Rent District 9 (2009)

UNUSUAL SCI-FICTION...EXCELLENT - District 9 review by AM

An emotive and engaging story line with awesome special effects and believable performances from the unknown cast make this unusual movie 'a must see'...not only for science-fiction fans.

Believe the hype.....highly recommended.

Could do better - District 9 review by CP Customer

The premise is old and tired. So is this film. It dribbles along until the last half hour then seems to pick up the pace to a slow jog. I was dissapointed with this on so many levels. What a waste of time. It is bigotted and racist in my opinion. Save yourself almost 2hrs of boredom.

An intelligent sci-fi story taking place in dysfunctional South Africa - District 9 review by Philip in Paradiso

In 1982, a huge extraterrestrial spaceship has arrived over Johannesburg: it hovers above the South African city. Inside, an investigation team sent by the South African government finds more than a million aliens, who appear to be malnourished and look like very large insects. The government decides to concentrate all the aliens in a camp near the centre of the city, District 9.

After 20 years, the aliens' camp has turned into a slum-like city within the city, with millions of aliens living in it. The locals resent their presence. The aliens are referred to as 'Prawns': they are viewed as filthy and threatening. The government decides that it will be best to move the aliens to another camp, outside the city. A team of government officials will enter the camp and serve eviction notices on the aliens; the officials will be accompanied by heavily armed police officers for their protection.

The film develops from that point onwards. Apart from the broader storyline, with a clear parallel between the treatment of the aliens and that of non-Whites in Apartheid-era South Africa, what is interesting is the central character: Wikus van de Merwe. He is a bumbling, shy, well-meaning and slightly naive bureaucrat at the Department of Alien Affairs, part of the MNU organisation. Wikus is the unlikeliest of heroes and, as the story unfolds, he finds himself at the centre of the unfolding drama. Through Wikus, Mr Ordinary, the story becomes and feels very real: if it can happen to him, it could happen to anyone.

The movie is entertaining and full of suspense but it also asks deeper questions relating to the human condition: who is a human being and who is not; are the aliens like us in some ways, despite their off-putting, insectoid appearance; and what of their treatment at the hands of the South African authorities? Are the aliens just monsters from outer space, and can we be confident that we, humans, are civilised and reasonable? Although those questions are implicitly posed, the film never lectures you and is well constructed from start to finish. A must-see for anyone who appreciates science-fiction films.

Gritty, Super Inventive, then runs out of Ideas - District 9 review by griggs

District 9 kicks off with a bang—fun, gritty, and super inventive, like Starship Troopers meets The Fly. It’s made with love for those influences, almost like a tribute, and that energy shines early on. Sharlto Copley is excellent—awkward, believable, and increasingly unhinged—and Neill Blomkamp’s direction is sharp, especially in the mockumentary-style opening. With some of the production touches, you can feel Peter Jackson’s backing too.

But somewhere around the halfway mark, it loses its grip. What starts as a clever allegory for apartheid and xenophobia kind of forgets its own message in favour of action and CGI chaos. It ends on a strong note with an unmistakable anti-capitalist sting, but you’re left wishing it had stuck the landing a bit more. Still, it's worth a watch.

Still good after all these years - District 9 review by RD

I saw this in the cinema on release and loved it.

10+ years later on 4K it is definitely worth a revisit.

'Don't point, those bloody tentacles, at me!' xD

cant wait for the sequel - District 9 review by CP Customer

wow what a aurprise fil. not what I expected-funny,great fx and some cool acting by the lead chahracter. Watched this with the family-the laguague was a bit strong but the action and the emotion of the film were surprisingly good. Is ther a follow up........I hope so! Well done Neil B- agret movie

Wonderfully Original SciFi - District 9 review by GI

Brash, audacious, highly original and a confident directorial debut from Neill Blomkamp. This darkly funny science fiction film, with it's obvious allegory to apartheid, isn't meant to be taken too seriously, it's far to gut wrenchingly violent and gory for that but it is a film that is clever and very entertaining. The film begins some twenty to thirty years after a gigantic spaceship, more or less derelict, arrived and positioned itself over Johannesburg. Inside were found a large number of malnourished aliens that have an insectoid appearance. At first welcomed they have now become unpopular and are forced to live in a shanty town called District 9. Now derogatorily called 'prawns' the aliens are overseen by a shady company and are to be relocated away from the city in a new township. Wickus (Shallot Copley), a hapless bureaucrat for the company, is tasked with organising the aliens eviction and relocation. During the operation he inadvertently becomes exposed to an alien fluid and his whole life is affected. Told in a mockumentary style and showing the aliens living habits as completely different to humans Blomkamp creates a grungy image of an alien visitation and completely different to something like Close Encounters of The Third Kind (1977). The focus is on the human attempts at exploitation, in this case alien weaponry. Copley, in his first film role, is the character who starts as a typical cynic and condescending to the intelligent aliens but by the turn of events comes to understand them. In many ways he's a comic version of John Dunbar. With it's exploding bodies, cannabilism, and gritty gunfights this is a film that really rocks and it remains Blomkamp's finest film to date.