by Marco Fiori

Created on: September 05, 2009   Last Updated: September 06, 2009

District 9 plays around with a host of social issues that have troubled mankind through the twentieth / twenty-first centuries. There is commentary on segregation, ethics within multinational companies, and interspecies relations. Wait? What? Throughout your viewing of District 9, you will have to take a step back and try to convince yourself that what you are watching is not actually occurring. Peter Jackson's protege, Blomkamp has managed to make the science-fiction / alien flick feel believable.

The film's compelling, engaging and quite often, brilliantly realistic. This is down to District 9's presentation. The movie deals with an alien race, derogatorily known as 'Prawns' due to their similarity to the species, whose space craft came to a stop above South African city, Johannesburg. Instead of Independence Day or Close Encounters, District 9 shows how life would be if humanitarian aid was given and an attempt to co-exist occurred. Obviously, difficulties manage to arise and through a pseudo-documentary style, we see how the alien race is restricted to slum District 9.

MNU, the multination tasked with evicting the shanty town to heavily militarised concentration camp District 10, then takes over the show. We follow the film's protagonist, everyman Wilkus Van Der Merwe (Copley) who is charge of the operation. We are treated to a gritty affair where crime, poverty, extortion and arms-dealing all takes place within the confines of District 9. You feel as though you're watching a real documentary on The History Channel.

It's something that is helped along by the strong cast. Accompanied by an intelligent script, the group of unknown actors / actresses revel in their roles. Dialogue is sharp and the plot, even with some minor holes, manages to be as competent as any rival blockbuster. Even when District 9 makes the transition to full blown action movie, the narrative is on equal footing with the opening twenty five minutes.

Saying that, the latter half of District 9 feels like a completely different cinematic experience. Compared to most summer movies, it only had a paltry $30 million assigned to it and it has succeeded in producing some of the best special effects you will ever see. They are utterly convincing - the aliens are a particular highlight, as the digital animators eek out sympathy for creatures that don't even exist. Any visual inaccuracies are hidden by the shaky handy-cam cinematography. It's a visceral feast of explosions, humans being literally blown up and stunning shots of the alien mothership against the supremely urban backdrop of Johannesburg.

Go see District 9 now. You will not be disappointed - I guarantee it. 4/5.

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