Awesome!

Rating: 10/10 (16 August 2009)

This is the kind of movie that makes me a fan of science fiction. Not the kiddie laser gun shoot up, but a thoughtful film that uses Science Fiction as an allegory to examine the flaws of our own society. This film makes a compelling case against racism and corporatism (the two great evils of our age) without being overly preachy.
The film starts simply enough, that a spaceship filled with a million arthropod aliens called "Prawns" (implying they are bottom feeders) parks over South Africa (of all places) and they are immediately resettled in a place called "District 9", essentially a huge slum. They are taken advantage of by everyone from criminals to a big corporation called MNU.
Enter our hero, a corporate schlep named Wikas. He's put in charge of the relocation plan because his father-in-law runs MNU. He's not meant to be likable. In fact, he is kind of reprehensible in some ways. During the evacuation, he is exposed to an alien mutagen that begins converting him into a prawn.
The kicker is the Evil Corporation (but I'd be repeating myself) figures this genetic modification allows him to operate the alien's advanced weaponry, which they are trying to crack. His father-in-law authorizes his vivisection (and you thought your in-laws were rough!) and he escapes into the alien district. He teams up with one of the smart aliens, who is trying to get the ship to return to their home world.
The nice thing about this movie is (*Spoiler*) everything is not tied up neatly in a bow at the end. Things are left open ended as to the fate of both the aliens and Wikas himself. Also, the interspersed documentary style is quite neat.
See this Movie!