district 9 is one of the summers most thoughtful and interesting movies. It is directed by neill blomkamp who is actually a director based out of vancouver, very cool. Going into this movie i didnt really know what to expect. From the trailers that id seen i thought it was going to be a typical sci-fi thriller. To my surprise and enjoyment though it was that and so much more!

the basic story is that aliens have landed in south africa and the government, over the last 20 years, has kept them under an apartheid-like rule sequestering them in a shanty town that has transformed into an alien slum (district 9). The main character, wikus van der merwe (sharlto copley) has been promoted and is in charge of clearing the town and moving the aliens to a new area. The fun begins when he is accidentally infected by an alien liquid while he was searching one of the shacks. Then his dna starts changing and it seems he is evolving into a hybrid of human/alien. When the government takes him in they find out that he now can use the alien weaponry (it seems only aliens can somehow activate their guns, machinery, etc). When he finds out they want to dissect him to find out how they can capitalize on his new dna, he is forced to go on the run hiding out in district 9. He eventually befriends another alien who tells him he can reverse the dna process if they can get off the planet.

up to this point its more an intellectual movie that is more a comic/political statement on south african apartheid and a parallel to racism that society never seems to fail to inflict on what it doesnt know or understand. However as soon as wikus is out on the run, the action begins and then its alien laser cannons that completely obliterate anything that it hits, a transformer-like battle suit that is like wearing a walking tank, gunfire galore, explosions. Everything a good action movie needs!

the movie is filmed for the most part as a mockumentary but then flits between an all out action movie and melodrama. Overall the effect is awesome and i loved the movie!