District 9 delivers - is sci-fi back?

Rating: 9/10 (5 October 2009)

District 9 is a movie set in Johannesburg, South Africa. The well known plot of the stranded extra-terrestrials being on the receiving end of apartheid and hatred, starts off this science fiction with excellent originality - and develops from there.
The main premise is that the aliens' learned and scientists, have died off due to unknown reasons. This leaves mostly the "worker class" of the aliens, an aggressive, stupid, egoistical breed. The animal-like behavior of these "drones" seems the main driving force for the lack of tolerance between humans and aliens.
Now for a little bit of criticism: I think the premise of this conflict between humans and aliens, should be explained more thoroughly. We don't really get any proper explanation for why humanity falls into the Nazi / apartheid trap AGAIN.
First off, we know that a million sociologists, historians and activists would be standing in line to protest this familiar genocidal scenario.
Secondly, later in the movie, Wikus - the main character - in a pressured moment, claims he "always considered the 'prawns' to be intelligent", revealing some of the prejudice against the aliens. This prejudice seems unrealistic. The aliens have a spacecraft that has hovered over Johannesburg for 20 years, without external power. They have advanced weaponry. Obviously, they have potential for high intelligence.
Anyway, I just had to get that off my chest, due to how excellent the rest of the movie is. The thing is, basically, this movie delivers. And not where you expect it to. It starts off as a documentary, and without revealing too much, it morphs through many other genres during the film. Throughout, it captivated me. I wasn't bored at any point.
Like other people have mentioned, there are no known actors - excellent. I am fed up with familiar faces. The setting is completely new - excellent. I am also, like many others, fed up with action movies set in the US. (Producers should take notice: Movies that dare to challenge the Hollywood setting, often do well!)
This movie was all over an excellent cinema experience, it captivated me through it's originality and drive. The inspired story reminded me of the intellectual science fiction short stories from the early 1900s. Peter Jackson is a brilliant producer, and Neill Blomkamp is an excellent writer/director. This bodes well for the future.