ComplainerMan

So is Koobus. So is Wikus’s boss. So is the boss of the Nigerian gang. Long story short, everyone in the movie is a dick aside from Christopher Johnson and his little alien kid, and nearly everyone is trying to kill Wikus. It’s not really hard to tell why, but they’re still put in a very negative light for attempting to do so.

Wikus works for the Multi National Union (MNU) and is assigned to evict aliens from their homes in a Johannesburg slum in order to relocate them to a “better” camp. The less intelligent worker aliens, or prawns, as they’re referred to, landed a mothership on Earth (South Africa specifically) around 28 years before the film takes place, and their emergence was far from glorious. The millions of prawns were malnourished and desperate, without any organizational ability whatsoever. Even in a makeshift town slum, their presence grew to be hated by many. Thus, they are to be moved far away from Johannesburg into a small concentration camp-esque setting. Wikus tries to do this. It doesn’t go so well.

Christopher Johnson and his son are attempting to gather enough of the alien liquid fuel in order to start the command module of their hidden ship up and return to the mothership, at which point, they would return home. Wikus searches Christopher Johnson’s house and find the liquid, and he is subsequently exposed to it. Over time, he starts to show serious signs of mutation, as if he is changing into one of the prawns. And guess what? He was.

As it turns out, MNU is also an alien weapons and genetics research organization, and that puts Wikus in their crosshairs. They take him underground and attempt to rip him apart for science, only for him to escape into District 9. The media and military hunt for Wikus then begins, forcing him to hide out in Christopher Johnson’s house. They collaborate and try to retake the alien liquid that was confiscated by Wikus himself by purchasing alien weaponry from the Nigerians and raiding the MNU. It goes extremely well, except when Koobus, the gun-crazy military guy who likes killing people and is in general a terrible person, gathers his soldiers and brings the fight to Wikus yet again.

Actually, you know what? Screw the linear plot description. This is pretty much all you really need. I’ll now talk about why Wikus is a dick:

• Reason 1: During the eviction operation, he has a lot of prawns killed.
• Reason 2: He threatens to take Christopher Johnson’s child if he doesn’t agree to the illegal eviction.
• Reason 3: He only helps Christopher Johnson because he can be turned human again if he gets the alien liquid.
• Reason 4: Prawns are used as medical experiments and Wikus is apathetic.
• Reason 5: Christopher Johnson tells him he has to wait three years to be cured, Wikus knocks him unconscious and leaves him to the MNU soldiers.
• Reason 6: When Wikus procures the incredibly powerful prawn battlesuit, he lets the MNU soldiers keep Christopher Johnson in exchange for his freedom, even though they still try to kill him.
• Reason 7: He makes all these horrible decisions in front of Christopher Johnson’s child.

It’s a good movie. See it, get mad at all the assholes, then get happy when they all die. Woo! Yeah! Revenge scenes! The special effects are fantastic too. Happy viewing!