District 9 (2009)
TOMATOMETER
AUDIENCE SCORE
Critic Consensus: Technically brilliant and emotionally wrenching, District 9 has action, imagination, and all the elements of a thoroughly entertaining science-fiction classic.
District 9 Videos & Photos
Movie Info
Director Neill Blomkamp teams with producer Peter Jackson for this tale of extraterrestrial refugees stuck in contemporary South Africa. It's been 28 years since the aliens made first contact, but there was never any attack from the skies, nor any profound technological revelation capable of advancing our society. Instead, the aliens were treated as refugees. They were the last of their kind, and in order to accommodate them, the government of South Africa set up a makeshift home in District 9 … More
| Rating: | R (for bloody violence and pervasive language) |
| Genre: | Drama, Action & Adventure, Art House & International, Science Fiction & Fantasy |
| Directed By: | Neill Blomkamp |
| Written By: | Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell |
| In Theaters: | Aug 14, 2009 Wide |
| On DVD: | Dec 22, 2009 |
| Box Office: | $115.6M |
| Runtime: |
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Cast
as Wikus Van de Merwe
as Koobus Venter
as Tania Van de Merwe
as Fundiswa Mhlanga
as Thomas
as Obesandjo
as Piet Smit
as Dirk Michaels
as Sarah Livingstone - ...
as Dr. Katrina McKenzie
as Les Feldman - MIL En...
as Interviewee
as Interviewer
as Francois Moraneu - C...
as James Hope - Police ...
as Sandra Van de Merwe
as Michael Bloemstein -...
as Nicolas Van de Merwe
as Phyllis Sinderson - ...
as Clive Henderson - En...
as Reporter
as MNU Medic
as Paramedic
as MNU Doctor
as MNU Doctor
as MNU Doctor
as Christopher Johnson,...
as MNU Executive
as Sangoma
as Obesandjo's Lieutena...
as Anton Grobler
as Mike Van Kerland
as MNU Medical Scientis...
as MNU Medical Scientis...
as MNU Operating Room D...
as MNU Biolab Technicia...
as MNU Lead Medical Tec...
as MNU Lead Medical Tec...
as Craig Weldon
as Ross Pienaar
as SABC Anchor Person
as U Günters Woman
as Meat Stall Seller
as Koobus Venter
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LoginCritic Reviews for District 9
All Critics (291) | Top Critics (47) | Fresh (261) | Rotten (30) | DVD (17)
The wonder is that despite its obvious roots, District 9 feels staggeringly original.
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.
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.
District 9 is almost wholly unique this year in combining fantastic action with thoughtful, narrative filmmaking.
One of the most original, breathtaking and downright electrifying movie experiences of 2009.
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.
Audience Reviews for District 9
A gory sci fi smorgasbord with an amazing message.
Super Reviewer
When a malfunctioning alien spaceship strands over a million of its inhabitants on Earth, they find an unlikely champion in the shape of a previously self serving weapons manufacturer exec who starts to metamorphose into one of them after exposure to an unknown chemical. District 9's plot takes a lot of cues from cult 80s sci-fi, most obviously the racism allegory of Alien Nation and the genetic mutation premise from Cronenberg's The Fly. However, unlike something like Doomsday which simply ripped off old films with no wit or subtlety, this film actually develops upon its ideas. The production design is fantastic and the action sequences extremely well done, particularly the brilliantly handled climactic battle and the film has a great deal of momentum that meant I enjoyed it more and more as it went on. But easily the strongest aspect of the film is Sharlto Copley's central performance who is quite brilliant as the selfish corporate bastard who unwillingly finds a cause to fight for. It would have been nice to learn more about what happened to the ship and the aliens in the first place and why these obviously technologically advanced creatures had degenerated into a bunch of filthy, scavenging animals but as a whole it is a hugely enjoyable piece of action sci-fi with an intelligent twist.
Super Reviewer
Besides the clichés, plot holes and the incoherent use of the camera, any allusion to Apartheid seems dishonest, since it is hard to believe that anyone could ever be tolerant if an alien spacecraft arrived on Earth carrying over a million of those repulsive giant lobsters uninvited.
Super Reviewer
District 9 Quotes
| Koobus Venter: | Listen to me, you fuck! Get that fucking camera out of my face! |
| Wikus van der Merwe: | Fuck off! No, fuck off, man! |
| Wikus van der Merwe: | Hello, little guy! It's the sweetie man coming! |
| Wikus van der Merwe: | Hey, you! Don't urinate on your fucking clothing! |
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