An original, thought-provoking masterpiece

Rating: 9/10 (15 August 2009)

I wasn't expecting a whole lot out of District 9, to be honest. The trailers looked alright, and the premise sounded fascinating, to put it simply. Besides, I've always been interested in what director Neill Blomkamp has been up to, ever since I initially heard about his now long abandoned Halo adaptation. Having just seen the film, though, District 9 is not only perhaps my favorite movie of the year so far (challenged only by Coraline and Up), but one of the greatest films I've ever seen.
Arguably the most surprising thing about this film is its budget; the movie cost approximately $30 million to make, yet looks as though it cost $100 million. The folks at Weta Workshop, as expected, did a truly exceptional job with the animation. All of the aliens (or Prawns) are given so much expressiveness, and in very subtle ways, too. In fact, I often forgot that I was watching a computer-animated character, which I think is the highest compliment that you can give to an animator.
The highlight of this movie, though, is Sharlto Copley's portrayal of our main protagonist, Wikus. Throughout the first 30-45 minutes of the film, he's viewed as a relatively unlikable character, yet becomes increasingly sympathetic as the film continues. It's done so in an extremely compelling, extremely real, way, which is refreshing to see in a film. It's this character and his relationship with the aliens that give these already incredible action sequences (that look as though they were inspired by sections of Halo and Half-Life) some genuine weight. I found myself tearing up a couple of times, actually, fearing for the safety of one of the characters, and rarely does a film manage to get that kind of response out of me.
District 9 is an original, thought-provoking masterpiece that shows how a system can force its citizens to be unwanted, without becoming preachy on the subject. I'll have to see it again, but I think that this film may actually dethrone Coraline (which is virtually tied with Up) as my favorite movie of the year so far.