One of the better Sci-Fi Movies lately

Rating: 7/10 (5 September 2009)

District 9 is the story of what happens when aliens come to South Africa and become refugees. The story picks up 20 years after the aliens have arrived on Earth and the movie can be divided into two sections. The first section is shot like a documentary, which is where we are given all the background information we need to understand the story. The second half of the movie is more like your typical Action Sci-Fi movie with documentary scenes laced into the action.
Over all the film aspires to do two things. One is to comment on how man kind is capable of severely inhumane treatment of others. The aliens are used in the film to reflect the way that Apartheid effected South Africa, and on a larger scale how segregation and ignorance is practiced by man on a wide scale. The other thing that appears to be what they wanted to do was to show off their skills with special effects. This film has some of the best CGI I've seen in years! It is seamless how it blends images created on a computer and real life. This brings me to my first of three problems with the movie. There was more gore in this movie than in most Sci-Fi movies. Now, I'm not squeamish about gore one bit, but there was no reason for it in the movie. The only purpose it served was to show off their skills with CGI. My second problem with the movie was that while he kind of is a bumbling corporate drone, Wikus is not a character you care about. He's constantly abusive to the aliens in the film, and never is motivated by anything but his own selfishness until the very end of the movie. Now, I didn't hate Wikus, but I didn't really feel a deep connection to the character or his plight. The third problem was that the movie never fulfills it's goal from the beginning of the movie to talk about social issues like Apartheid, and instead switches tracks into an Action movie.
In the end District 9 is entertaining and probably one of the better Sci-Fi films to come out recently. However, there are a few problems within the film that weaken its overall impact. The idea of the film and the way it was made is excellently done, but that fails to push the movie over the edge. It's absolutely one of the better films to come out this summer, and worth a look, but be prepared because it's not what you would expect. After all, there are a lot of secrets in District 9.
Review Written by Josh for http://www.overcranked.net Visit us for more movie and video game reviews!