28 Years ago, Aliens made contact with earth, landing a ship over South Africa. They are now being held in District 9, a heavily guarded area, that has gone to the slums with Gangs taking over and constant riots accross the city. Now, the government has given in andis moving the aliens, known by the derogitory termPrawns for their appearance, to District 10. Wikus van de Merwe (Sharlto Copley) is incharge of this ordeal, and after trying to hand out eviction forms for a group of Prawns, is infected and doomed to become one of them. Hunted for his ability to use the Prawns high tech weaponary by the government, he is forced to live in the slums of District 9. Rookie Director Neill Blomkamp has crafted an incredibally good story. Not only does it have an intriguing plot, it is also delivered with amazing skill. Blomkamp has shot the film incredibally realistically, with the first part of the film being directed in documentary form then moving to regular shooting. District 9's plot is also filled with morals, some to do with racism and immigration, and others simplysly nods to racism of the past. It looks amazing aswell, a surprise considering the budget was a low-ish $30 million.
The creation of the Aliens/Prawns on screen is amazing, much in the sense of the original Transformers. While you know the Robots in Transformers arent real, they look damn close to it. The special effects stand out, but arent made to be a giant spectacal either. The Prawns hold a sense of charm and individualism about them as they wear scavenged clothes from the dump of District 9. The characters are also incredibally well crafted and brutally honest to, something not usually seen in a sci-fi/action movie. The acting matches this too, with amazing performamces by the whole cast (infact, all are rookies. Sharlto Copley has never even starred on a tv show, let alone a feature film. The South African setting adds to the realism of the whole movie, as it doesnt stick to the traditionalidea seen in other movies, "Interesting things only happen in America". This is heightened by the fact that aliens landing on earth is probably one of the biggest things that could happen on earth.
Everything about District 9 is close to perfect, with the well crafted characters, great acting, amazing special effects and an outstanding story. To be honest, my only complaint is that there is a heavy use of swear words in almost every sentence. However, this isnt a big deal, similiar to texture pop in in a game. District 9 is an amazing film, and probably the only one that manages to perfectly combine Action and Story so that everyone should be satisfied. If the Halo Movie is ever put back in development, please let Niell Blomkamp direct it, he wont dissapoint.
Overall : 4.5/5 Stars.