What a massive bunch of idiots the human race remains...

Rating: 10/10 (4 September 2009)

Whether it was the general standard of films out this summer, District 9 stunned me into uninterrupted silence, setting my brain constantly thinking in ways that very few films this long can do. Seeing this with friends, I initially thought I'd been invited to another Transformers 2, a mess of a film with little plot, poor action sequences and self-indulgent CGI, but when the film commenced with documentary-style footage, something perked me up.
You probably know the premise of the film, otherwise I doubt you'd be reading the review, but it is based on the premise, that in 1982, an alien spaceship ended up hovering over Johannesburg and remained there for nearly 30 years. Meanwhile the inhabitants, aliens, were at first treated nicely, and given homes. Quickly falling to slum-status, MNU, a large munitions corporation attempts to move them to what is essentially a concentration camp, greedily trying to steal their advanced weaponry technology. Put in charge of the operation is Wikus van de Merwe (Sharlto Copley), whose character development becomes an integral part of the film, displaying the selfishness and close-mindedness in all of us, and being someone with whom it's difficult not to relate. Sharlto Copley plays him very well, and it is incredibly refreshing to see such a mature performance from a very unrecognisable face.
It was very difficult when seeing the brief picture of what was essentially a concentration camp not to let the words 'Auschwitz' or 'Holocaust' spring to mind. Being set in South Africa as well, it was easy to be constantly comparing the fear of the aliens, known derogatorily as prawns, to Apartheid. The film made me actually think about what a bunch of idiots the human race remains. The anti-non-human signs displayed everywhere brought to mind the name 'Jim Crow'. Humans very simply acted in the film as they have done through history to that which we don't recognise or that which we fear, which was remarkably believable. It angered me to see the alien species treated with such abhorrence, even when I knew it was fiction.
While a few of my friends sat there laughing at the very good action sequences (understandable - they were well-directed) which nicely took nothing away from the story, it was great to take away a message from the film as well, that meant it seemed a nicely well-rounded film that's hard not to enjoy in some way.