I wasn't expecting this. I kept hearing how awesome this movie is, and in the end, I was confused.

The beginning of the movie was slow and shaky; very cheap-documentary-like. I think that was the point. The introduction to the...
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I wasn't expecting this. I kept hearing how awesome this movie is, and in the end, I was confused.

The beginning of the movie was slow and shaky; very cheap-documentary-like. I think that was the point. The introduction to the situation could have been a bit clearer, though, because it took a long while for the movie to really start moving forward.

The idea itself is a good one: aliens stranded on Earth, living in a slum, eventually despised by humans. They have to be moved, but not all of them want to go. I don't think most of them wanted to be on Earth to begin with.

All in all I don't think there was even that big of an understanding between Wikus Van De Merwe (Sharlto Copley) and the aliens, although he got poisoned by something alien-based and began to turn into one himself. He seemed to be loathing the change, which was a very natural reaction of course, and in a way was a very refreshing thing to see.

The actors in this one were all pretty much unknown to me, but I didn't pay attention to acting all that much. I was too busy to keep up with the plot, which was a bit unclear at times.

A decent movie, but I think it will take a few more watches to determine whether it's a hidden gem - or waste of time.

Went to see this three times in a week that's how much I enjoyed this future classic Sci Fi film

28 years ago, an alien mothership was found hovering over the city of Johannesburg, South Africa. After three months of speculation on the ship, humans move in and cut open the ship, discovering a large group or non-humans, alien like species. In...
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28 years ago, an alien mothership was found hovering over the city of Johannesburg, South Africa. After three months of speculation on the ship, humans move in and cut open the ship, discovering a large group or non-humans, alien like species. In present day time, these aliens, or prawns as the humans refer to them, now live in a large government area called 'District 9'. The District has now turned into a giant slum, where the prawns now have a black market set up with a Nigerian gang. The prawns are held against their will in the District, and live harsh and painful lives. The film mainly focuses on a man named Wikus van de Merwe, who works for a government agency named MNU who research new weapons, and are looking to get their hands on alien technology, which only prawns can control because of their DNA. Wikus is assigned by MNU to lead an operation to evict and relocate the 1.8 million prawns to a newly designed 'District 10', some 200 miles from Johannesburg. While doing this operation, he comes in contact with a black fluid that starts to rapidly transform him into a prawn, giving him a half man/half alien form, and he is soon the most wanted man in the world, since he is the only human capable of controlling the alien weapons and technology. Personally, this was my favorite movie of 2009. The story was top notch, the action was brutal and bloody, the acting from unknown actors was great, and Blomkamp's directing was amazing. It also gave you the feeling that the aliens aren't all the bad ones in this, and that the actual humans were, and the actions of the main protagonist either really made you hate him, or will have you cheering him on in the final act. The film is presented like a documentary, with interviews, videos from News channels, and with video cameras, and truly gives the movie a very realistic feel to it, making it seem like it is actually happening. The only real problem I had with this one was that it ended and left me begging for more, and also the fact that some of the camera shots were shaky and were hard to follow. Anyways, a truly unique movie that shows how good Sci-Fi films are, and should be made. A truly amazing and awe-inspiring film.

5/5 stars.

The sci-fi genere has always been my favorate in movies but it was something that I've been missing for some time in this decade, don't get me wrong there were plenty but not as much as I wanted. This film helped reactivate that genere in full...
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The sci-fi genere has always been my favorate in movies but it was something that I've been missing for some time in this decade, don't get me wrong there were plenty but not as much as I wanted. This film helped reactivate that genere in full power.

This film I think is very good, I love the cinamatography which is in documentry style it's not exactly too speical it's been done in many films and TV shows like "The Office (UK and US versions)", "Paranormal Activity" you name it. But it's done well and very effective, what I saw looked and felt believably real. Also there no shaky cam thankfully well a bit in one moment of the film that gave me nausea but it was very brief.

I love the CGI and the effects with it, the prawn aliens I liked the design of them they looked like a mix of both grasshoper and shrimp. They didn't even look CGI they looked almost like they could be make up and costume but that just goes to show great CGI work when done the right way and for the right reasons. They even handled them right to make us see how humanistic they are and feel sympathy.
But my favorate was the Prawn mecha which was similar to the power loader in "Aliens" and just seeing how it worked was awdsome I wanted to drive one and just gave me faith that a live action film of the animated series "EXO Squad" or any other anime shows that feature mecha like "Gundam Wing" could be made.

There is some action and gore effects which are great, my favorate is near the end which has one of my favorate shoot outs, Wilkus using the prawn mecha and just blowing the crap out of the MNU corporate scum suckers. Heads explode, bodies explode, blood may'be a few body parts fly different directions; gory but cool.

I like the character Wilkus (Sharlto Copley) whom uncanily looks like actor/comidian Steve Carell, he's a protagonist I actually feel a strong sense of sympathy for. When we first meet he's kinda an idiot his character is almost similar to Steve Carell's character Michael Scott from "The Office (US version)" a basic cog in the machine, uncool (if you also count what he's wearing)his ignorance can be both funny but at the same time cringe inducing as we see how narrow his knowlege and views of the Prawns are. We feel sympathy for him because he has humanity, he has a personal life we get to know and does have a bright peronality where he never wanted to harm anyone and just someone I could be friends with and you feel bad when he's treated like crap for what is happening to him.
Which makes us all the more route for the guy to win.

But most of all this film really mean spirted saturizes and dives deeply into some thoughful/current issues. Like racism, imagration, authority abuse, capitalism, monopolization, imperialism, and privatization of services and business. The Multi-National United (MNU) corporation are the real bad guys of the film. Their similar to the corporation in the film "Robocop" Omni Consumer Products (OCP). We see the extent of the corporations evil not just to the Prawns but the humans as well, if you notice their label is practially on most of their products, stores and restaurants. It just goes to show that there is no free business anymore, no independant coporation is safe. And also have done some amoral things like manipulating the truth to the public to cover their tracks, and williness to endanger lives just to make a fast profit.

District 9 is a district you will want to visit.