District 9: Review By Josh

District 9 is a four-course meal of a film, a thoughtful allegory on racial segregation and apartheid and an exploration of human callousness and corporate exploitation, a love story against all odds, and a cgi sci-fi actioner with enough explosions to rival a Michael Bay flick. Think elements of Blood Diamond, the video game Half Life 2, and 28 Days later, together in the same film.

What is truly impressive is how much first-timer Neil Blomkamp (kudos to Peter Jackson for discovering him) is able to do with a paltry $30 million budget and an unknown cast. Sharlto Copley gives a fantastic lead performance as Wikus Van De Merwe, the sort of office-nerd everyman chosen to liaise with the alien species. His character arc is fascinatingly telling of the human condition. And from a technical standpoint the film is endlessly impressive, creating realistic-looking alien creatures and staging tense and exhilarating firefights in the slums of Johannesburg that look fantastic.

This is a film I'll watch many times and probably enjoy it more with each viewing.