Aliens have entered the Earth’s atmosphere and have landed above Johannesburg in South Africa. Malnourished and devoid of resources, the humans decide to help them out and set up a camp labelled District 9.

The movie is set twenty years after the aliens have landed. Due to physical and lifestyle differences, the humans in Johannesburg become less acceptable of having the aliens as their neighbours. Rumours about aliens start to go around.  The lives of the aliens get associated with that of lower value and class. District 9 becomes a refugee camp which lacks hygiene and bare necessities. Influenced by the apartheid, the movie carries a strong message about segregation and dehumanizing a race that ultimately leads to false justification of abuse.

The movie is divided into two distinct parts. The first part acts like a documentary that gives an introduction and then follows MNU (the corporation responsible for alien and human relations) in handing out eviction notices to the aliens to move them out to a distant settlement. The strength of the message in the movie comes through as it displays even the humans with good intentions abusing the aliens without realizing it.

The movie direction is superb and is backed with a strong script. The scenes will constantly keep you on the edge of your seat curious to see what comes next. The second part of the movie lets go of the documentary feel and turns into a great action thriller. Even in the midst of action and thrills, the movie maintains its sense of humour, romance and strong messages of human greed. This is a lot due to the strong acting performance by Sharlto Copely, a performance that should be worthy of an Oscar nomination.

Unlike most Hollywood movies, the aliens in this movie are shown to be multi-dimensional and therefore have a much more realistic feel to them. The sense of realism is boosted by the exceptional use of special effects. The aliens mingle amongst the humans so well it is easy to forget that it is not real. That being said, similar to other sci-fi movies, there are elements in this film that do not make logical sense. Fortunately these can be overlooked.

The Final Word: The movie carries a strong message and due to its pace is also a very entertaining thriller. Marked with great special effects and a strong acting performance, this is easily the best movie of the summer.