Poster © TriStar Pictures. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
|
GenreAction, Sci-Fi & Thriller
RatedR
Runtime1 hr 52 mins
ReleasedAugust 14, 2009
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorNeill Blomkamp
StarringSharlto Copley, Jason Cope, David James
|
District 9 (2009)
| ▶Stream It | ★The Numbers |
| 🎫Get Tickets | ✎Edit History |
| iIMDb Profile | %Rotten Tomatoes |
| WWikipedia | LLetterboxd |
| TTMDB | +Add to Top 8 |
| District 9's Details | |
| Genre | Action, Sci-Fi & Thriller |
| Rated | R |
| Released | 07/23/2009 (SDCC); 08/13/2009 (New Zealand); 08/14/2009 (United States) |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 1 hr 52 mins |
| Budget | $30M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Based On | Alive in Joburg by Neill Blomkamp |
| Country | New Zealand, United States, South Africa |
| Language | English |
| District 9's Interests | |
| General | Cat food, clipboards, eviction notices, alien gadgets, Johannesburg sunsets. |
| Music | Clinton Shorter |
| Movies | Elysium (2013). Blomkamp again, with the rich living in orbit this time. |
| Television | Alien Nation. Aliens move to town, the neighbors handle it badly. |
| Heroes | Christopher Johnson. Keeps his head down and his kid close. |
| District 9's Crew | |
| Director | Neill Blomkamp |
| Writers | Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell |
| Producers | Peter Jackson, Carolynne Cunningham |
| Cinematography | Trent Opaloch |
| Music | Clinton Shorter |
| Edited By | Julian Clarke |
| Production | QED International, WingNut Films |
| Distributed By | TriStar Pictures (English-speaking territories, through Sony Pictures Releasing), QED International (International) |
Somewhere around the hour mark, District 9 trades a fake documentary so convincing you forget it’s science fiction for a robot suit shootout, like the movie got nervous. Everything before that switch is some of the sharpest sci-fi of its decade. Sharlto Copley plays Wikus as a cheerful paper pusher handing out eviction notices with a smile, and watching that smile fall apart is the whole movie. The aliens look real in broad daylight, which is wild for a film with a reported $30 million budget, and Christopher and his son quietly become the only characters you fully trust. Neill Blomkamp shoots Johannesburg like the evening news, shaky and close, so a story about who gets fenced off and pushed out hits like something real. The local gang is a flat cartoon, though. An 8.4 because it says something serious and still delivers the action. $68 says you’re still thinking about Christopher and his kid on your way to work tomorrow.
What works: Sharlto Copley’s unforgettable lead performance, aliens that look real in broad daylight, and a documentary style that makes the story feel urgent.
What doesn’t: The last act turns into a standard shootout in a mech suit, and the local gang is a flat, one-note caricature.
Who it’s for: Sci-fi fans who want ideas with their action, and anyone tired of alien movies set in New York.
Spoilers
Wikus keeps changing into one of the aliens and helps Christopher reach the mothership, which leaves Earth with a promise to come back. Wikus, now fully changed, is last seen leaving a little handmade metal flower for his wife.
Twenty-eight years ago, a giant alien spaceship stalled over Johannesburg, and the stranded aliens on board have lived in a fenced-off slum called District 9 ever since. Now a private contractor called MNU has orders to move them to a new camp far outside the city. The guy put in charge is Wikus van de Merwe (Sharlto Copley), a cheerful mid-level bureaucrat who is mostly excited about his promotion. He walks in with a clipboard, armed guards and a documentary crew. One of the residents, Christopher Johnson (Jason Cope), is quietly working on something with his young son. Neill Blomkamp directs. One hundred twelve minutes, one mothership parked overhead.
Anyone who treats their neighbors like neighbors. Also anyone who reads the fine print.
| Sharlto Copley | Wikus van de Merwe |
| Jason Cope | Christopher "Chris" Johnson |
| David James | Colonel Koobus Venter |
| Vanessa Haywood | Tania Smit-van de Merwe |
| Mandla Gaduka | Fundiswa Mhlanga |
| Eugene Wanangwa Khumbanyiwa | Obesandjo |
| Louis Minnaar | Piet Smit |
| Kenneth Nkosi | Thomas |
| William Allen Young | Dirk Michaels |
| Nathalie Boltt | Sarah Livingstone |
| Sylvaine Strike | Katrina McKenzie |
| John Sumner | Les Feldman |
| Nick Blake | Francois Moraneu |
| Jed Brophy | James Hope |
| Vittorio Leonardi | Michael Bloemstein |
| Johan van Schoor | Nicolaas van de Merwe |
| Marian Hooman | Sandra van de Merwe |
| Jonathan Taylor | the Doctor |
| Stella Steenkamp | Phyllis Sinderson |
| Tim Gordon | Clive Henderson |
| Nick Boraine | Lieutenant Weldon |
| Robert Hobbs | Ross Pienaar |
| Trevor Coppola | MNU Mercenary |
| Morne Erasmus | MNU Medic |