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Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, David James, Vanessa Haywood, Mandla Gaduka ... see more see more... , Kenneth Nkosi , Eugene Khumbanyiwa , Louis Minnaar , William Allen Young , Nathalie Boltt , Sylvaine Strike , Elizabeth Mkandawie , John Sumner , Greg Melvill-Smith , Nick Blake , Jed Brophy , Marian Hooman , Vittorio Leonardi , Johan van Schoor , Stella Steenkamp , Mampho Brescia , Tim Irwin Gordon , Morne Erasmus , Anthony Bishop , David Clatworthy , Mike Huff , Anthony Fridjhon , Hlengiwe Madlala , Siyabonga Radebe , Melt Sieberhagen , Andre Odendaal , Jonathan Taylor , John Ellis , Louise Saint Claire , Alan Glauber , Nicolas Herbstein , Norman Anstey , Nick Boraine , Robert Hobbs , Sibulele Gcilitshana , Mahendra Raghunath , Phillip Mathebula , Devlin Brown

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 the... read more read more...re 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 as politicians and world leaders debated how to handle the situation. As the humans begin to grow wary of the unwelcome intruders, a private company called Multi-National United (MNU) is assigned the task of controlling the aliens. But MNU is less interested in the aliens' welfare than attempting to understand how their weaponry works. Should they manage to make that breakthrough, they will receive tremendous profits to fund their research. Unfortunately, the highly advanced weaponry requires alien DNA in order to be activated. When MNU field operative Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley) is exposed to biotechnology that causes his DNA to mutate, the tensions between the aliens and the humans intensifies. Wikus is the key to unlocking the alien's technology, and he quickly becomes the most wanted man on the planet. Ostracized and isolated, Wikus retreats to District 9 in a desperate bid to shake his dogged pursuers. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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81% liked it

1,059,276 ratings

Critics

91% liked it

255 critics

R, 1 hr. 52 min.

Directed by: Neill Blomkamp

Release Date: August 14, 2009

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DVD Release Date: December 22, 2009

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Flixster Reviews (56,977)

  • jmanard52
    December 25, 2009
    jmanard52
    A gory sci fi smorgasbord with an amazing message.
  • fb701560354
    April 18, 2012
    fb701560354
    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... read more 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.
  • fb1463751009
    March 9, 2012
    fb1463751009
    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 ... read moremy 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.
  • aquateen2
    March 7, 2012
    aquateen2
    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.
  • paulkoh110
    February 18, 2012
    paulkoh110
    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.
  • jamers2011
    January 1, 2012
    jamers2011
    This film really surprised me. I had high expectations, but I did not know this would be great. This film is brilliant!



    The thing that caught my attention right away was the documentary sections. I did not think it could be so appealing, but the mockumentary ... read morestrategy 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.



    This is an absolutely fantastic movie. Right alongside Avatar as one of the best films of 2009!
  • fb100001493964409
    December 12, 2011
    fb100001493964409
    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 A... read morefrica 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.
  • DreamExtractor
    November 13, 2011
    DreamExtractor
    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, mo... read morestly 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.
  • fb100000212943704
    August 19, 2011
    fb100000212943704
    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 bett... read moreer 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
  • fb729949618
    July 31, 2011
    fb729949618
    Good sci-fi filled with some cool scenes, that seem pretty damn real.

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Critic Reviews

Anthony Lane
September 7, 2009
Anthony Lane, New Yorker

You don't feel bamboozled, fooled, or patronized by District 9, as you did by most of the summer blockbusters. You feel winded, shaken, and shamed. Full Review

David Edelstein
August 17, 2009
David Edelstein, New York Magazine

To call this the best shrimp-from-outer-space South African apartheid allegory ever made does not begin to do it justice. But it's a start. Full Review

Ben Mankiewicz
August 17, 2009
Ben Mankiewicz, At the Movies

This is a great movie. Full Review

Ben Lyons
August 17, 2009
Ben Lyons, At the Movies

What an achievement in filmmaking. Full Review

J. R. Jones
August 14, 2009
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader

The backstory beats the hell out of the present-tense plot, a routine affair in which a well-meaning doofus working for the Man is infected with a virus, starts turning into an alien himself, and fall... Full Review

Richard Roeper
August 14, 2009
Richard Roeper, Richard Roeper.com

A bloody good time. One of the most original movies of the summer. Full Review

Michael Phillips
August 14, 2009
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

In this summer of gargantuan mediocrities, a modestly budgeted project with an actual idea in its head, and the wiles to manifest it onscreen, exploding heads and all -- that's something. Full Review

Joe Neumaier
August 14, 2009
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News

A memorable, monstrous fable that's consistently gripping. Full Review

Kyle Smith
August 14, 2009
Kyle Smith, New York Post

The movie falls into the same uneasy category as Eight Legged Freaks: too tongue-in-cheek to be thrilling, not funny enough to be a comedy. Full Review

Stephen Whitty
August 14, 2009
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger

The wildest science-fiction film to come out all year. Full Review

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Facts

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    • Christopher Johnson: [subtitled] FUCK!
    • Wikus van der Merwe: I did not have sexual relations with a fokken prawn!
    • Wikus van der Merwe: Fucking prawns!
    • Koobus Venter: Listen to me, you fuck! Get that fucking camera out of my face!
    • Wikus van der Merwe: Fucking doos.
    • Christopher Johnson: It took twenty years to collect that amount.
    • Wikus van der Merwe: Fuck, man! Fuck!
    • Wikus van der Merwe: I think I crapped my pants.
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