A fresh, non-sentimental take on a stock story

Rating: 10/10 (1 May 2012)

District 9 is a gem... a very fresh, believable take on a stock story.
Let me get all the other praise done before I delve deeper into that.
The actors - though all unknown on the international scene - make fantastic characters. Especially Sharlto Copley manage to make a perfect portrayal of the bumbling van de Merwe, thrown into this nightmare that completely upends his life. From start to finish he delivers this anti- hero without making him into something else.
The CGI is very low key and is not made to dazzle and amaze, but rather used effectively as a tool to make the aliens 100% believable. The blending of reality and sci-fi is completely seamless. Hollywood: take note. This is how you do it.
The plot develops in a gripping manner... grabbing hold of you from the start and only occasionally letting go of your neck enough for you to breathe before turning up the pressure again.
As I said, this is a stock story: the unwitting naive handyman sent in to do the dirty-work of others'. But being exposed to the brutality of it all, he switches sides. We have seen it in Avatar, Ferngully.. dozens of other movies. But District 9 has its own take on it and gives it a proper treatment. You don't see it coming... at least not the way it eventually happens.
You don't really sympathize with the aliens. They are ugly... repulsive even. They live is squalor and filth and you just want to leave as soon as you can. Their manners are crude, disgusting... there's nothing to like about them. You become one of the oppressors. And that makes the transition so much more effective.
Above all you do not get a wishy-washy, sugary sweet no-brainer moral choice offered to you with a smile on a silver platter. It's not a matter of choosing between the beautiful sensual humanoids who love in harmony and peace in an enchanted forest one one hand, and the ugly greedy humans on the other... no. You get a gun to your head and is forced down the path. In District 9, the 'choice' is a brutal fight for survival. And not everything turns out beautiful and good for everyone at the end. The real evil doesn't get their just desserts... the oppressed ones aren't embraced with open loving arms... and the hero... well... see for yourself.
District 9 is believable, masterfully made, brilliantly acted and very suspenseful. Don't miss it.