Visual masterwork

Rating: 9/10 (25 June 2016)

Sci-fi has been in a bit of a rut in Hollywood so it's refreshing to see this South African take on the genre. Here, aliens are subject to apartheid and the film's "hero" is a guy committed to driving them away from mankind. The lead character is one of my biggest problems with the film. He's a jerk, and his redemption comes way too late in the proceedings. It should have come after his first escape, but even at the climax he's still acting like a jerk. The actor's fine, it's just the horrible character we're saddled with that rankles me.
Still, the film's look and polish is spot on. It's done up to look low budget, with hand cameras and the like, and this makes the presence of the aliens all the more remarkable. Truly, these are the best CGI creations I've ever seen. They live and breath on the screen in a way that surpasses even Gollum and the lead alien guy is my favourite character in the film.
Things begin quite slowly but pick up once the main character is exposed to some alien fluid. From there on in there are references to Cronenberg's THE FLY and other films but DISTRICT 9 retains its own individuality and flavour. There are some big, brutal battle scenes which are a lot of fun and an impressive military climax in which all manner of robots and weapons are used to destroy humans, vehicles and buildings. By the end, I was thoroughly entertained by the film – especially as it was the first blu-ray disc I watched on my new player.