Budget: 30 million

Rating: 8/10 (16 August 2009)

I watched the film thinking how on the face of this planet could the director and producer only used 30 million to create this film and still create wonderful visual effects. Maybe it is the absence of big name actors. Maybe Peter Jackson knew people who can charge less money. No, it is not that; it was creativeness that made the movie so cheap and I put Einstein on the spotlight with his famous quote, "Imagination is more important than knowledge." And if you are confused how that can be, than watch District 9 and you will find out.
The basis of the film is that twenty years ago, an alien ship landed in the middle of South Africa and had alien refugees in the ship. The government was kind enough to bring these aliens into a refugee camp and the government believed that soon, the aliens will fix the ship and be able to get out of Earth. But after twenty years, nothing happens except the aliens start acting up and riot, wanting to go back home. So the MNU (Multi-National United) decide to take care of the aliens and throw them into an area called District 9. They not only abuse the aliens, but also attempt to learn about their arsenal and technology. Of course, the aliens refuse to give it up. So a brave, yet moronic man named Wilkus van der Mwere who is part of the of the MNU goes out to District 9...
And I have to stop there because a true experience of the film is to watch the movie without knowing anymore than what I said.
The first act of the film was in a documentary format which made this alien concentration life seem more realistic to a human perspective. What really made me proud was to see new time director, Neill Blomkamp, use some documentary film making in this movie because topics such as alien invasions and documentaries were never melded together before like it is shown in this movie. The director created a movie that not only stuck to what the audience likes to see on the big screen, but also to experiment and go a bit progressive into the idea of the science fiction genre such as a documentary filming in the first act.
The visuals effects were fantastic, which is not surprising considering Peter Jackson produced the film who is known for visual movies such as Lord of the Rings and the King Kong remake. The aliens looked realistic, the weapon firing were outstanding and the cinematography was another great highlight. Every bit of the 3M budget was obviously for the special effects, and it was used very well. Also, the story line was well developed and because it was complex, and it really got the audience and I engaged in what was going on. The story line also connected with real-life issues such as racism, apartheid, or xenophobia which I believe should be the basis for good science-fiction movies, a connection to human flaws and set in a grungy future of the Earth.
District 9 is what we would call "The Matrix" ten years ago, "Terminator" twenty years ago, "Alien" thirty years ago, and "2001: A Space Odyssey" forty years ago. A science-fiction action film that used progressive and advanced camera styles and also went above and beyond into the world of the science fiction genre. And who better to be connected to the next movie that would do this visual effects revolution than Peter Jackson/Neil Blomkamp. I hope this team will perform another spectacular science fiction opus in the near future and Neil Blomkamp has said that he will revisit the District 9 world someday.
The only thing is that if you do not appreciate science-fiction, then this is not the movie for you. The movie is for serious science-fiction lovers like me. Only for viewers who enjoyed Alien, Terminator, The Thing, and all of the science-fiction classics. This movie will become a classic many years from now. You have to watch this movie on the big screen because it was meant for the big screen. I do not know why the movie was not in an IMAX format because that would have upped the ante even more. The film is going to lend itself to a sequel and hopefully the sequel will be just as I hope it will be. Well directed, well produced, well filmed, kick-ass, and in IMAX (hopefully).