District 9

Maybe it's the fact that this is my sixth entry in 24 hours but I am struggling to get a grasp on how to start this post. When it comes to Sci-Fi films I am primarily a fan of the bigger franchise entries such as Star Wars, Aliens, or Terminator. Rarely though do I go out of my way for the run of the mill entry in the Sci-Fi genre.
Thankfully, District 9 is anything but an average entry into the genre. The Neil Bloomkamp helmed film which was famously made on a relatively low budget thanks to support from Peter Jackson and his special effects team, District 9 boasts some of the most impressive Alien characters and weapons ever seen on screen.
More impressively though is the fact that District 9 is held together by an incredible story which opens with a history of the District 9 slums which have been located outside of Johannesburg where the Aliens originally landed over 20 years ago. The story essentially splices the Alien population into the already diverse population of South Africa and quickly assimilates them as another group that society must deal with.
At the center of the human side of this story is Wikus Van De Merwe, a character who the audience immediately recognizes as a character who is in over his head. He works for his father-in-law at MNU, an international organization that whose focus is on alien relations and studying the Aliens. Wikus is placed in charge of a program to move the Aliens to a new, smaller slum that is further outside of the city and he must get the Aliens to sign a paper acknowledging their agreement to be evicted. Wikus dives head first into his in role and is seemingly competent his role until he comes in contact with an alien device that sprays him leading to his slow mutation into an alien.
From here on District 9 could have simply been a story about how humans are evil and understanding is what we need for harmony. Given the effects that exist here the film likely would have still been very entertaining. But District 9 goes deeper into human nature than just a film about understanding and looks at the variety of human relationships that exist in a city like Johannesburg. The most remarkable effect the film pulls off is the way it intertwines the Aliens into the fabric of society in Johannesburg. In my life time Alien films fit into one of two categories. You either have a film about understanding like E.T. or a film in which aliens try to destroy us like the ridiculous Independence Day. District 9's success is living in gray areas that past alien sci-fi films have never gone to. Watching it repeatedly has only made me like enjoy it even more.