Unique story, AWESOME frags, regular actors, chunks of other movies = One of a kind film

Rating: 9/10 (20 August 2009)

So I am going to say what a lot of other people have said about this movie without revealing too much of the plot or fawning over how much I liked this movie. Yes, Billy, it is a unique story and nothing like I've seen ever before. I also have to dispel the whole "racism" thing that many have said is in this movie, that's total pap. I suppose if you REALLY wanted to stretch it, some of the signs in the movie that say "Humans Only" or that have the alien with the circle-and-slash (/) "No" marked through them, then it's an allusion to the "Whites Only" of the south in the KKK days. MAYBE I can see that. In any case, that's within the 1st 5 minutes of the movie and is more a visual plot device and NOTHING MORE. Sorry, no Billy Bob rednecks running around with nooses doing lynchings. The growing tensions between the Prawns and the people of Johannesburg causes riots and could be akin to the race riots of the 1960s. Allegory, yes. Overt racism? Come on, give me a break.
I feel that this movie is an amalgam of a lot of movies that I've seen in the past with elements taken out of them and mashed up to make this movie. Remember Alien Nation from the 80s? A bunch of Aliens show up on earth with nowhere to go and nothing to do, they integrate into society but soon enough decline into the same sad state as regular humanity? I saw a smattering of that movie here along with the desperate, hardscrabble world of (insert your post-apocalypse movie here), the non-stop sense of what-the-heck-is-going-on from a movie like Cloverfield, and a bit of Bizarro-world mixed in with a Kafkaesque piece of Clock World Orange's character Alex. Maybe an anti-Alex? I'm also thinking a pinch of Enemy Mine plot elements thrown in for those astute enough to pick them out as the story progresses into the 2nd half of the movie. I see pieces and elements of ALL these movies in there.
The movie opens up with the main character talking to the viewer and is this normal work-a-day guy from MNU (Multi-National United) who's getting a promotion to lead the Prawns to a new settlement away from Johannesburg's "District 9" because of the social tensions. Tasked with the huge job of transplanting and eviction (Trail of Tears anyone?), our main character finds it easier said than done and gets massive resistance from the Prawns and crushing pressure from the government, military, MNU, and those with other hidden agendas (MNU). The plot just takes off from there and I won't reveal any more as you should see it for yourself.
What makes this movie work and work well is that it's presented in the same continuous-shot manner as movies like 28 Days Later, Cloverfield, and Blair Witch without intentional editing or shots being contrived. While some may argue it doesn't work well for those other movies, this movie presents itself almost as an unedited documentary on the attempt to move the Prawns out of District 9 and how it doesn't goes as planned. Don't take that to mean that this movie is boring, it's not.
I also have to agree with what some others have said about the CG in this movie. It is not intrusive, mechanical, or in any way two dimensional. The alien characters are very believable and the composition always blends in well with the movie. It's not actors standing in front of a green-screen talking to dead air and the aliens are pasted in later in post-production. It is entirely fluid. I almost wonder if the fact that they used regular actors is why this movie and CG aliens was pulled off with such ease. Not gratuitous, just well executed. Of all the junk that came out this summer, this one was a sleeper. I loved it. Whether it qualifies as Sci-Fi will be up to others to debate. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, when the bad guys get it with the alien guns: KABOOM! FRAG! FRAG! FRAG! It was worth it alone for those scenes.