'District 9' Film Review

What happens when you get a sci-fi film that goes beyond your average check-your-brain-at-the-door feel? You get a very intense, intriguing and entertaining film like 'District 9.' Produced by Peter Jackson ('Lord of the Rings') and directed by newcomer Neil Blomkamp, with unknown South African actor Sharlito Copley in the lead, this suspenseful and gripping tale about aliens being hunted is one of the best sci-fi films of late.

Set in Johannesburg, the film takes a documentary approach initially, explaining how 20 years ago a spaceship landed atop the country with no movement of any sort. When the military decided to go inside, they found millions of malnourished aliens, called "Prawns," and brought them down to an area known as District 9.

Over the years, citizens of Johannesburg were no longer in fear of the aliens, but resented the government spending tons of money on the retention and research of these creatures. When the government finally hears the pleas of its constituents to remove the Prawns away from the country, Multinational United (MNU) bureaucrat Wikus Van De Merwe is placed in charge of the extraction. MNU is the private company assigned to control the population of District 9. A company man so charged, Wikus is pleased that his father-in-law put him in such a high position. While on his mission, many of the Prawns are either killed for resisting eviction or tortured. When he accidentally gets infected by a Prawn device, Wilkus' physical appearance starts to change, and he becomes one of the hunted.

With the help of another Prawn, named Christopher Johnson, Wikus must use all he has to stay alive before he becomes a specimen for the research team.

'District 9' could have been your average clichéd film. Films like 'Enemy Mine' and 'The Day The Earth Stood Still' come to mind, along with TV series such as 'V', 'Alien Nation' and 'Battlestar Galactica.' This is not another version of 'Starship Trooper.' What Jackson and Blomkamp have done is inject substance and style in almost a perfect synergy. Not only is the story line as relevant to today's racial tensions in some countries, but the CGI effects aren't overboard.

As gory as the film gets toward the end, it's the story that's keeps you from closing your eyes. You start to care about both human and aliens and how this will play out. While many of the characters go unnoticed, it's Wikus who is the focal point of the film. Wikus is a man who had no regard for the creatures initially but ends up identifying with their plight. Overall, 'District 9' is a uniquely moving, heartfelt and provocative drama that stays with you after you've left the theater.