently saw District 9 and enjoyed it thoroughly. If ever there was a movie that could live as a badass video game franchise this is it (my apologies to Caligula). From the various weapons and skill classes to vehicles and potential for different environments, on Earth and otherwise, I felt this is a game I need to play!

But back to the film, which I thought was amazing. Technically it's brilliant. Some movies know exactly how to handle CG effects and some movies don't have a clue (see G.I. Joe). With the improvement of motion tracking software the shaky cam has entered the CG world with very impressive results. Often times a shot is deliberately presenting exactly what the graphics department has done in a way they would not have framed it had it been a real actor. In District 9 we get none of that. Prawns populate the corners of the frame, scurry about and are never on display as a pat on the directors back. This world looks real. The weapons look real and their results look frighteningly real. The visual effects gave me the sort of visceral (yeah Ricky, you read the word "visceral" today) reaction I only seem to find in non-Hollywood extravaganza's (see The Host), fan films (remember Troops?) or mystery films which are becoming so advanced these days they can no longer be categorized as such.

It makes me wonder how big budget movies can get it so wrong. With a lot of money can sometimes come complacency. It strikes me that the crew of a film like District 9 might have more of a connection to the material than the group working on Spiderman 3. Sure, they're professionals and they're getting paid, but in the end, it's Spiderman that's up on that screen...not their hard work. When working on a film like District 9, perhaps they're more inclined to really push their creative and artistic limits. Perhaps so they can get a fat-cat job on a Spiderman 3, take long lunches and phone it in...right Brett?

District 9 had a budget of $30 million dollars. G.I. Joe had a budget of $170 million. Transformers 2 had a budget of $200 million. Spiderman 3 had a budget of $258 million! Caligula's budget was $22 million...22 million? Really Caligula? In the long run, which one of these films will be remembered (sans Caligula of course)? District 9. Without a doubt. The film proves that creativity and intelligence trumps formula and boat loads of cash.

Of course we all fear that District 10 will have a budget of $300 million dollars, go to the "prawns" homeworld and be all kinds of suck. I'm hoping that the people involved are smart enough not to do that (see Episodes I, II and III).

Now, onto my guy, Christopher Johnson. What an interesting character. It's a clever trick to give him a son. He's instantly humanized. I read on the internets that some are speculating that perhaps Christopher was at one time a human. That he has already undergone the transformation Wikus is experiencing. I don't know about that. First...he's got an alien son. Second, he's extremely loyal to his "people". He knows about his homeworld and is very proficient at the technology. So, sorry, but it's an interesting thought. Moving on, the character of Christopher Johnson is likeable in the mythology because it shows that the prawns have lower intellegent members and higher intelligent members as well. It should come as no surprise that a species that can create a vehicle like the space craft is not a dumb species. Why they didn't land in Vegas though I'll never know. And those weapons. Yowza. No thanks. Keep that away from me. The last thing I want is for the military to get their hands on those. Again though, awesome video game weapons. So, Christopher, who spent twenty years looking for some fluid he didn't seem all that excited to find, father of a little prawn, ally to a particularly unfortunate individual and potential savior (Christ-opher?) of his race...is that your boy?

Shameless plug: Here's Christopher Johnson's Facebook fan page...holding steady with 2 fans at the time of this post! Get on that!

And for fun, here's the original short film District 9 by Neill Blomkamp. Good stuff, along with some other things.



The Host Trailer:



Troops:



And of course...I give you Caligula: