District 9 (2009)

Featured Audience Ratings

• John M

  
  A gory sci fi smorgasbord with an amazing message.

• Raymond W

  
  District 9 is a brilliant film from director Neill Blomkamp and producer Peter Jackson. With great characters, great CGI aliens (or Prawns), a fantastic score, and a fascinating, original storyline, District 9 is one summer film not to be missed. Wikus van der Merwe is the main… More
  District 9 is a brilliant film from director Neill Blomkamp and producer Peter Jackson. With great characters, great CGI aliens (or Prawns), a fantastic score, and a fascinating, original storyline, District 9 is one summer film not to be missed. Wikus van der Merwe is the main character here, and is so relatable in many ways, it's hard not to feel for him and connect with him almost right away. It's emotionally wrenching to watch what he goes through, but at the same time, we feel for the Prawns that are being so mistreated. We get both sides of the highly imaginative story, and don't feel like we've just sat through 2 hours of clashing metal and ear-splitting noise. It's quite the contrary actually; we feel breathless, shaken, and most of all (for me at least) shamed.

• Albert K

  
  This movie is a must watch. It's an incredibly captivating story of a man that is shaken outside of his comfort zone to collide into the harsh realities of a political oppression going on between the human race and the alien race. I've gotta say, this movie had me on the… More
  This movie is a must watch. It's an incredibly captivating story of a man that is shaken outside of his comfort zone to collide into the harsh realities of a political oppression going on between the human race and the alien race. I've gotta say, this movie had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Watched it at a midnight showing, watched it again. The character development of this movie, though focused on only one character, is incredibly engaging. You'll hate this person, you'll love this person, you'll disagree and root him on. The acting, cinematography, the score, the direction, the CGI, the editing, all exquisitely done to bring a great popcorn adventure that addresses a popular issue, that has been repeatedly done, in a different form. An excellent movie.

• Directors C

  
  District 9 is an excruciatingly deep, sad and moving film, and an outstanding one by first time director Neil Blomkamp. Everything a good sci-fi movie should have is in this film plus a lot of morals.

• paul o

  
  Peter Jackson and Neil Blomkampp gives us a look into a new type of documentary. Its visually stunning and has an original story to support it. Not really an action film but more of a drama with a touch of blood and violence.

• Jameson W

  
  This film really surprised me. I had high expectations, but I did not know this would be great. This film is brilliant!<br/><br /><br/><br />The thing that caught my attention right away was the documentary sections. I did not think it could be so appealing,… More
  This film really surprised me. I had high expectations, but I did not know this would be great. This film is brilliant!<br/><br /><br/><br />The thing that caught my attention right away was the documentary sections. I did not think it could be so appealing, but the mockumentary strategy really sets this film apart from every other lame alien movie. It makes the entire story feel so real. Brilliant filmaking! For a relatively low budget, indie film, I was surprised by how great the special effects were. The action scenes were awesome, as were the aliens. I also really liked the gory parts of the film, it works. I was also very surprised by the acting, particularly by first time actor, Sharlto Copley. He gives a very strong and emotional performance that really carried the film and added a great level of emotion and intensity to the film.<br/><br /><br/><br />This is an absolutely fantastic movie. Right alongside Avatar as one of the best films of 2009!

• Jacob E

  
  When I wrote my first "review" for this film, all I wrote was "Go and see this now. And that is all." It was, in retrospect, an incredibly underdeveloped review, considering how bloody good this film was. The setup is brilliant, tackle the issue of apartheid and… More
  When I wrote my first "review" for this film, all I wrote was "Go and see this now. And that is all." It was, in retrospect, an incredibly underdeveloped review, considering how bloody good this film was. The setup is brilliant, tackle the issue of apartheid and racism in South Africa by telling the audience it's a sci-fi action film. But it's a bit more than that. The plot and characters are surprisingly gut wrenching. Who knew that you could have empathy for a CG creature that can't speak English and looks like a prawn? But that's one of the big lessons in this film, empathy and understanding. To say the least, Wikkus (the "protagonist") learns what it's like to be a prawn the hard HARD way. It's a brilliant set up. Now, there are plenty of arguments against this movie (the constant use of the F-bomb, the lack of focus on the aliens towards the end and more on Wikkus), but I'm willing to let these slide. For starters, intelligent sci-fi is hard enough to find, but to make it this thrilling and jaw dropping WHILE keeping intelligent themes is a borderline art. Plus, this is the director debut for Neil Blomkamp, and if this film is any indication, his next film ("Elysium") has lots of potential.

• Brad W

  
  District 9 is an incredible sci-fi film that is probably one of the most original alien films I can think of, and really made me think about the alien genre of film in a whole new way. The plot is great, I was hardly ever bored and they create characters that are interesting, mostly… More
  District 9 is an incredible sci-fi film that is probably one of the most original alien films I can think of, and really made me think about the alien genre of film in a whole new way. The plot is great, I was hardly ever bored and they create characters that are interesting, mostly because they either aliens or turning into one, and it shows that they truly were trying top make an original story. The cast was probably my main problem, its not that they were really bad but I saw no performances that were memorable or fun really, but that was just a minor problem to such a great film. The special effects were pretty incredible and they did not try to make it like Avatar great but just made it great, and even though the aliens looked pretty disgusting, for all we know they could look even worse if aliens were real. District 9 is a movie I did not enjoy the first time, but time passed and I watched again and I realized what an masterful piece of film this was.

• Adam K

  
  Avatar has been nominated for Best Picture at The Oscar's but so has District 9. District 9 is a great piece of film. For a first time feature by Neil Blokamp, it is a very good achievement. The mix of documentary and linear storytelling techniques is an excellent choice. Is… More
  Avatar has been nominated for Best Picture at The Oscar's but so has District 9. District 9 is a great piece of film. For a first time feature by Neil Blokamp, it is a very good achievement. The mix of documentary and linear storytelling techniques is an excellent choice. Is better than Avatar in almost all forms, apart from special effects but the special effects of District 9 still are very close to Avatar. I highly recommend it, for the excitement and thrill and for the pure emotion. For the main character, the actor is a friend of the director and it is his first time. In three words excellent motion picture. **** 4 Star

• Eric A

  
  Good sci-fi filled with some cool scenes, that seem pretty damn real.

• shahmeer h

  
  District 9 Is a movie that has it's ups and downs. Nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, this film proves to be what it's supposed to be. Nominated. Not winning. The true fact is that the whole thing isn't good, only the beginning and the end. At the… More
  District 9 Is a movie that has it's ups and downs. Nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, this film proves to be what it's supposed to be. Nominated. Not winning. The true fact is that the whole thing isn't good, only the beginning and the end. At the beginning, the documentary style captivated me COMPLETELY. But after a while, suddenly it starts going to the "normal" style. Thats what I hated. But then, it turns back to documentary, then back to "normal", and so on. For like half an hour. Then, the story becomes interesting. It captivates me. And at the beginning, I have total DISGUST for the aliens. But somehow, the movie does it, and I realize they have feelings, and I also feel for them, as well. But that's not the best part. The middle might have been a lot of "what the?!", but the end makes up for it quite well. The intensity and sudden "Whoa." is just half of what the ending does for your entertainment. The emotional alien attachment and the truth about the lead is the other half. If you put those halts together, you get a spectacular 2/5ths of a film. So an excellent first 2/5ths and then the last 2/5ths added together makes 4/5ths of enjoyable film time, and the other 1/5ths, eh, plots the film, i guess. But all in all, District 9 fell just short of the "9" in the title, and it receives a 70/100

• Drake T

  
  District 9 layers it's documentary style storytelling on its rather predictable plot but then covers itself some more with an extreme attention to cultural detail that really brings this fictitious tale to life. Combined with it's gritty, believable special effects… More
  District 9 layers it's documentary style storytelling on its rather predictable plot but then covers itself some more with an extreme attention to cultural detail that really brings this fictitious tale to life. Combined with it's gritty, believable special effects you're easily pulled into the story of an average Joe joining forces with the oppressed alien visitors. I love how it works as a simple SciFi classic but through stylization and genre mash-up keeps itself just fresh enough to seem original. For all intents and purposes, D9 works. Just more than often I couldn't believe humanity's lack of fascination/empathy/sympathy with the Prawns even "28 years" after first contact. They're clearly intelligent yet Blokamp decides we treat them worse than we do the homeless of our streets? C'mon.

• Kevin M

  
  This was a great movie, and will always be one of my favorite movies, but i just disagree with some review saying it's "the most original sci-fi movie" which it isn't

• Jens S

  
  Rarely have I seen a film so undecided about what genre it wants to belong to and yet working out so well. It's Sci-Fi, action, allegory and society criticism, gory horror, mockumentary and yet pleases in each regard. The acting, especially by Sharlo Copley, is top notch and… More
  Rarely have I seen a film so undecided about what genre it wants to belong to and yet working out so well. It's Sci-Fi, action, allegory and society criticism, gory horror, mockumentary and yet pleases in each regard. The acting, especially by Sharlo Copley, is top notch and although the film gives up the documentary style from the beginning to tell the story somewhat more conventionally after a while, it still feels real, which is quite a feat, considering it has aliens, spaceships and battle robots in it. The outstanding special effects, provided by Peter Jackson's WETA play a huge part in this. The aliens don't seem out of place in their South African slums, the textures, lights and all look very real. Same goes for the excellent makeup-effects. The plot keeps you on the edge of your seat and manages to keep you interested despite of the initially rather unlikable main character. Each time the film threatens to get a tad too preachy it simply starts to kick serious ass instead, especially the last 20 minutes are breathtaking. Only the gory trash horror parts seem a bit over the top. The overall experience is still very satisfying and leaves all options open for a sequel. A highlight of the year. Intelligent, disgusting, thought-provoking, extremely entertaining. A little wonder of a film.

• Adam M

  
  Melodramatic, and as in love with ultra-weaponized butt-kicking as the military-industrial psychopaths it condemns to a fate of vivisection -- Set phasers on puree. But in each way Avatar insulted us with stupid dialogue and even more stupid stereotypes, District 9 puts Avatar to… More
  Melodramatic, and as in love with ultra-weaponized butt-kicking as the military-industrial psychopaths it condemns to a fate of vivisection -- Set phasers on puree. But in each way Avatar insulted us with stupid dialogue and even more stupid stereotypes, District 9 puts Avatar to shame with dialogue and story structure that reveals the ambivalent feelings of characters in between acts of persecution. Resembles a Lovecraft story in the main character's wanting to remain human, a theme which becomes more perturbing, since he also wants us not to fear or hate the aliens he has started to resemble. The last shot suggests that this director and special FX crew are the right guys to remake Swamp Thing.

• Wildaly M

  
  Wow. The story is original and creative, a rare gem in Hollywood these days. It's shot in documentary style at first, slowly grows into something much deeper (with its racism and apartheid allegories) and scarier (the aliens are not exactly eye candy) by the minute.

• Jason O

  
  For some reason, I thought this was going to be a more action/horror oriented film than it was. It's rather corny in the first half, but turned out to be a movie I actually liked fairly well by the time it was over. It's pretty unique and fun to follow once you get into it.

• Jeff "

  
  Directed by first time director Neil Blomkamp and produced by The Lord Of The Rings director Peter Jackson, District 9 is one of the most entertaining and original Sci Fi films in recent memory. District 9 is unlike any other Alien movie that you've ever seen. While you'd… More
  Directed by first time director Neil Blomkamp and produced by The Lord Of The Rings director Peter Jackson, District 9 is one of the most entertaining and original Sci Fi films in recent memory. District 9 is unlike any other Alien movie that you've ever seen. While you'd initially think they're here to destroy, within the first ten minutes you realize that they are in fact refugees. At first you are puzzled because usually aliens are invading and destroying. However Neil Blomkamps film is so engaging that you forget about the departure from traditional alien films, and you get engaged in this totally different story. Right from the start, people should realize that this film may disappoint you. The film is very different from what you have seen in the past. Aliens are refugees from their planet and land in Johanessburg, South Africa. They are forced to live in a slum and are subject to the brutality of the human race. Neil Blomkamp's film is an intense story of Sci Fi, drama and action mixed with a bit of elements from the horror genre. District 9 is an accomplished film that doesn't deserve all the flack that it has gotten over the last year. The film succeeds because it's a totally different story than what we are used to. The acting is well done, and believable. The film has good amounts of action near the end, a very different film. Some parts of the film are pretty violent and gory. This is not the type of film to watch if you hate Sci Fi, or horror for that matter. The film isn't really Horror, but it has elements of the genre within it's story, but some will definitely hate the film. If you're a fan of Sci Fi or Horror films, give this one a look, you may be impressed with what you see. District 9 is an impressive debut by Neil Blomkampo, and I am definitely looking forward to what he will direct next. District 9 is one of the most original films in recent memory.

• Taylor B

  
  The first 10 minutes seemed laughably ridiculous. Endure the initial "wtf" and find action, imagination, and all the elements of an entertaining science-fiction classic, while its deeper notions touch segregation, racism and conflicts of power. Creatively intelligent.

• Red L

  
  An original science fiction movie! A bunch of aliens are stranded on earth and forced to live in a slum in Johannesburg. An accident happens and a government agent starts to turn into an alien. Since the alien weapon technology is much better than earth's, a dustup occurs… More
  An original science fiction movie! A bunch of aliens are stranded on earth and forced to live in a slum in Johannesburg. An accident happens and a government agent starts to turn into an alien. Since the alien weapon technology is much better than earth's, a dustup occurs between the bad guys and our government agent hero half earthling/half alien.

Read all 20 featured audience ratings