Not much subtlety, but lots of style

Rating: 9/10 (26 December 2009)

All I knew about District 9 going in was that the shaky camera made some people ill and it was an allegory about racism. I did not realize how exciting and entertaining the film was.
District 9 is unusual in its approach to special effects. Most sci-fi films look very slick and really show off, but its docu-drama, handicam look is very different, and lends a certain sense of realism to the aliens and the technology. The aliens themselves are really impressive creations.
The story is a variation on the everyman-caught-up-in-extraordinary-circumstances trope. Its most interesting aspect is that while everymen in movies tend to be a little better than the average man, District 9's protagonist is neither especially nice nor especially smart, and is a rather pathetic specimen. The story itself isn't especially surprising or original, but it's done well and keeps moving.
The allegory is anything but subtle, but the movie certainly makes its point, and does so fairly quickly to leave lots of room for blowing up stuff.
I feel there are a few plot holes that I would like filled, but all-in-all this is a very entertaining, well-filmed movie.