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District 9
District 9 Image
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Metascore
81 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 36 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.9 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 910 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
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  • Starring: Jason Cope, Sharlto Copley
  • Summary: Over twenty years ago, aliens made first contact with Earth. Humans waited for the hostile attack, or the giant advances in technology. Neither came. Instead, the aliens were refugees, the last survivors of their home world. The creatures were set up in a makeshift home in South Africa’s District 9 as the world’s nations argued over what to do with them. Now, patience over the alien situation has run out. The tension between the aliens and the humans comes to a head when a human field operative, Wikus van der Merwe, contracts a mysterious virus that begins changing his DNA. Wikus quickly becomes the most hunted man in the world, as well as the most valuable – he is the key to unlocking the secrets of alien technology. Ostracized and friendless, there is only one place left for him to hide: District 9. (Sony Pictures)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 36
  3. Negative: 0 out of 36
  1. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Kirk Honeycutt
    100
    No true fan of science fiction -- or, for that matter, cinema -- can help but thrill to the action, high stakes and suspense built around a very original chase movie.
  2. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Amy Biancolli
    100
    Every now and then, a film comes along that both defies and compels description. District 9 is one such movie: a science-fiction action vehicle so brilliantly and fully imagined that real life, when it resumes after the credits, arrives with a new sense of dread.
  3. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Kyle Smith
    50
    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.

See all 36 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 405 out of 542
  2. Mixed: 35 out of 542
  3. Negative: 102 out of 542
  1. ReviewCritic
    8
    This isn't just some action movie. This strange sci-fi movie is completely scary, dark, raw, and suspenseful. Sharlto Copley should have at least been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. He completely nailed his part, and helps us to feel the emotion and horror.… Expand
    • 7 of 8 users said yes
  2. JoshC
    5
    FYI- Don't take your wife or girlfriend to this movie. Mine said it was the worst she had ever seen. I took a chance on this movie given all the rave reviews. However, I myself thought it was mediocre at best. How could the Washington Post give this movie a 100%!!??? The target audience seemed to be the teenagers around me laughing at all the fake special effects. Many elements of the movie also made no sense logically. One problem was too many thinly veiled references to different ethnic groups that have been persecuted over the years (blacks, immigrants, Jews, etc.). It was as if the aliens were experiencing all these forms of persecution at the same time, regardless of any chronological or historical context. All in all, the movie was not very well made. Also, the second half of the movie conformed to conventional themes and cliches.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. Chris
    1
    Was hoping it would turn out great, got sucked up by all the hype. Was disappointed by all of the mish mash of different sci fi flavors. Seriously was it a faux docudrama? or did they forget half way through... action was pretty decent and had 2 funny scenes, but it was all over the place and didnt know what it wanted to be. Plus seriously were they paid by how many times they uttered the "F word"… Expand
    • 1 of 1 users said yes

See all 542 User Reviews

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