District 9

District 9 is for every person who walks out of the cineplex complaining that they want to see something different and original. That doesn't mean it is awesome, but it is different.

In a faux documentary style, writer/director Neil Blomkamp and co-writer Terri Tatchell tell the story of a mysterious alien spaceship which started hovering above the city of Johannesburg in the early 1980's. After months without contact, the military rescued the aliens on board and relocated them to District 9.

A couple decades later, District 9 has become one of the worst slums in all of South Africa, full of corruption, riots and violence as South African citizens view the aliens in the worst way. To avoid more negative alien and human interaction, the government has enlisted the help of MVU - a big time weapons developer and security force tasked with relocating the alien inhabitants to an internment camp. Of course, the 1.8 million aliens don't want to go.

What will happen when the forced relocation is put into motion?

District 9 is a movie with plenty of message, a different take on aliens we normally don't see in movies, and a great storytelling structure, but Blomkamp gets away from all of that to make a regular, run-of-the-mill action movie. Early on, the documentary feel works brilliantly as the audience is equally told the story and given little tips, hints and teases at what is going to happen next. Blomkamp and Tatchell give the audience a story full of allusions to racism and past historical events in world history, which gives it more depth than most films, and the portrayal of the aliens not as superior race, but as bottom feeders, is in contrast to most portrayals of aliens. It gives District 9 a more visceral feeling of danger, and a danger that feels more realistic than the typical "take me to your leader" aliens who threaten to take over the world.

However, when Blomkamp moves away from the documentary style and makes District 9 into a traditional science fiction or action movie, it doesn’t feel as special. The story starts to center on Wikus (Sharlto Copley) - the man at MVU in charge of the forced relocation. Copley does a great job making Wikus into a typical brainy bureaucrat, and his experience in District 9 will shock you, especially since Copley is very skilled at taking Wikus from wimp to scared person to a man determined to get what he wants, but it's not that different, which is the selling point of District 9. Eventually, it just becomes another version of Transformers.

District 9 is a commendable effort, and makes me want to see what Blomkamp and Tatchell come up with next.

District 9 is rated R for bloody violence and pervasive language.