District 9 does what hasn't been done in a long time. On a relatively meager budget, it manages to pull off a convincing sci-fi/action/morality tale. The film takes place in the present. A large spacecraft has stalled above Johannesburg, South Africa. Aboard were a bunch of sickly aliens who look similar to humanoid craw fish. They are kept in a secured concentration camp-like area called District 9. The area has become a slum and the government decides to evict them all...action ensues in the process.
There is the obvious correlation of this story to South African apartheid, but also a bigger statement on how we treat each other and other living things. Everyone becomes expendable.
The film is presented somewhat in a reality show ala Cops fashion but then morphs into a regular narrative driven film. The movie is cast with unknowns which helps bring you into the story without being distracted by a celebrity face. The CGI aliens are very realistic and also are not a distraction. The pacing is just right as you move through the story in almost real time.
I walked out of this thinking, "this is a great movie!" I think most people would feel the same way. The film is Rated R for the violence and language...think Humans and Aliens...blowing up, literally. (112 minutes)
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