Visually stunning by-the-numbers science-fiction-as-social-commentary.

Rating: 6/10 (5 December 2011)

District 9 is very much in the tradition of what kept Star Trek from being an obscure, short-lived sixties television series ? discussing incendiary social issues in the context of fantastical alien stories. Here space aliens stranded on earth are saddled with derogatory nicknames, penned onto scrub land and harassed by the government. It could also be the story of native Americans, Palestinians, Eastern Europeans during World War II, Australian aborigines among many, many others. Given the South African setting the most specific reference is to Apartheid and the film must have particular emotional resonance in that country as well as many others on the African continent subjected to colonialism. Beyond being a technical marvel (somehow the movies solves the common problem of real actors not appearing to actually be looking at the CGI creatures when they share scenes) the film captures the techniques of oppression with great fidelity. The government?s representative trying to move the aliens, Wikus, from their squalid encampment to something more like a concentration camp (as he later admits) provides a running narrative for the press explaining what may seem like oppression and harassment is really in their best interests. He uses the threat of taking away their children to gain their compliance in the context of ?only doing what is best for the children?. Inevitably, Wikus is infected with alien genetic material and begins a transformation so that he can eventually come to understand things from their perspective. Here the visuals become less impressive as Wikus follows the physical transform patter of the original ?The Fly? (one arms turns alien first) and the remake of ?The Fly? (his fingernails start to fall off and he starts eating unpleasant things). As you realize from early in the film he winds up finding on the alien?s side. This predictable story line (shared by Disney?s ?Pocahontas?, James Cameron?s ?Avatar?, Kevin Costner?s ?Dances With Wolves? among many others) is one of the film?s weaker points as is a lack of characters that we can care about (the only sympathetic characters are aliens who are too, well, alien, to gain much audience sympathy). See it for the movie-making skill but not so much for the story.