Martians Go Home (Maybe)

Rating: 8/10 (30 August 2009)

The first inclination of Film Criticism 101 would be to hail "District 9" as a genre-bending sci-fi thriller that fuses very real aspects of life in the post-9/11 world with extraterrestrial visitors standing in for illegal immigrants (one character even alludes to "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" near the beginning). Had the aliens landed in New York City, the metaphor would be clear as day; but these crustacean-like beings (who cohabitate in the titular walled-in ghetto) are stranded in Johannesburg, treated like literal 'aliens' over the course of two decades. Amid alien/human riots, theft, and overall animosity, the government intervenes to relocate the beings to an isolated tent community. The relocation goes less than smoothly, when Wikus Van De Merwe (Sharlto Copley) stumbles across some contraband that eventually begins his metamorphosis into one of the alien beings (the unfolding irony of his predicament is obvious, but still very well-played). The political agenda of "District 9" is strong, but at its core, this is a film about humanity, the destruction left in its wake, and its potential for redemption. Director Neill Blomkamp (who co-wrote with Terri Tatchell) stages the action like an embedded cameraman in a war zone; there is an up-close, you-are-there feel to these gritty, violent sequences. The special effects are nothing short of stunning (the CG aliens are as good as they come). And the notion of staging "District 9" as a straight drama (littered with neat gizmos and wild action) instead of a winking parody or heavy-handed satire gives it a weight that has been lacking in similar films with socio-political agendas--in the sea of mediocrity that is Summer 2009, this is an eye-opening gift.
7.5 out of 10