Intelligent Design

Science fiction gets a bad rap. Films about aliens are usually dismissed as heavy on the action and light on just about everything else. District 9 (much like recent offerings including the Battlestar Galactica televesion series and J.J. Abrams' Star Trek reboot) breaks the "science fiction mold" and is entertainment that is fun, accesible, and (most importantly) smart.

Director Neil Blomkamp sets the film up documentary style, much like last year's disappointing Cloverfield. With Johannesburg, South Africa as the backdrop, Blomkamp tells the story of how aliens came to Earth. Twenty eight years ago, a giant spaceship parked itself above South Africa. Three months later, humans broke into the idle ship and discovered an entire alien race.

Today, the aliens, not-so-affecitionaly called "Prawns," live in District 9, a fenced off slum in the middle of Johannesburg. Humans are none to happy with the millions of Prawns taking over their city, and as a result the government enlists the Multi-National Corporation to evict the species and relocate them to the "less posh" slum - District 10. The film follows a 74-hour period during the eviction.

District 9 has obvious references to racism and apartheid, but nothing that is overly heavy handed (Blood Diamond, anyone?). The film's action is gritty and fast -- there are more than a few times when guts (both Prawn and human) cover the camera lense. The action isn't simply gratuitous either, it all speaks to the film's greater message of mankind's inhumanity (though I won't lie -- the Prawn weapons are pretty awesome).

It's rare that a film can be both allegorical and entertaining, but that's exactly what District 9 is. If anything, Blomkamp's film is slightly long and a few of the action sequences feel awfully convenient, but District 9 proves that, yes, there is intelligent life out there.

Grade: A-