District 9 is an area in South Africa which was secluded for aliens by Multi-National United, which is unconcerned with the aliens' welfare but will do anything to master their advanced technology. Suddenly they find a kindred spirit in a government agent who is exposed to their biotechnology.
24 January 1954, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
26 December 1976, Zomba, Malawi
June 17, 2015
Blomkamp is good at mustering speedy action and posting grisly sight gags in the background, carnage always hovering comically at the edge of your vision. But I'm not sure that District 9 entirely gets the earthling racism out of its own system.
November 17, 2011
District 9 has too many gory vaporizations to qualify as a serious statement on race relations, but it does outclank Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen by a wide margin, and you thrill to the cleanly cut action sequences.
July 06, 2010
What the sci-fi action flick District 9 lacks in famous faces it makes up for with sheer imagination.
June 17, 2015
The wonder is that despite its obvious roots, District 9 feels staggeringly original.
September 07, 2009
You don't feel bamboozled, fooled, or patronized by District 9, as you did by most of the summer blockbusters. You feel winded, shaken, and shamed.
June 17, 2015
A gritty science-fiction film that features a population of humanoid crustacean-alien creatures [that] is far more grounded in reality than any of the current rom-coms currently unspooling in your neighbourhood multiplex.
June 17, 2015
District 9 grabs viewers from first frame to last, not only with viscera but genuine intelligence that's rare in any genre these days.
June 17, 2015
One of the most original, breathtaking and downright electrifying movie experiences of 2009.
June 17, 2015
District 9 is almost wholly unique this year in combining fantastic action with thoughtful, narrative filmmaking.
August 25, 2014
It's a brashly confident debut, full of sharp, inventive detail (the prawns are crazy for cat food) and rooted in a couple of Big Ideas. Well worth the time, if not all of it.
September 04, 2009
Perhaps we're witnessing a new dawn for politically engaged sci-fi and horror, with Blomkamp as a latter-day George Romero. Either way, this is a stunningly impressive debut.
