I finally got to see Neill Blomkamp's District 9 tonight after a couple of false starts. The anticipation I had for this movie was at it's highest and as the movie opened I was on tender hooks because the film wasn't quite framed right. Of course this was no fault of the film but a small gaffe by The Electric cinema who usually offer a flawless performance so I can forgive them for that. The frame was a foot above where it should be meaning a black bar across the bottom of the screen and part of the picture above the border of the screen together with an overall slight wobbling of the picture which was not due to the hand held cam effect of the film itself but a projection issue. I relaxed into my seat as 5 minutes later the picture aligned back to where it should have been and settled down.

This is a 'Peter Jackson Presents' film whereby he acted as producer and anyone familiar with his early works will recognise traits from Bad Taste especially the splatter level during certain moments and also the protagonist Wikus Van De Merwe played by Sharlto Copley who bares an uncanny resemblance to Bad Taste hero Derek (played by Jackson himself).

To go into the main plot of this film would surely ruin the story that unfolds to quite an extent so I'm not going to discuss that too deeply apart from saying I was taken aback at how popcorn throw away this movie is whilst at the same time having a very deep moral backbone. You really can just sit back and enjoy the comedic action or take in the messages this movie conveys about our own treatment of cultures alien to our own. Personally I enjoyed the whole package by being wowed at the incredible cgi and sickened by the cruelty of man. District 9 really does have it all.

To give you a general idea of the premise we follow documentary style Wikus, an employee of MNU (Multi-National United) a company whose job it is to keep track of aliens given refugee status on Earth after their ship broke down 30 years before the beginning of this movie. He gives us an insight into his job and day to day duties. We follow him through the slums of Sowato also known as District 9 where the aliens are housed in slum-like refugee camps. Corruption and gangs rule the slums and it is a very dangerous place to be. It is here that we grow to know the main characters and see the interaction between them which is surprisingly fluid considering all the alien actors are completely cgi. I will go as far as to say outstanding as I did not at any point think they were anything but human actors. I had to look it up before writing this to make sure. One of the first films where I forgot that the actors I was watching were actually computer generated. I actually felt empathy for them.

The first half of the film is all about character development and we hear from a number of MNU employee's about District 9 and the events surrounding it's conception. Later an underlying story develops and then the real action begins. The second half is a true roller coaster of a movie that keeps you guessing at what is coming next. Packed with magnificent special effects and some awesome weaponry set against a realistic refugee town. This is not the sort of film where you guess how it will end before it has ended. You only find that out in the last scene where you leave the auditorium feeling completely satisfied at £6 well spent.

So who does this film appeal to? Well I had someone say to me beforehand that they were not a fan of 'alien' films and without knowing what it was about I can quite see that being the case. People not into actioners could also claim a similar thing as with those against movies shot 'documentary' style. However District 9 delivers to everyone through it's message driven narrative. There really is a deep underlying story here that can capture the attention of all people. I believe that whatever your preferred cinematic genre District 9 will pull you in. We may not have aliens here (yet) but what happens in District 9 is happening all around the world as you read this each and every day.

I urge you to go see it as you will be very satisfied at not having missed it. One of the films of the year.