Uploaded August 2009 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
Whether it's PLANET OF THE APES or WALL E, science fiction has retained a unique ability to address social and political issues in a way that few genres do. Maybe its because when it's done well, science fiction allows us to witness a sometimes parallel, sometimes futuristic, but hopefully plausible alternate reality, where the normal rules are skewed in a way that forces us to confront what it is that truly makes us human. Neill Blomkamp's mind-blowing feature debut, DISTRICT 9, is exactly this type of movie, exploring topics like racism, the weapons industry, lawless corporatism and the plight of refugees as it tells the story of growing tensions between humans and an alien race that has been imprisoned in a section of Johannesburg after their spaceship stalled out there 28 years prior. But DISTRICT 9 is so creatively told, beautifully executed, and endlessly compelling that I consider it the best movie of the year so far and a modern classic.
Whether it's PLANET OF THE APES or WALL E, science fiction has retained a unique ability to address social and political issues in a way that few genres do. Maybe its because when it's done well, science fiction allows us to witness a sometimes parallel, sometimes futuristic, but hopefully plausible alternate reality, where the normal rules are skewed in a way that forces us to confront what it is that truly makes us human. Neill Blomkamp's mind-blowing feature debut, DISTRICT 9, is exactly this type of movie, exploring topics like racism, the weapons industry, lawless corporatism and the plight of refugees as it tells the story of growing tensions between humans and an alien race that has been imprisoned in a section of Johannesburg after their spaceship stalled out there 28 years prior. But DISTRICT 9 is so creatively told, beautifully executed, and endlessly compelling that I consider it the best movie of the year so far and a modern classic.
