“District 9” is one of the best films you’ll see this year. As I said in my previous review of “Inglorious Basterds,” it’s tied for best movie of the year in my opinion. This film is kind of the opposite of “Inglorious Basterds.” “District 9” is a serious action movie, where “Inglorious Basterds” is a silly action movie

Of course, we all knew that “District 9” was going to be good as soon as it was announced because it was a movie produced by Peter Jackson. Jackson is able to say that he has never made a bad movie. Originally, I heard that Peter Jackson was in the process of making a movie based on “Halo.” Seeing as there hasn’t ever been a good video game movie, it was good news when the project got canned. Jackson decided to make “District 9”instead, based off a six-minute film called “Alive in Joburg” directed by Neill Blomkamp, who also directed “District 9."

The movie is hard to classify into one genre: it’s a sci-fi, documentary, drama, social commentary, and action film. It takes place in Johannesburg, South Africa, where a giant alien space ship started hovering one day. The ship was full of aliens, “Prawns,” who were trapped inside of the ship. Throughout the entire movie, they never tell you why they came to Earth, but I like it better that way. They moved the aliens into District 9, which wasn’t supposed to be forever. The aliens are taken care of by Multinational United (MNU) a weapons manufacturer, who wants the aliens for their technology.

The movie starts out with our main character, Wikus van de Merwe, who works for MNU. He gets promoted to the leader of a new project to move the aliens from District 9 to a camp called District 10. This part of the movie is shot in documentary style, which I really enjoyed, because it felt more real. I don’t want to spoil what happens next because the story is so deep that I can’t say any more without spoiling it.

The cast of the movie is mainly unknown actors, and in this case, that was a good thing. If the movie had an A-list actor, it would take away some of the authentic feeling. Who would want to see Brad Pitt trying to play a South African? That aside, all of the actors acted perfectly. My favorite character wasn’t even a human; it was the alien named Christopher Johnson by MNU. Even though the movie focuses around Wikus, I felt like Christopher Johnson stole the movie, not saying that Wikus wasn’t an awesome actor. Christopher Johnson was more than a savage alien like the movie made the aliens seem. He was a father just trying to help his son. The wife of Wikus also did an awesome job acting. Even though she was only in a couple of scenes, you felt that she really was a grieving wife.

People who didn’t like “District 9”all have the same complaint: “This movie is too bloody.” The movie only has two intense action scenes. During both, viewers see a lot of humans get killed, and there is a lot of gore during Wikus’s transformation. All of that aside, it’s an R-rated movie, so if you’re not in the mood for a gory movie, then don’t go. People keep thinking that an R-rated movie is a trip through CandyLand, but it’s not. Expect blood, expect death, and expect profanity.

This movie reflects on the African Apartheid, the Jewish holocaust, and racism. During the movie, they address all of these issues, but at the same time, it’s an awesome sci-fi movie. If you want a good movie that will make you think, go see “District 9.” If you want a cute movie, STAY AWAY. This movie will leave you almost depressed, but in a good way. Overall, I would grade this movie with an A.